Chapter 167

Paris is as wet and grey as New York had been, although somehow it feels worse because the eternal grey cloud that always shadows me here, hits as soon as we emerge from our plane. Arry holds my hand and doesn’t let go; always there, always holding me up and back in our apartment we waste no time in doing a walk through to argue over what we are sending back home.

In the morning he’s coming with me to school; he called them as soon as we got home and arranged a meeting with the head of department … Mr. Carrero. in full business mode, ready to take my tutor head on in legal ways, even though his first instinct is to hunt him down and beat the shit out of him. I am not convinced he still won’t once he is face to face with him. He has that air of fighter on and I know it won’t let up until he gets this matter in hand.

I’m uptight, anxious, and crazily nauseous again. I got over it after that scare with Amanda but since he proposed I seem to keep getting waves of nausea and I assume it’s stress relating to the unfinished business we have here. I want to get back to normal and be done with this. I’m tired of feeling tired and sick.

“You look beautiful” Arry pulls me out of my own head as I stand brushing out my hair in the mirror, it’s almost down my back now and I resemble more of the girl I used to be before we started dating. He comes behind me and kisses me on the back of the head, making me smile back at him from the reflection.

“You always know what to say.”

“If I didn’t by now then I would be a pretty shitty fiancée. You do though… Stunning as always. I can’t believe sometimes that I get to call you mine.” That cute boy smile, dimples on show and I’m utterly melted.

Funny, how that’s exactly what I think about him sometimes.

“Oh, here by the way.” Arrick holds a silver wrapped package up behind me so I can see it in the reflection, and I recognize it as the box Christian delivered. Seems he must have found it where I abandoned it and I smile at him a little guiltily. He looks hopeful that maybe this time I will be more into opening it.

“You cannot win me over from bad behavior with sparkly gifts!” I tut playfully but he holds it over my shoulder and urges me to take it. The look on his face tugging at my heartstrings and I cave.

“I think once you open it then maybe you won’t mean that.” He looks a little too self-assured for a second, but I take it from him with a narrowed gaze and turn to walk to the bed to lay it down. Giving it a childish shake and trying to work out by its little bit of weight what it could be. Arry watches me silently, an unreadable expression as I take my time to drag it out to torture him.

It doesn’t take long to break into the professionally wrapped box, despite being anally careful to wind him up and when I pull off the lid, I am met with a box full of shredded tissue paper. I glance up at him, fully expectant of another stuffed unicorn, but they never come with padding. He has diverted from his default gift setting this time and I wonder if the risky move was out of desperation for an extra huge fuck up.

“Stop stalling and start digging, Princess.” Arrick is over the other side of the bed now, sliding onto it so he’s behind the box and lies flat out to prop his hands behind his head to watch me. His manner seems a little too confident in this and I watch him warily for a moment, before sticking my hand in to feel underneath the paper layer and touch something cold and solid, and a bit rough.

I pull back a little surprised as his normal go to gifts are usually fluffy and soft. Intrigued now, I Lift the paper out for a different approach and uncover what looks like the top of a pair of shoes, peeking out of the overzealous amount of pink tissue strands.

Moving more pink shreds, my heart literally leaps and does a little somersault as I realize it’s the shoes I told him I wanted for my birthday. I know he had these bookmarked on his laptop because I sent him about forty links, so he wouldn’t get them wrong.

I pull out the pastel glittered stilettos with a squeal and curse myself for not opening these before going back to New York. They are beautiful designer shoes in a classic style but with a unicorn themed twist, I flip one over and see the emblazoned designer name and the little unicorn image underneath and hug it close to my chest.

“Arry, I think I love you.” I blurt out happily, bubbling with giddiness and haul the other shoe out to start trying them on; flipping off my pumps and plonking down on the edge of the bed to slide my feet into them.

“I should hope so… Otherwise I might be concerned.” He laughs, watching me in my element as I prance up and start doing the walk of pride in circles around the room, lifting my heels to admire my sparkly new shoes and posing in front of our full-length mirror.

“Do you think I could get away with these as wedding shoes?” I flash a smile at him, and that grin turns to a frown almost instantly. The look of pride and joy at making me happy is replaced with veiled horror that is a little bit enjoyable.

“Baby… I know weddings are all about the bride and such, but please… Can we not have a pastel unicorn wedding? I really don’t think I would ever live it down among all my cousins or recover in any way.” He looks genuinely afraid and I smile wickedly.

“I thought you said you would do anything for me?” I pull the mock hurt ‘how could you?’ face and flutter sad eyes his way rather expertly. I really cannot tell if he thinks I am serious or not. I really don’t want a wedding that’s sparkly and pastel unicorns, but it might be fun to torture him for a while, seeing as he bailed on my show.

“Ummm” He looks uncomfortable, clears his throat nervously as he tries to think of the appropriate response that won’t upset me, and I can’t hold onto my evil act any longer. He looks so tortured. I burst out laughing and lift a cushion to throw at him.

“Calm down, even though I have a severe addiction to certain themes. I am more traditional when I know I’ll have to keep those photos for an eternity.” I slide onto the bed, pushing the box out of the way so I can curl up against his awaiting arms and lift one foot in the air to admire my sexy shoes. I am so in love with them and easy pleased. Glitter, pastels, unicorns. Perfect combination. He just made my month. He also seems to no longer be freaking out about gaudy possible wedding themes and looks wholly relieved.

“Very nice… Very you.” Arrick reaches up and catches the crazily thin heel and tugs my leg down and over him so I end up on top of him, chest to chest with a yelp. I’m rewarded with a kiss and a smile of a very handsome looking dude. He rearranges my weight on top of him so every part of me is laid on every part of him as I hugs me close.

“Thank you for my shoes. I love them.” I kiss him on the nose sweetly and get a grin in return.

“Love the shoes… Yet not me?” He’s being playful, still angling for forgiveness in ways and I eyeroll at him. He doesn’t get off the hook that easy, even if he has done nothing but romance me to death the last couple of days.

“I obviously love you, it’s only reason I still put up with you.” I retort cheekily and Arrick slaps my butt, making me jump before slapping him back softly in the peck in reaction.

“Love me enough to become a Carrero… Guess that says it all.” The way he says it hints at the stress he is having with his father right now and I sink down to prop my chin on my hand on top of his chest. It wasn’t a funny remark but more of a hint at sarcasm or veiled upset.

“What’s wrong with being a Carrero?” I scrunch up my nose at him and watch those hazy brown eyes cloud to greener, that sexy jawline tenses a little and I know he has been shielding me from the extent of the fight with his father. Arry and Giovanni have always been really close, any trouble between those two is major and his bottling it up is not a good sign.

“Sometimes it sucks.” He moves me off to the side and turns so he can face me instead, laying on the bed together, a hair breath apart. He’s closing off emotionally and Mr. Cool. persona is taking over. Arry is upset, stressed and over-thinking. I know better than to be phased over this act anymore; he is his most cool and unaffected when he’s at his most emotionally distraught. Well except from when it comes to me. Arrick loses all his shit when it involves me.

“Talk to me… it’s not fair if it only works one way.” I nudge him in the stomach and that at least gets a smile. He picks up my hand and pulls it to his face, rubbing my fingertips gently over his smooth jaw.

Still a lover of a close shave. I watch him with concern and adoration.

“My dad won’t take my calls and won’t respond to any messages. He’s sulking. Jake’s in the middle and he agrees with my dad that this is a dumb decision.” He looks pissed, agitated.

“It is a dumb decision.” I point out then frown apologetically when he narrows his eyes on me.

“Putting us first isn’t dumb, Sophie. How many times have I chosen to listen to logic over my heart?

How many times have I screwed up where you’re concerned and hurt you in the process? I’m not doing it anymore.” He tenses his jaw, little muscles flexing along the length of it and under his cheek bones, his tone serious and raspy and I sigh at him. He’s in the ‘no argument on my decision’ frame of mind.

“This is different. This isn’t like that.”

“It’s exactly like that… I swore to you that coming here would be easy. That I wouldn’t keep leaving you to fend for yourself. I failed. I broke not one, but two promises to you, and in the process, it made you feel insecure enough to believe I would cheat on you, Sophs. If you were secure, then you wouldn’t have reacted like you did. That’s on me… That’s on how much I am fucking this up.” He pulls me closer, so we are touching in every way possible and sharing air, so close we are practically kissing. “I would die without you. It scared me … To see how easily I could destroy you. How something I do can hurt the one person I love more than life in the worst kind of way. I was neglecting you and hurting my baby. It’s left me a lot to think about, it’s made me rethink this whole situation.” Arry is serious, emanating anxiety and stress and I run my fingers across his mouth to soothe him; my heart tugging at how affected he is by this. I hadn’t given what happened in New York another thought after he proposed to me in Central Park. If he was trying to make me forget it and feel better, then he pulled it off magnificently. He has no reason to feel this way. I believe him, and I trust him, I know he hasn’t cheated on me.

“I was being stupid, even I knew deep down you would never. I was tired and emotional and feeling low. Stop doing this to yourself. Stop over-thinking the importance of one shitty event.”

“It’s not one shitty event, it’s a year of shitty days and letting you down. I’ve thought about it, like you asked me to and yet I don’t feel any different. Carrero Corp is taking over everything and if I keep letting it, then I won’t have you to come home to at the end of the day. It’s that simple to me.”

I inhale heavily, and this time take his face in both my hands and pull his nose to mine. Stern toned and stubborn kicking in. Sometimes he is his own worst enemy.

“Listen to me for once in your life. How many times have you disregarded what I am saying to you and gone with a decision anyway? You’re doing it now! I’m telling you that this is not what I want you to do… it’s not what I need.”

“Sophie…” He tries to cut me off.

“Don’t! You are notoriously bad for coming to some stubborn decision in here.” I tap his temple to emphasize my point and then go back to cradling that perfect face. “You don’t listen to me; you go with what you think is best for me and forget that maybe I get to have a say in what’s best for me too. I love that you’re putting us first and doing this for us, but I’m telling you it’s the wrong choice to make. They are your family; they are my family too.”

Arrick sighs, frustrated with my resistance to get on the same page as him and t frowns at me.

“I know what I’m doing.” Tight lipped and stubborn toned. I’m losing the battle here.

“You’re hurting your relationship with your dad to save one with me… When it’s not even needed.”

This is futile and even I know it.

“You got to let me ride this one out, Sophs, trust me that it’s for the best for us right now. My dad will come around. He won’t freeze me out forever over something like this. Jake won’t either. It’s going to settle down and we are going to be fine.” He has that focused look, that defiant squared jaw on.

I don’t know what else to say, he’s pig headed and stubborn sometimes and even I know when those Carrero blinkers go on then the only way they are going to come off is when his own brain realizes his decision is dumb. I don’t want to fight; I want to love the fact that we got engaged and we’re here to break out of this infernal city to go back to a happier life.

“We are not done with this, but I’m going to respect that you think this is right for the time being and go with it.” I kiss him softly again and this time he holds onto my face and kisses me a little more passionately.

“I appreciate that. I don’t want to fight. I want us to be… We need to spend some time not thinking about anything except us.”

I agree. I nod at him and curl up so that my forehead is tucked under his chin and all I can hear is the steady soothing beat of his heart. I will work on him later. Right now, I want to get some food, sex, and sleep. In that order. I feel nauseous again and I think jet lag is catching up with me. I don’t have the energy for anything emotional right now.

“I’m hungry.” I press my nose to his chest and give him a little nudge that means ‘feed me please’ and he visibly relaxes.

“Janetta left us some food in the refrigerator, we just need to heat up. I’ll go do it and you can pick out a movie and get comfy. Maybe we need to start being the old us and concentrate on getting the hell out of here again.”

“I am all for that idea. Maybe you’re not so dumb after all” I giggle when he dives for a quick tickle and squeal when he ends up straddling me instead.

“If I was that dumb then I wouldn’t have had the sense to propose to just about the most perfect girl on the planet.”

“Just about???” I point out in mock outrage and he shakes his head at me.

“Perfect to a fault… Of which you do have some.” He laughs when I use the fluffy throw cushion to try and hit him in the face, but he deflects it and pins my hands to the pillows beside my head. Cages me in and then seems to take a moment to think about something while looking me up and down. That wicked glint in his eye appearing, on whatever thought is running through that head immediately makes my smile evaporate. I know that look.

As soon as my hands get pulled and tucked under his knees to hold me down, I start squirming and squealing like a wounded kitty. The inevitable is coming and I start trying to buck his dead weight off me crazily. Panic mode initiated. Arrick is in devil mode and Sophie is his helpless victim.

“Don’t you dare… ARRY, I swear to god, if you typewriter me…”

I am rendered voiceless by the tickling assault of his age-old typewriter maneuver and immediately start choking on my inability to breathe through a laughing fit. He’s grinning like a moron and loving the fact that even now, I still hate this damn thing he does to me.

“What were you saying? I can’t hear you.” Arry winks and goes for round two of the assault on my chest, pretending to type on imaginary keys while tickling me half to death. I can’t evade him, I can’t breathe, and I know the only way he will stop is if I give up fighting.

“I. Hate… You.” I cough, tears prickling my eyes and try for an evil glare when he pushes my face to the side with a loud “Ping” noise. He all but kills himself laughing in the look I give him right after.

Sophie is not impressed.

He is so not funny!

I hate when he does this to me; the five-year-old asshole.

“Perfect for me then.” He lets me loose, catching my hands fast when I make a play to slap him and pins them back down beside my head, so he can scoop low and nuzzle me seductively. He makes to nibble my lip and catches it in his mouth with a quick weird sucking motion.

“You’re still lame.” I bite on my lip to pull it out of his teeth and suppress the chuckling fit bubbling inside of me, fueled by the sheer happiness that we really are okay. Even if I am hating on him for what he just did. This is more like the us that I know and love. It’s like the past year has floated away on the breeze.

“Like I said. Perfect.” He swoops in fast and kisses me much more passionately and I immediately rethink the order of things I maybe want right now.