"Yes. They waited to announce this one. But Dominic, well, he's my twin. We talk so much. I would have known something was up. Anyway. Just act surprised, please."
"Oh, yes. A hundred percent."
And then another hour passed where we were stuck on the couch and couldn’t bear to get up or break contact. The kissing was soft and slow, and all sorts of wordless promises were exchanged between us. He cared about me, and I cared about him.
My past didn't matter.
His past didn't matter.
His money didn't matter.
My business didn't matter.
We had trust.
We had love.
That would be the foundation of something great, and everything else would fall into place.
Chapter 20
Sunday
I contemplated love as I made my way from the airport to the Decker residence. I thought love was what I had with Christian, and therefore I didn't want to experience it again. But I realized that was one-sided. It was manipulative, abusive. The scars from that were still there, but they weren't as tender anymore. They didn't sting quite as bad.
EJ had let me experience a new definition of love. True love was what I felt for him. We hadn't said it to each other since that sleepy morning before I left for Italy. We didn't say it the other night when he was at my apartment. We kissed each other like we loved each other, but we hadn't said it again since that first time.
It had to be love, though. Nothing else could have me working crazy hours and taking days off. Nothing else could have me waking up before dawn to catch a flight. And now, I found myself riding through Chicago, in the back seat of someone else's car. Love was the driving force behind all this.
I didn't feel tired in spite of having a crazy schedule since before I went to Italy. I thought of how much I had done in the last couple of weeks. Iglanced around, taking in the back seat and marveling at how I had gotten there. For a second, it hit me where I was heading, and I began to feel overwhelmed.
The Deckers. I was going to meet all the larger-than-life people I had only seen in pictures. EJ was the best one. He had some kind of superpower—he charmed me in a way no one had ever done before. He charmed me right into trusting and loving him.
I was one minute from their house, and I had already texted EJ to let him know my ETA. He had been planning on picking me up at the airport, but he had to send a driver because of an electrical emergency that he had to take care of at the gym. He had texted me a few minutes before saying that he made it to his mom's in time to meet me when I got there.
It seemed like a dream. I only saw how the Deckers were represented in the media, and I had to say, it was intimidating. I imagined going into a family situation where I was the only new person. I wondered what they knew about me. I wondered what and how much EJ had told them.
I touched the thick gold chain that was around my neck. It was a grounding force through my fears. I told myself it meant I belonged to EJ. The irony was that I felt no sense of bondage in belonging to him. If anything, the opposite was true. I felt liberated at the thought of belonging. The metalresting on my neck felt comforting, like a protective hedge of some kind.
I took a deep breath as we pulled up at the home of Eddie and Caroline Decker. I thanked the driver and asked him how much I owed him, but he assured me it was taken care of. As I was walking up the sidewalk with my suitcase in tow, I saw a vision of our younger selves. In my mind's eye, I could clearly see EJ's face as a child. I felt a rush of innocent, childlike confidence at the memory of him. I was grateful for that feeling in a moment like this.
And then he was there.
That boy had turned into the most gorgeous man on the face of the earth, and he was standing in front of me. The whole situation was better than fiction. I walked toward him. There was a beautiful home in the background and a driver, who had just dropped me off pulling away in the distance. EJ was walking toward me, and he was, without question, better looking than any Hollywood actor I had ever seen. He was a professional athlete and business owner, successful in the world's eyes. He had this amazing family, and he was kind and good, a noble person. But the best part was the way he was looking at me right then—with adoration and love in his eyes.
"Come here," he said, groaning as he reached in and picked me up.
I let go of my luggage handle and went with him.
"I'm sorry I couldn’t pick you up," he said.
He set me on my feet, but he didn’t let go of me.
"You did pick me up," I said, joking.
"From the airport," he said with a smile.
"Oh, the ride was easy. The driver was waiting for me out front. I'm glad you told him to meet me out in the passenger pickup. I managed to get your mom's bowl in my carry-on, so I didn't have any bags checked."
