CHAPTER34
LARISA
When we got to Tanner’s apartment, I vaguely noticed the beautiful leather satchel he was carrying. Briefly admiring it for the craftsmanship and practicality, I added it to my mental shopping list for the day when I finally got around to buying myself a new laptop and paraphernalia. Then I put it out of my head.
It was probably way out of my price range anyway. Tanner turned to grin at me over his shoulder when we walked into his place, flicking on the lights without having to look at the switches.
“Do you want another beer?” he asked. “I think I’ve still got some wine around, too. If you’d prefer that.”
“I think I better stick to coffee or water. It’s a school night, so more alcohol might not be the best idea.”
“One coffee coming up. Cream and one sugar, right?”
My brows rose. “How did you know?”
He flashed me a charming smile. “I pay attention. Am I right, though?”
As he walked toward the kitchen, still flicking on lights as we went, he looked at me over his shoulder and I nodded. “I’m impressed. I didn’t realize you paid quite that much attention.”
His expression softened before he turned away from me when we entered the kitchen. “I haven’t missed much about you. You’d be surprised by everything I’ve managed to pick up even if you haven’t been overly forthcoming with information.”
“You make me sound much more mysterious than I am.”
He slipped a coffee pod into the machine and turned to me again, his eyebrow cocked as he looked right into my eyes. “I don’t think you realize how much of a mystery you are to me. Think about it. We spent an entire weekend together and you never even mentioned what you do for a living.”
“That doesn’t make me mysterious. It makes me a girl who was desperate for a break and not interested in spending the whole time there talking, and therefore thinking, about work.”
He shrugged, but his gaze remained as intense as a burning blue flame on mine.
“Fair enough,” I said. “Outside of work, there’s not much to know about me, though. I grew up on the other side of the tracks. My mom drives me a little crazy sometimes, but she’s also all I’ve got and I love her to pieces. I work hard, but I try not to let it rule my life. What else is there?”
“I don’t know, but you can bet on it that I intend to find out.” He slid a mug into the slot before hitting a couple buttons on the coffee machine.
When mine was done, he handed it over before making one for himself. We carried our mugs to the living room, and after I sat down, he went to fetch the leather satchel I’d noticed him carrying earlier.
He came to sit down next to me on the sofa, setting his coffee on the table before he held the satchel out to me, letting it rest on both his palms and holding it up like an offering. “This is for you. It’s the surprise I told you about earlier.”
I stared at the intricate stitching pattern for a beat before shaking my head. “You bought me a bag? It’s gorgeous, Tanner. I love it, but I can’t possibly accept it. It must’ve cost you a fortune.”
“I didn’t get you a bag.” He chuckled, shrugging as he looked at it and then back up at me. “Well, the bag is yours too, but the real gift is what’s inside it.”
My hands started trembling when I took the bag from him. Absolutely shocked as I unclasped the latch, I shook my head as soon as I saw what was nestled inside. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You got me a laptop?”
“Not just any old laptop.” Excitement shimmered in his eyes as he motioned for me to take it out. “It’s a top-of-the-line model that caters specifically for your industry. I had it preloaded with some extra software, too. The salespeople assured me that it should be everything you could possibly need, but their card is in the front pocket. If you need anything else, just go have them install it for you. On me. I’ve already arranged it that way with them.”
I gaped at the laptop as I slid it out of the protective bag. It was sleek and beautiful, a model I’d admired before but had forgotten about, given its price tag.
“This thing costs thousands of dollars,” I breathed as I stroked my fingers lightly across the faint grooves on the lid. “It means—” I got a little choked up and cleared my throat before it was safe to finish the sentence. “It means so much to me that you’d get me a gift like this, but I can’t keep it. It’s too much.”
“It’s not too much,” he said intently, sincerity written all over his features. “You mentioned that yours was old and giving you trouble, so I got you a new one. Of course you’re keeping it.”
I grudgingly slid the laptop back into the bag and shook my head as I did the latch back up. “It was very thoughtful of you to do this for me just because I mentioned mine was giving me some issues, but you really didn’t have to. Besides, this is a much fancier model than I need.”
“Actually, I was assured that this is the exact model you need. It wasn’t just sales talk, either. I looked it up online before I bought it. The reviews on it are amazing. Apparently, it’s a game-changer.”
I sighed, carefully placed the closed satchel on his coffee table, and picked up my mug again. “I’m sure it’s super impressive, but I’m still not keeping it. Seriously, you don’t know how much it means to me that you’d want me to have it and that you got it for me, but I can’t accept it. I’m not trying to be coy or whatever. I just really can’t accept a gift that costs this much.”
“Think about who you’re accepting it from,” he argued. “I don’t mean to sound glib about it, but a laptop is hardly going to break the bank for me.”