My breath hitched in my throat at the sight of her.
She looks so beautiful and sexy as she walks over towards my car. I could've never imagined seeing her in this type of dress one day but I sure am glad she is wearing it. Her hair straight and long, flying with every movement of hers, the wind helping the motion.
We make quick eye contact but she looks away, blushing and now looking at the ground. I wish she would look at me more.
"Dude, close your mouth if you don't want to drool all over your suit" Lucas chuckles and nudges me with his elbow. "Shut up" I throw quickly at him before Lindsey and Aria come closer to us.
"Ready?" I ask everyone before we move towards the car. I open the back door for Aria and she lets out a quiet 'thank you' before she gets in. I smile at her before closing her door and walking to the front.
"What about me? Nobody is going to open the door for me?" Lindsey huffs as she waits by her side of the door.
"You are not my wife. And besides, you have your brother to do that for you" I say before I get in the driver's seat. I'm not sure why I did that for Aria but I just want to be a gentleman for her and show her my nicer side.
"Whatever" I hear Lindsey whisper before she gets in the car next to Aria. "That threesome proposal still stands though" she chuckles. Lucas and I both shake our heads at her but I see Aria give her a look. I try not to laugh at her blushing state. She is so cute.
I'm trying to keep my eyes on the road as I'm driving to the hotel where the party is held. But the little petite woman in the back seat steals my attention every other second.
She is so beautiful. I wonder how I didn't notice that before. I mean I thought the same when I met her, she is a pretty lady but I think the meaning of that isn't just a physical attraction and I'm kind of scared of that, to be honest. I don't know if I want to have those kinds of feelings when it comes to her or anybody else really, and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't want that either.
The past couple of weeks I'm trying to not be so distant with her. I don't want her to feel scared and on edge, every time we interact and I'm glad to see she is relaxing more around me. I also noticed that I'm more relaxed as well. I don't try or have the need to be a cold grumpy guy every time when I'm around new people or at least not when I'm around her.
Even Mari noticed that and she can't stop teasing me about it but for some reason, I don't mind that. In the past I would for sure say some bad words and then regret it. I would probably become even worse of a person than I already was, but not anymore. And I think it's all because of her, the little woman in my back seat.
"I really don't want to die tonight Lorenzo" Lucas snaps me out of my thoughts and brings my focus back on the road. I furrow my eyebrows at him and shoot him a quick look. "What?".
He shakes his head and chuckles before looking at me. "I'm just saying. Keep your eyes where they should be or you'll kill us" he shoots me a dirty look and I just hope the girls didn't hear what we're talking about. They seem indulged in their own conversation so I think we're good.
"Shut up" I shush him but he just laughs and turns away from me.
It was hard not to look at the rearview mirror above my head that gave me the view of Aria, but soon we arrived and I could finally relax.
I step out of the car and give the keys to the hotel employer - so he could park the car - before I go and open the door for Aria. I lend her my hand, helping her get out and she accepts it putting hers on mine and grabbing it lightly as she steps out of the car.
I close the door and put my hand on the small of her back leading her to the hotel entrance. Soon enough Lucas and Lindsey join us as we take a glass of champagne from the butlers that stand near the hotel door.
I smile at Aria as she looks around the lobby while we wait for the elevator to take us to the last floor where the restaurant and a bar are located. We all step in when the elevator comes and we go to the last floor.
"Is this okay?" I ask Aria and take her hand in my, interlocking our fingers when we step out of the elevator. She looks down at our hands and a light blush coats her cheeks as she nods. I quietly chuckle and lightly brush my thumb on the back of her hand so she can relax. I know she is not a big fan of crowded places and neither am I to be honest but I want to show her that she is safe and plus I like the feeling of her hand in mine. And even though this is all an act for people here, I wouldn't mind if she held my hand anytime. It's a nice feeling.
Okay, Lorenzo, you need to chill. It's just hand-holding, geez.
I shake my head at myself before we walk further into the room where the bar is. I see that Aria likes the view from here. The glass walls show the city before us perfectly but the view is even better when you go out on the terrace where the restaurant is.
Loud cheers erupt when people notice that I'm here and I can't help but chuckle at the little woman by my side when she flinched at the loud noise. I caress her hand one more time before thanking everyone.
"Thank you all for coming here tonight. I worked really hard to get to where I am now and I have to thank every one of you for helping me on that journey. I hope we will work well together and accomplish every plan we have. I hope you enjoy yourselves tonight and have fun. Thank you".
I finish the toast and thank the people that came up to me to congratulate me personally. "Congratulations Lorenzo. You deserve this and I bet your mother would be so proud of you" Mrs. Johnson comes up to me and Aria and I smile at her. She was a good friend of my mother.
"Thank you, Mrs. Johnson, I'm glad you could make it here today," I tell her before her gaze falls on Aria. "Oh, you must be Aria. I'm Mrs. Johnson dear, it's nice to finally meet you. I'm sorry I couldn't attend the wedding" she shakes hands with Aria and I take her hand back in mine when Mrs. Johnson lets go of it.
"Oh that's okay and it's nice to meet you to Mrs. Johnson" Aria smiles at her sweetly and I can't help but look at her. "Oh, your mother would love her. Such a sweet lady" Mrs. Johnson smiles at her before she looks at me.
I smile sadly at her. I'm sure my mother would love Aria. She even reminds me of her. They are both gentle and nice souls, angel-like, and they don't let darkness ruin them, to change them. No, they shine even brightly, showing how strong and powerful they are.
I look down at Aria when she looks at me confused. Probably thinking why are we talking about my mother like that and what happened to her. But I can't answer those questions, at least not yet.
More people come up to us to congratulate me and to meet my wife but I quickly free us from everyone to give us a break. We go outside and join Lucas and Lindsey who are chatting. "There you are. We were wondering if you'll make it alive" Lindsey lets out but makes me chuckle.
"You want to get drinks with me by the bar?" she looks at Aria. "Sure" Aria smiles at her and slides her hand from mine so she can go. I stand next to Lucas and watch the two as they enter the closed area once again and then disappear into the crowd.
"Man, how long has it been since you were with a woman?" Lucas puts his hand on my shoulder and chuckles. I look at him with furrowed brows while taking a sip of my drink. "What?".
"Nothing, you just seem so dazed by Aria and she is only holding your hand. I can't imagine what would you be like if she did something more" he practically laughs at me now.
"Shut up if you don't want me to throw you off this building," I say annoyed, and look away from him. He takes a sip from his drink and almost chokes on it because he is still laughing. "Ah come on man, I think it's cute" he laughs even harder while he holds his stomach, catching attention from some people here but I'm so close to just pushing him over the edge.
"I'm done with you" I look at him before I start walking away from him.
"No wait man. I'll stop alright?" he grabs my arm and keeps me in place before he continues. "I"ll-" he suddenly stops and looks over my shoulder. I follow his gaze and almost break the glass that's in my hand at what I'm seeing.
Garret talking to Aria.
I quickly make my way to the bar, apologizing to people as they move for me. I can see that Aria is uncomfortable by his presence. He even dares to touch her and looks her down as some predator.
"Get your hand off of her now!" I say sternly as I step next to Aria. He quickly moves his hand away from her arm and looks at me. My mind goes back to that night in the bar when he talked dirty about my wife and my blood boils.
"Chill Lorenzo, we were just talking," he says as he looks at Aria and I don't know how I manage to control myself not to punch him when I see a smirk forming on his face.
"Just leave and consider yourself fired" I spat at him. I watch as his eyes widen before he speaks. "You can't be serious. You are gonna fire me just because I was talking to your wife?" he raises his brows and looks at me as if I'm a crazy person.
"No. You're fired because of what you said about her that night and because you punched your boss" I say harshly and he just scoffs before he leaves.
I stand in front of Aria and look at her. "Are you okay?" I put my hand on her arm and feel her relax at my touch. She nods and looks around as if she is scared that Garret would come back.
"Do you want to go home?" I ask, wanting to help her but I don't know how. She looks stressed and I just want her to feel better. "Y-yes but I don't want to ruin your night...we should stay," she says now looking at me.
"No, it's okay. I want to go home anyways" I tell her the truth. I'm honestly not a fan of this type of thing and especially when it's about me so I don't really care if we stay or not. I find Lucas and Lindsey and inform them that we would be leaving but they want to leave as well. I guess they are not having fun as much as we are.
I bid goodbye to my guests and talk shortly with some important people on our way out before we go to our car. I drop Lucas and Lindsey at their place first and then make a turn to drive to our house.
...
I park the car on the driveway and turn the ignition off before unbuckling myself. I look to my right at Aria who is sleeping soundly on the passenger seat. She looks so calm and peaceful, I don't want to wake her up. I move a strand of her hair that fell on her face and tuck in behind her ear.
I look at her, her long eyelashes throwing a shadow over her cheeks, her cute little nose scrunching every time she moves a little, her lips formed in a pout making me want to just kiss her and taste her. I can't look away.
Heaving a sigh I silently open my car door before going to her side. I bend and put one arm under her legs and the other around her waist, slowly lifting her up. I stop in my place as she adjusts herself in my hold, wrapping one arm around my neck while her other hand holds my dress shirt tightly as if she is scared I'll let her fall.
When I'm sure she didn't wake up I close the car door with my foot and make my way towards the door. I somehow manage to not drop her while a enter the code and use my foot again to close it after. I drop the keys of my car in the little silver plate in the entrance hallway and make my way towards the stairs.
I watch my every step carefully and when I'm finally at the top I make my way towards her room. I open her door and walk towards the bed, moving the covers away to gently put her down. She stirs a little and grabs her pillow to hold it. She looks like a small ball on this big king-size bed. I just want to climb in with her and hold her while she is sleeping but I know I can't.
I go by the foot of her bed and take her heels off so she doesn't sleep in them. Her dress looks tight and not so comfortable to sleep in but I leave her in that. I can't change her clothes without her knowing, she will think I'm some maniac or something.
After I put her heels in their place I go over to the bed and pull the covers over her. She moves again and almost hides her whole body under it, only half of her face peeking out. I chuckle at the cute sight and squat down so I'm at the face lever with her.
"Good night beautiful" I whisper and can't help myself when I lean in to press a kiss on her forehead before leaving her room.
I close her door quietly and make my way towards my room. I sigh and lean on the door for a moment. I don't know what's happening with me, why am I feeling this way towards her?
I shake my head to clear my thoughts and go into the bathroom to take a shower. I tug the towel off of my waist after I'm done drying and put on some boxers briefs before lying on my bed. I turn on my left side and grab the pillow she was sleeping on that one night. It still smells like her but it's not so strong anymore. I lay my head on it and close my eyes, soon falling into slumber.