Chapter 829

Sierra.

I don’t expect anything.

That’s how I survive February fourteenth, because Valentine’s Day has never really been my day.

Expect nothing. Feel nothing. Treat it like any other day.

In high school, I pretended I didn’t care.

In university, I didn’t care about it.

After that… I just stopped acknowledging it.

So when there’s a knock on my door at exactly six in the evening, I’m in oversized pajamas, hair tied up, fully prepared to ignore the world.

I open the door without thinking and freeze because Adrian stands there in a black coat, hands in his pockets, with that slow, almost shy smile that still makes my stomach flutter and a bouquet so big I can barely see his face behind it.

“Hi,” he says casually. “Do you always open the door looking like this, or am I special?”

I look down at myself. “Excuse me, what is wrong with how I look?”

He lowers the bouquet just enough to grin at me. “Nothing… You look gorgeous; that’s what I’m trying to say.”

I cross my arms. “Now you’re just exaggerating.”

“Never.” His eyes slowly drag over me. “I’m simply saying you’re the most beautiful pregnant woman I’ve ever had the pleasure to see.”

I try not to smile, but damn it, it’s hard when he’s being so sweet and cute.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, even though my heart is already melting and racing at the same time.

“You thought I’d let you spend Valentine’s alone?” He tilts his head.

“I wasn’t alone,” I lie.

He raises a brow. “You were in pajamas at six p.m.”

“…That’s called comfort.”

He laughs, his voice drawing me in like a piper.

I shake my head to clear the spell. “Are those for me?”

He nods and slowly gives them to me

They’re a mixture of flowers in pink, white, and soft purple. I sniff them, enjoying how good they smell.

“I wanted a big bouquet that didn’t have roses,” he says before I can speak. “So I improvised.”

I’d mentioned one day that I loved most flowers but didn’t like roses that much and he said that he would never bring me roses. I laughed it off, but he’s kept that promise.

My heart does that annoying, traitorous thing where it melts while my brain is already going through catalogs of wedding dresses.

“They’re beautiful,” I whisper.

“They reminded me of you.”

“Wild and chaotic?” I raise a brow.

“Strong and soft at the same time,” he corrects.

I step aside to let him in before I start crying at my own doorstep.

He looks around the house like he always does, like it fascinates him, and just like always, as if she can sense he’s here, Blackie shows up, walking like her majesty the queen.

I place the bouquet, watching as she walks towards him.

Adrian squats and rubs her head, “Hey, sweetheart.”

Blackie meows, sitting on her ass and looks at him.

Adrian laughs, “Don’t worry, I didn’t forget you.”

My eyes widen when he gets a small packet of treats, tears it open and pours some for her. Blackie meows, as if saying thank you and then she digs in.

He stands up and I can’t stop staring at him. I don’t know how he does it, but he manages to make me fall deeper and deeper.

“I have a plan,” he says. “But it’ll need you to put on something cute.”

I push down the emotions and answer, “I am wearing something cute.”

He turns slowly and looks at me again.

“I love this look,” he grins, “But I meant something cuter.”

I pretend to consider it. “Alright then.”

I go to turn and head to my room to change when he grabs my hand and pulls me to him so we are flush against each other.

“I almost forgot,” he says right before he smashes his lips against mine in a kiss that makes my toes curl.

When we break apart, we are both breathless, and I can barely think straight.

***

Twenty minutes later, I walk back into the living room in a simple red dress and Adrian actually stops mid-sip of water.

His eyes darken in a way I’ve never seen before and it just makes me think that he’s been holding back.

“Well, damn,” he exhales. “That’s not fair.”

“What?”

“You can’t just… do that.”

I ask, totally confused. “Do what?”

“Look that good.” He steps closer. “It should be a fucking crime to look this beautiful.”

Heat crawls up my neck as I blush like a teenage girl.

“Stop staring.” I feel shy all of a sudden.

My heart stumbles on itself.

Damn, the way he looks at me has me asking the heavens why I didn’t meet him sooner. He isn’t just looking at me with hunger, with something so intense, I can feel it wrap around me like a second skin.

He runs his finger down my cheek slowly, as if he’s transfixed. “I’m not staring; I’m simply appreciating that God made such a wonderful creature and made her mine.”

Fuck! There goes my fucking heart and my lady pits.

How can such a perfect man exist? Because I swear Adrian is the whole package and everything I’ve always wanted but thought I’d never get.

He leans in and gives me a small kiss before pulling back.

“Come on,” he smiles, “I can’t wait for you to see what I have prepared.”

His excitement brings a laugh bubbling out of me. He reminds me of a kid excited about something.

We don’t go to some overpriced restaurant. Instead, he drives us to a quiet place with open space where you can see the stars and next to it is a beautiful lake.

He asks me to stay in the passenger seat and close my eyes.

“You’re not planning to leave me here, are you?” I joke.

“No,” he replies from somewhere in the back. “And no peeking,”

“This is how horror movies start.”

He laughs. “You watch too many movies.”

Finally, after what feels like forever, he comes and helps me out of the car.

“Be careful,” he says as he guides me.

We finally stop.

“Open your eyes.”

When I do, I gasp. There’s a blanket laid out on the green grass, candles inside lantern jars so the wind won’t blow them out and a basket.

I stare at him.

“When did you plan this?” I say slowly.

“I’ve been planning it for two weeks.”

“For Valentine’s?”

“For you.”

That lands differently. He didn’t just do this to celebrate this day; he did this for me. Just for me.

“I wanted to do something special for you, but I also knew you prefer simple things.”

He remembers my preference; how can I not fall for him?

I can’t help it. I lean in and kiss him. A slow, sweet kiss that steals my breath away.

We pull apart and he helps me sit. He’s careful with me without making me feel fragile. It’s one of the things I love most about him.

Love. The word slips through my mind and I don’t push it away, because now more than ever I know I’m falling for him in a way I’ve never done with any man after Noah.

He pulls food out of the basket.

“Before you judge,” he warns, “I did not cook.”

“Thank God.” I laugh

He gasps. “Rude.”

“What?” I ask, still laughing, “You say you love cooking, but I’m yet to taste your food, so does that mean you’re terrible at it?”

“I just didn’t have time,” he pouts and he looks so cute.

“Whatever you say, Adrian.”

“I ordered from your favorite Italian place,” he says, catching me by surprise because I casually mentioned it months ago.

I smile. “You’ve been redeemed.”

He laughs and kisses my cheek before she starts unpacking the food.

We eat slowly while we talk about nothing and everything.

At one point he watches me instead of eating.

“What?” I ask, mid-bite.

“You look happy.”

I smile, lowering the plastic fork. “That’s because I am.”

“You deserve that, and I promise to continue making you happy for the rest of our lives.”

I can hear the vow in those words, and most importantly, I don’t miss the meaning behind his words.

This isn’t just something casual to last a few months; he hinting at the future. He’s hinting about this being long-term.

I admit that there were times that I was scared when we started this, but I’m no longer scared and I finally allowed myself to reach out to that future he is painting.

“I have something for you." his voice pulls me back to the present.

He pulls something from his coat pocket and my heart jumps.

He opens the velvet box and inside is a wildflower charm platinum tennis bracelet.

“For new beginnings,” he says.

Tears blur my vision as he takes it out.

“You don’t have to give me things,” I tell him.

“I know, but I want to because you deserve the world, Sierra.”

He fastens it around my wrist carefully, brushing his lips against my skin afterward.

He then kisses my lips. My hands slide up to his shoulders and the world narrows to just us and the quiet hum of the night.

He deepens the kiss just slightly, enough to make my pulse race.

He pulls back first.

“It’s too cold out here for me to get carried away,” he murmurs and I laugh softly before leaning into him.

We sit like that for a long time. My head against his chest. His arm around me.

Later, when he walks me back to my door later that night, I turn to him.

“Was that your intention?”

“What?”

“To outdo every man?” I ask, jokingly.

Not that I’ve dated before, but there are men who have treated me well even though I never allowed things to progress further.

He leans against the doorframe.

“No.”

“Then what?”

“My intention was solely to make you happy,” he steps away from the doorframe and comes closer. “And I’ll make you so damn happy that other men will cease to exist in your world.”

That does it. I step forward and kiss him first.

It’s soft at first. Then slower. Then deeper.

He pulls back just slightly, resting his forehead against mine.

“Careful,” he whispers. “If you continue kissing me like that, I’ll forget that I’m supposed to be a gentleman.”

I smile. “But shouldn’t being my boyfriend give you a free pass?”

He laughs softly and kisses my temple instead.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Sierra.”

I look up at him.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Adrian.”

He waits until I’m inside before he leaves and as I watch his car disappear down the street, I smile because for the first time ever I celebrated Valentine with a man who makes me look forward to many more