Finding Our Forever (Silver Springs #1)(60)
And she’d never guess. What he didn’t know was whether she’d like it.
*
Christmas morning dawned to dark skies and rain. Cora listened to the soft patter hitting Eli’s house as she watched him sleep. She cared so much about him, had never been so in love—and that meant she had to tell him the truth. Every minute they grew closer under false pretenses was a minute she feared he might one day hold against her. Aiyana, too. She’d been sleeping with him for four months. That was such a long time to perpetuate a lie, so long she’d definitely struggle to explain why she didn’t speak up sooner.
But when she looked back, she couldn’t isolate a point in time when she could definitively say, That’s when I should’ve said something. As soon as she picked a point like that, she’d realize what the truth could’ve cost her—Sunday dinners at Aiyana’s, the nights she’d spent in Eli’s arms and the days she’d spent looking forward to them, the shopping excursion she’d enjoyed with her biological mother last week, being invited to Aiyana’s for Christmas Eve. If she’d told the truth from the beginning, most of that, maybe none of it, wouldn’t have happened.
Choosing the path she did had enabled her to create some beautiful memories. But if she lost Eli and Aiyana, mere memories would never be enough...
Eli opened his eyes and smiled the second he realized that she was awake. “Morning.”
She returned his smile. “Morning.”
“Merry Christmas.”
“Same to you.” She tucked her hands up under her pillow as she studied him. “Would you like to open your present?”
He covered a yawn. “We’re not going to wait until we have dinner at your parents’?” They’d spent Christmas Eve with Aiyana and all his brothers last night so that they could join her family today.
“I’d like to give it to you now.” Because it was something she hoped would speak to, and comfort, his inner child, she didn’t want him facing an audience when he opened it.
“Okay.” He sat up. “Let me have it.”
She slipped out of bed to grab the box she’d put under the tree after they’d returned from his mother’s house last night. Until that time, she’d hidden it in a closet at her place.
“It’s heavy,” he said as she put it in his lap.
“I hope you’ll like it.” She sat nervously on the bed beside him as he tore off the paper. “I mean...it’s not something the typical guy would probably like, but... I don’t know. It seemed to me as if...”
His expression changed, grew less anticipatory and more reflective, as he lifted her sculpture out of the box. Although it was conceptual, she hoped he could tell that it depicted a man holding the hand of a little boy.
“Wow,” he murmured. “You made this?”
“I did. I admit I’m not as good as I want to be, but I was trying to create something for you that represented the difference you are making here at New Horizons—in so many lives.”
“I love it,” he murmured. “I’ve often stared at that sculpture you created of a mother cradling her child. That piece is the reason I hired you. I’ve always loved it.”
“I’ve noticed. That’s why I attempted this. If you like that one better, you can have it. I just thought it was more important to focus on what you are giving others.” And not highlight the fact that he didn’t at first have the kind of mother who would nurture him as a mother should.
“I don’t even know what to say, Cora. This must’ve taken you hours and hours. I couldn’t love anything more.”
He seemed so sincere that she let her breath go in relief. “I’m glad. I struggled so long with the way their hands come together. That was the hardest part. It still doesn’t look right to me.”
“Are you kidding? That part—all of it—is perfect.” He studied her gift for several more seconds before setting it reverently to one side. “And now I have something for you.”
“You’re going to give me your present now, as well? You can wait until we go to dinner, if you want.”
“No, I think this is the right time.”
“Okay.” She felt such excitement. He’d bought her plenty of things so far—lots of meals and treats and even a few clothes when they’d happened upon a blouse or something she liked. She’d bought him stuff, too. But this was their first formal exchange. She thought maybe he’d purchased some art supplies or the painting she’d fallen in love with at the boutique off the beach they’d found last time they went to LA. But what he retrieved from his drawer was far too small to be either of those things.
It was jewelry. Clearly. But what kind?
She grinned at him as she tore off the tiny bow and the pretty wrapping. Inside she found a box with a lid. Under the lid was another box, this one the velvet type. “I never would’ve expected you to get me jewelry,” she said. “We’ve never even looked at it.”
He said nothing, just watched as she opened the lid.
Her jaw dropped the moment she saw the ring, and she blinked several times, trying to decide what it might mean. “This is...this is stunning!” she said. “Literally. I don’t know what to say. It must’ve been so expensive. And...” And it looked like an engagement ring! She searched his face, trying to figure out if it was an engagement ring as he took her hand.