Touched (The Untouched Trilogy #2)(45)

“Well that goes both ways,” I replied.

“Princess, what I do feel is admiration for the success you’ve become despite the pain and hurt that could have led to your demise. You’re like the missing piece of puzzle ... at least for me. I’ve walked around for as long as I can remember, feeling as though there was something significant missing from my life. I had no idea what it was until I met you.”

My heart was melting as I looked into his eyes seeing the truth he’d placed in his words. “Your family will never accept me. I’m not the woman they would choose for you,” I said.

“It doesn’t matter what my family wants, what matters is what I want … what I feel. Aria, I’ve dated those women that my family would approve of but I never really wanted them. I was just there. When you came into my life, all of that changed. I would awake every morning exhilarated. I thought of you continuously throughout the day. I even hated to go to sleep because I knew my thoughts of you would be interrupted. When I found myself drifting off, my last conscious thought was a hope that I would have dreams of nothing but you. Granted I wanted those dreams to involve f*cking you, but still. In the end, even though you gave the pretense of hating me, I couldn’t stay away from you … I naturally gravitate toward you. I can’t explain it, but for the first time in my life, I feel full of life; it’s the feeling I get when I play music but somehow it’s more than that. I love everything about you; the way you look, the way you walk, the way you talk. I love the way your eyes twinkle when you laugh. I’ll bet you didn’t know your eyes twinkled. I love your smile – it’s a little crooked … your upper lip goes more toward the left a little bit, but I love it … I love you.”

“Wow, you make me sound so incredible that even I want to date me,” I said, smiling.

“So do you understand, at least in part, why I want this to happen?”

“I do,” I replied. “So I have a crooked twinkly-eyed smile? I thought you said I was perfect.” I said, jokingly.

“You are perfect – in every way. You’re definitely perfect for me.”

“You’re amazing, you know that right?”

“Yeah, I do,” he replied, smiling.

“Ugh,” I said.

“Let’s just press restart,” he said.

“What?” I asked.

“Either that or pick up where we left off the morning of the breakfast with my family.”

“So those are my only options?” I asked.

“Quite frankly, yes.”

“And what if I don’t like either of those options?” I asked.

“Let’s not entertain crazy notions, Aria. If I could let you move on, I would. But I can’t. I know what I’ve done. I lied to you from the very beginning. I didn’t go to RPH looking for anything to happen. I expected it to be just as it was when I went to any of my father’s companies. I know I broke your heart and I’m sorry. If I could go back and do things differently, I would, but I can’t. What I can do is make up for it, but you have to be willing to let me do that. I want this, I want you. You make me different, you make me better and I know that I do the same for you. I’m asking for the chance to put your heart back together. I know how to love you. I can give you everything that you want, everything you need. That’s what I’m offering.”

The fiery passion in his eyes made me want to fall into his arms but if I did, how long would it last this time? I couldn’t bear the thought of accepting the hope of him to only have it disappear again.

“I’m obsessed with you. Everyone and everything else are just distractions,” he said.

There was a hint of desperation in his voice that both scared and compelled me. Was I obsessed with him too? I knew distractions, I’d used them most of my life, I nevertheless accepted that, until recently however.

“Just say you’re willing to give us a chance.”

“What if I get hurt again, Aiden?”

“What if you get hurt? What if I get hurt? Nobody can promise you that you won’t but if you continue to isolate yourself from the mere possibility, you imprison yourself. Why can’t you see that, Aria? Your walls may keep people from hurting you, but you’re also hurting yourself. You can’t fill your entire life with loneliness and isolation because of the fear that you might get hurt.”

“I know that … now. It’s just very difficult, especially when it comes to you. You’re the first person to see me for who I am behind the mask. And I saw it happening. Every day, I saw that little something in your eyes that let me know that you were seeing the me that I kept hidden and it terrified me because it gave you an edge over me. And I had no idea of how to get it back. I still don’t.”

“I have something for you. I wasn’t sure when the right time would be to give you this but now somehow feels right.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” I said, confused.

He walked over to retrieve his briefcase and opened it. His back was to me as he looked down at whatever he was holding in his hand.

“Aiden. What is it?” I asked, walking over to him. He turned to face me just as I was about to touch his shoulder.

He looked at me as if trying to make a decision. I looked down to see that he was holding an envelope.