Page 70 of Willowbrooke
Leo cleared his throat.
Caught up, I hadn’t noticed him return to the kitchen, staring at me while I spiraled.
“Good morning, sweetheart.” He laughed, clearly observing my crisis.
“Hi.” I swallowed.
“It’s not jewelry.” He looked down at the box, then back up at me, before turning his attention to pouring me a cup of coffee.
I felt my spine relax at the admission as I warily approached the kitchen counter. “I thought we’d sleep in…” I tried to ignore the box.
Leo smirked, sliding the coffee mug across the counter,past the gift. “We can go back to bed in a bit.” His tone was suggestive, as I had hoped.
I took a large gulp of the warm, bitter liquid after taking a seat on a barstool.
“Are you going to open it?” Leo raised a brow.
I stared at him, not wanting to look down at the box. “You agreed—”
“Just open it, Pen.” Leo laughed.
He’d said it wasn’t jewelry. He’d thought the whole thing to be funny. Maybe it was just a gag gift. I took another sip of my coffee before giving in.
Within the box sat a single card, wedged between the folds of more of the same blue velvet fabric.
It read: Penny Abbot Designs
Immediately I felt tears welling in my eyes and a lump forming in my throat.
I picked up the card from the velvet box, examining it.
He had listed my cell phone, the address for Willowbrooke, it even had a website with my own business email address using the domain.
The design was simple and elegant. The cardstock was matte, textured, and thick. It was clear he’d put a lot of thought into it.
I loved it.
I couldn’t comprehend how someone could know me so well when I had spent so long trying to hide myself from others. But I could never hide from Leo. He always foundme.
I looked up at him again, through my tears, trying to put to words what I was feeling inside, but found the task impossible.
Leo West had been one of two people in my entire life to believe in me and to love me for exactly who I was without expectations.
But he had been the only one capable of giving me the opportunity to prove myself, to show my skills, to start my career, to live my dream, to feel loved unconditionally.
He had given me everything.
I felt him at my side as he took a seat on the stool next to me. I looked up at Leo, who produced a small cardboard box that I assumed contained the rest of the cards he had ordered. He set a binder down on the counter on his other side, still out of my view.
“You didn’t have to do this,” I whimpered, brushing away the tears that had begun to fall.
“I should have ordered them a long time ago,” he replied, running his hand up and down my back, trying to comfort me. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“They’re happy tears,” I protested. “I love it.”
Leo chuckled before leaning in and giving me a kiss on the cheek.
“What’s that?” I motioned to the binder.
