“I thought your heart belongs to Ryan?” he snickered.

“It does. As does the rest of my body.”

“Hmm!” He smiled his glorious smile at me. “That’s good to know! Now flip over so I can carve my initials back here.”

I let out a shriek as he grabbed my rear.

Chapter 15 – Dinner

“We need to get out of bed and get dressed,” Ryan said, noting the time.

“Are you insane?” I asked. “I thought the plan was to stay in bed all day?” I was surprised that he wanted to go somewhere. Him of all people!

“We can’t. We have dinner plans tonight.” He was smiling in a way that worried me.

“We do?” I was confused. He hadn't mentioned having dinner plans all day. Thoughts of another yacht trip came to mind.

“Yep. We’ve been invited to Cal and Kelly’s for dinner and I told them I would drag you along,” he said while pulling on my hand to drag me out of bed.“

But, but…” I whined. I really wanted to stay in bed and avoid the photographers that were lurking about.

“I promise, we’ll stay in bed all day tomorrow if it makes you happy.” I noted the sarcasm in his voice.

“Oh yeah, like that wouldn’t make you happy too!” I gave him a light shove. He grabbed me around the waist and moved me out of the way so he could dart out the doorway first, laughing on his way to the bathroom.

I had just slipped a white tank top over my head when Ryan came back into the bedroom.

“Nice!” he said. “Pants optional this evening?”

“Not wearing pants tonight.” I put on a charcoal gray sweater dress over my tank. The dress came down mid thigh and had a deep V-shaped neckline and an attached hood. It was another new addition to my wardrobe.

I zipped up my black suede high-heeled boots to finish off the look.

Ryan looked at me strangely.

“Is this okay?” I asked anxiously, worried that he didn’t approve. I knew the paparazzi were waiting outside to take our picture.

“Very much so!” He nodded. “You look adorable. Very sexy.”

Ryan dressed in his signature style, layering a long-sleeved steel gray collared shirt over a white T-shirt and jeans. We sort of matched.

“Wait, before we go I have something that would go great with your outfit.” He unzipped his bag. He deliberated for a moment, making sure he had the right package before handing me a gorgeous gift bag.

“Here, this is for you. I got you a little something when I was in New York.” His face showed his anticipation.

“Ryan!” I gazed at him lovingly, surprised that he bought me a present.

“Go on! Open it!” he urged.

I peeked inside the bag; nestled in the pretty tissue paper was a black jewelry box. He stared at me expectantly as I lifted the lid of the box.

Inside was a silver necklace with two diamond-encrusted hearts twined together, one inside the other. I looked at him, bewildered.

“Ryan, oh my God! This is absolutely beautiful!” I whispered, touching the pendant with the tip of my finger.

“I noticed you like to wear silver instead of gold, so I opted for white gold. Here, let me help you put it on.” He took the delicate chain out of the box.

I lifted my hair so he could attach the clasp. While he struggled with the delicate chain, my nervousness made my heart beat faster. I felt his hands rest on my shoulders when he was finished. He pressed his chest into my back.

“Do you like it?” he whispered seductively in my ear. I felt his warm breath on my skin as he trailed the tip of his nose down my neck.

“I love it,” I sighed, tilting my head even further to enjoy his nuzzle. “You shouldn’t have.” His gesture took me completely by surprise. I turned in his arms.

He smirked at me and slightly shrugged his shoulders. “I wanted to. You look beautiful wearing my heart.”

“Thank you!” I reached to kiss him.

He picked the bag back up off the bed and handed it to me. “There’s one more thing inside.”

I looked at him, perplexed. I reached inside the bag and found another black jewelry box in the tissue paper. This one was smaller. I felt all the color rush from my face.

I opened the box lid slowly. I gasped as my eyes took in the sight of spectacular diamond earrings, set in white gold as well. From the post, a diamond baguette led the way to where a diamond solitaire dangled below. The diamonds were at least a carat each.

“This is too much,” I breathed out. I was suddenly feeling very light-headed. “I can’t accept these.”

“Don’t you like them?” His face twisted with concern.

“They’re beautiful!” I gazed at them, watching the diamonds sparkle in the light. “But I can’t accept these. It’s too much. You shouldn’t have spent…” I could only imagine how expensive earrings like these were.

His fingers covered my lips. “If you like them, put them on. They’re yours.”

I stared at the box, unable to move my fingers. Dinner on the yacht, diamonds… it was too much. This man standing in front of me was not here because he was rich or famous. The only gift I wanted from him was the one thing that his money and fame could never buy – to be my one true love forever.

I snapped the box shut and handed it to him. “I can’t. One present was more than enough. Please.” I shook the box for him to take it out of my hand.

“Would you like something else? I could exchange them for a bracelet or something. Just tell me.” He tried to be accommodating.

“No.” I gently smiled. “I don’t want anything else. Please. This pendant was more than enough.”

He looked confused as his eyes toggled between questioning me and looking at the little black box in his hand.

He shrugged and became slightly irritated. “I’m not going to even pretend that I understand this.” He set the little box on my dresser.

We were instantly photographed the moment I opened the front door. Ryan and I hurried down the street to my car; we practically ran. I wished I had a closer parking spot, but my building was very close to the beach and most of the buildings never took parking into account.

Ryan had my car keys in his hand and every so often I felt his fingers touch my back when I wasn’t walking fast enough. As we crossed the street, we were surrounded by almost thirty people. We had photographers and people filming us, blinding us with flashes of light. The cameras clicked feverously.