That doesn’t scream burden.
He gets out of the car and comes around to open the door for me. He offers me his hand and I take it. He pulls me out and locks his car.
Together we go into the store and gather the things for the bracelets. At the counter, I take out my wallet to pay but Heath gives the lady his credit card.
When we’re out, walking towards his car, I turn to him. “I can pay now, you know.”
He smirks and looks ahead. “I know.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know.”
“Next time, let me pay.”
He opens the door for me. “Not happening, Rose.”
“Why not?”
“Because…” he clears his throat. “That’s what happens in your romance novels.”
It takes a minute to understand the meaning. “You don’t need to be like them.”
“You adore them.”
I do. All my favourite fictional men are perfect.
“Yes, but I like you for you,” I say.
The little things Heath does are different because they are only meant for me. It makes me feel special.
“I’m not trying to be them. I’m taking cues from them because this is the first time I’m in a relationship. I don’t want to make fucking mistakes or mess up. You deserve better and I promised to be better for you.”
My mouth hangs open in shock.
Heath closes my mouth by giving a nudge under my chin. “I’m aiming to be your number one. You won’t even consider those men.”
“They have their own girls.”
“Yes, butyouwill be mine.”
How I force myself to sit in the car and not have an attack from the butterflies in my stomach is beyond me.
My pulse flutters at the rate of their wings.
It’s a miracle I don’t pass out from being flustered.
—————————
By the timewe roll into the driveway of his house, the sun is disappearing into the horizon. The picture behind his extravagant house in the sky is breathtaking.
The tall, wide white mansion itself looks like a piece of art.
I’ve been here a lot of times now, but I still can’t get over how beautiful and lavish this place is and how normal it is for Heath to live in it.
For someone like me, who’s spent most of her life struggling for money and living in a house with rooms that don’t even measure up to a single room in this house, it’s intimidating to be around things that cost thousands of dollars.
The second I’m inside the house, I freeze.
