Rosalie was seated inside the house.
I know she wanted to come into the garden and inspect what I'm doing, but I told her that it was a surprise and she had to wait.
She pouted adorably when I told her that.
"I just want to see, Aiden," she told me, crossing her hands over her chest. Her bottom lip jutted out when she pushed out her jaw.
"I know you do, but it's a surprise," I told her, with a grin.
"You do understand that your windows are made out of glass and I can see into the garden, right?" she asked.
"And that's why you have to stay in the study until I come and get you," I told her and laughed at the look of outrage on her face.
"Aiden, this is unacceptable," she said, and then her expressions changed. She looked sweet and coy, "I could give you pointers on how to make it good."
I smiled and took a few steps towards her. She looked hopeful, like she might have won.
I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder. She squealed, "Aiden!"
I walked her into the study and put her down on the table. Lowering my head to hers, I kissed her.
Immediately, she wrapped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. I gave into her; all I wanted to do was to give into her and let her do whatever she wanted with me.
Rosalie kissed me, earnestly, like I hadn't been kissed before.
I had kissed many women in my day, but none of them made me feel the way Rosalie did.
"Rosalie," I breathed, against her neck.
She sighed, blissfully.
"I must go and set your surprise up," I mumbled into her skin.
Her fingers squeezed my shoulder blades and she sighed.
Slowly, I pulled away from her.
Her pout reappeared, reminding me of the day that I found her drunk. I smiled. "I'll be back very soon," I told her and backed out of the room.
It may have been fall, but the sun shone, happily in the sky as I set up our private picnic in the garden.
I laid down a cozy blanket and a wicker basket with some baguettes and a bouquet of flowers I had snuck into the house without Rosalie's knowledge. There were fruits and croissants and some bianco frizzante I had stashed for a special occasion.
Any occasion with Rosalie felt special.
When I went into the study to call her out, she was still sitting on my desk, legs crossed and reading a copy of "The Count of Monte Cristo" that I had.
She looked up, apparently in a more chipper mood than when I left her. "Ready for me?" she asked.
"Ready," I nodded and held my hand out to her.
She hopped off of the table and came forward to take it. I intertwined my fingers with hers and pulled her into the garden.
Rosalie gasped as she saw what had been set up for her; her eyes sparkled like she was a child and I had just handed her the biggest candy cane on the planet.
"Oh, Aiden, look at all this! It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, squeezing my hand.
I pulled her over to the blanket and sat her down. "I know we're not going public with this yet, but I figured that that doesn't mean that we can't have a nice picnic right here."
Rosalie smiled at me and sighed, happily. "This is so sweet, Aiden. I don't think I've ever had a picnic since I was about twelve and my parents took me to the park."
"Do you like picnics?" I asked her.
"I love picnics. Aren't they just so peaceful?" she sighed, happily, stretching out her legs.
"Can I interest you in some bianco frizzante?" I asked.
She nodded, excitedly.
I poured her a glass and handed it over. She clinked it against mine and took a sip.
I watched her eye light up.
"This is amazing!" she told me and took another sip, "This put you in a great mood."
"You put me in a great mood," I told her, making her blush.
We laid on the blanket, looking up at the sky and she told me about her parents and I told her about mine. We talked about so many things and there, in that moment, I felt like pieces in my life were falling into place.
The memory of Caroline Baxter seemed like something from another life.
I looked at her profile as she traced the clouds with her fingers. "You know, Rosalie, I've driven past your office a million times. If I knew then what I know now, I would have stopped everything and come running to you. I would have walking into that office of yours and declared that you were mine."
She reached out a finger and fiddled with a button on my shirt. "That day when you walked in with Caroline almost seems like a lifetime ago."
I sighed. "I don't know what came over me. I don't know why, but at the time, I felt like I owed my Dad. I think I felt like I needed to do something for him; I think I still feel a little guilty for buying out part of his company, so out of that guilt, I think I went along with what he told me to. Meeting you, Rosalie, and knowing you and realizing how much I want you in my life was like a wakeup call. I'm so grateful to you for saving me from making the worst mistake of my life. You gave me strength, Rosalie."
I held her hand and she sighed.
"I get it. You felt a duty to your father, but Aiden, you shouldn't have gone through with it just for him."
I nodded. "I know that. I don't know what came over me. The only think I know is that I'm glad I came to my senses; I'm glad that I met you."
She giggled, softly. The sound of her laugh filled my ears and I wanted to spend the rest of my life hearing that laugh. I wanted to hear just her laugh, and no one else's. Rosalie's laugh made the world better.
"What did you think of me when you first met me?" she asked.
I thought, still holding her hand. "Well, I thought you were professional and accommodating. You were so patient and attentive to all of Caroline's demands. Even when she changed her mind thrice in one meeting about one thing, you never showed any anger or annoyance. I was impressed by your work ethic. You were always honest with us, though. The way you worked, there was so much transparency. And God, you're kind, Rosalie. I've met successful people, but not many of them retained their kindness, their innocence. That day when you told me about how you got into wedding planning, I marveled at how much you had pursued what you love; it's commendable. I did think you were beautiful, too."
A slight blush rose to her cheeks.
"What did you think of me?" I asked her, rolling closer to her.
Rosalie reached out and picked a strawberry, biting into it while thinking. "I thought you were every bit the gentleman as you seemed in your pictures."
"Oh?"
"And I thought you were insane to marry someone who seemed so distant from you, but that's not my job to identify. You were so good to me and polite, even when we didn't know each other. When I spoke to you, you didn't act like there were a million things you'd rather be doing or talking about. You listened to me like what I was telling you was important. For so long, I had forgotten what it was like to be heard," she shrugged one shoulder, "I don't even know how we even got here."
"Aren't those the best kinds of relationships?" I asked, "The ones where you can't even figure out how you got to, but you're glad you got to them all the same."
"Are you glad you got to me, Aiden?" Rosalie asked, teasingly, shaking her head at me.
I held her by her waist. "I'm over the moon, Rosa."
Rosalie sighed contentedly.
"I like it here," she told me, looking around the garden, "Everything is so peaceful. I could be here forever."
She stretched, lazily, which for Rosalie, was uncharacteristic. She must have been extremely comfortable.
"I want you to stay here forever," I told her.
She turned to look at me, searching my eyes. She was questioning me, silently. She was asking me, 'Do you?'.
I wanted to tell her that I do. I do very much. Now, however, seemed almost too soon.
So, instead of speaking to her, I did the next best thing I could in the moment, to show her that we're well on the way to where she thinks we're going: I kissed her.
Rosalie lifted her head and climbed over me, pressing her hands to my shoulders. Everywhere she touched, I wanted her to keep touching. Every inch of her skin that I touched, I wanted to touch again.
Rosalie fit into my hands, into my arms like no one had ever fit before. She straddled me as I lay on the picnic blanket, and kissed me like she meant to keep me. I kissed her back, knowing that wanted to keep her.
I raised myself so that we were both seated. Rosalie was still on top of me, pressed close to me.
Slowly, without breaking our kiss, I rolled her over, so that she lay on the picnic blanket.
I looked down at her, the sunlight that fell through the leaves of the trees played with the colour in her eyes. There wasn't a sight better that I had ever seen in my life.
"Tell me something about you, Aiden," she told me, breathlessly.
"What do you want to know?" I asked her, placing a kiss on the valley between her collarbones.
"Everything."
"I'll tell you anything."
Rosalie pulled herself closer to me, her hands on my shoulders. "Tell me what you like to collect."
I chuckled at her strange question. "I like to collect miniature models of vintage cars," I told her, "I have quite a few. What do you like to collect?"
She thought. "Wedding invitations," she said, "I have an invitation each from every single wedding I've ever planned and almost every wedding I've ever been to. It helps me with inspiration, but also, people put a lot of effort into that invitation even though guests look at it only for about five minutes. I think they're underappreciated."
"You think wedding invitations are underappreciated?" I asked with a laugh.
Rosalie nodded.
"I think you're quite underappreciated."
Rosalie blushed.
I lowered my mouth to hers.
"And I want to show you exactly how much someone should appreciate you. I can't believe how long you went taking the lackluster love you were given," I told her, kissing her.
Rosalie fiddled with my button again.
"That day that I went to that day and got drunk after one and a half drinks? That day I realized that I can go out on my own without a boyfriend. For two years, my outings revolved around Ian because I worked so much and the only time I went out was when I was with him. I had stayed at home for so long when Ian wasn't there, and I was so angry at myself that I had stopped living because of some man. I was so close to the problem that I didn't even see it. Now, I can do anything on my own. I think Ian taught me a lot," Rosalie sighed.
"I hope he taught you to know what you deserve," I pulled her close to me and put my mouth on her skin. Rosalie moaned, ever so slightly, "And I want to try and show you that right now."
*
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