CHAPTER65
TANNER
After I left my mom’s house, I tried to call Larisa but her phone kept ringing through to voicemail. I frowned, a little worried that I couldn’t reach her. It was possible that she’d already fallen asleep, but I didn’t think it was likely.
While it was late, it wasn’t that late and I was sure she would stay up after the surprise I’d left for her at the house. I ended the call when it rang through to voicemail again. My driver was the same one who’d picked us up earlier and who I’d told to take Larisa to my house.
“How are you back already?” I asked, thoroughly confused. “I thought the service was going to send someone else for me since you had to drive out so far and they weren’t sure you’d make it back on time.”
The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror, giving his head a tight shake. “They were going to send someone else, but it wasn’t necessary. I got back in plenty of time to pick you up after I dropped Ms. Ford off at her apartment.”
“Her apartment?” I echoed disbelievingly. “What happened to taking her to my house?”
He shook his head again. “She told me it was a mistake and that I was meant to take her back to her place, not yours. She said it was just a misunderstanding. I thought about calling you to check, but she was quite adamant that I’d made a mistake in thinking that I had to take her to your house and not hers.”
“Damn it,” I muttered. “You didn’t make a mistake. I did want her to be dropped off at my house, but I didn’t tell her because I wanted it to be a surprise. So you took her back to her apartment?”
“Yes, sir,” he replied. “Would you like me to take you there as well?”
“Yes, please,” I said immediately. “The mistake was mine, though. I should’ve been clearer. Thank you for bringing her back to her place when she asked. She might’ve been scared if you’d suddenly left the city with her when she’d been expecting to go back to her apartment.”
“It’s no problem, sir. Would you like me to wait for you when you get there?”
I mulled it over for a minute. There had been a misunderstanding, and it was one I was determined to fix. I’d spent the last couple days setting something up for her and I wanted to surprise her with it tonight.
I wasn’t going to give up so easily. This was important to me. Once she saw it, I had a feeling she would understand why. Eventually, I made eye contact with the driver again and nodded. “Yes, please wait for us. It might take a few minutes, but I’d appreciate it if you could wait and then take us to the house after.”
“Absolutely, sir,” he said. “Take your time. I’ll be there when you’re ready to leave.”
“Thank you.” Relieved that I could still get my plan back on track, I smiled and thought about her reaction when she saw what I had planned for her.
Everything was ready. All that was left to do now was to hope that she liked it and that she didn’t think I was insane for what I’d done.
My grandmother’s ring was burning a hole in my pocket, and I stuck my hand into it, stroking my thumb over the worn velvet box. If tonight went well, then the next step would be gearing up to get this on her finger.
I knew I’d have to wait a while, but I wanted to be ready when the time came. As soon as we got back to the city, I’d arrange to have it cleaned and resized if necessary, and then I’d keep it safe until I could give it to her.
Exciting times ahead.I couldn’t quite believe how far Larisa and I had progressed in such a short amount of time, but I was ready for it—whatever it might be. Over the last few days, I’d realized that for all my fucking around, I’d always known that I would know when I knew, and with her, I knew.
She was the one for me. There wasn’t a shred of doubt in my mind, and I felt good about the odds of her feeling the same way. Neither of us was the type to mess around in a relationship that wasn’t going anywhere, and she’d been quite vocal the last few weeks about how happy she was with me.
I just hoped the surprise I had planned for her didn’t freak her out too much. Doing it on the same evening that she’d met my mother for the first time had felt right to me, but it was possible that she might feel like it was too much for one night.
Either way, I was seeing it through. If she wanted to go back to her apartment after she saw it, I wouldn’t stop her. I’d give her however much time she needed to process it all, but then, hopefully, she’d be excited about it.
When the driver pulled up to her building, I was out of the car before the wheels had even slowed to a complete stop and I headed upstairs. I had the code to get into the building, but when I got to her door, knocked, and she didn’t answer, I sighed.
Fuck.She’d offered me a key to her place, but since I’d had this plan in the back of my mind for a while, I hadn’t taken her up on it. I’d just kind of talked around it, but as I stood there staring at the nondescript white door, I remembered that she’d said she’d put a spare key above the door for me if I ever needed it.
Reaching up, I felt along the lip and grinned when my hand hit a raised metal ridge. I dragged the key to the edge with my fingertips, flipped it into the palm of my hand, and let myself in.
It was dark and quiet inside, so I figured she’d already gone to sleep. Even so, I went to her bedroom to make sure. While it seemed like she could be asleep, I supposed she could also just be in bed but not sleeping yet.
About to knock on her doorframe when I got to her bedroom, my eyes had adjusted to the dark enough to make out her sleeping form. So she is asleep.
She looked gorgeous and peaceful like that. I couldn’t help but step closer to the bed. As I did, I realized my surprise might have to wait after all. It didn’t seem right to wake her when she was sleeping so soundly.
Deciding to take a minute before I went downstairs to tell the driver he could go, I smiled as I watched her sleep. Her dark hair was fanned out across her pillow, and some of the strands were stuck to her forehead like she’d been a little sweaty before she’d fallen asleep. It was cool in the room, though.