Chapter 30

Flora’s P.O.V

“Clay…where are we going?”

“Shhh…no questions.” Clay’s breath fanned my cheek as he turned back to look at me. “You’ll ruin the surprise.”

“Really?” I held up my tied hands to what I assumed was in front of his face. “Because this looks like an abduction.”

Clay’s laugh was like a fresh burst of sunshine and I could hear birds chirping in the distance, as if they too were delighted by the sound.

“It’s not my fault you wouldn’t sit still and kept reaching for the blindfold.” He said. “Consider it a precautionary measure.”

“Or I’m being led to a villain’s secret lair where I’d be forced to have an unforgettable experience…?” I provided.

“Oh, I’m counting on it.” There was laughter in his voice as he carried me through unknown paths to god knows where.

He’d shown up at my house this morning, all dressed up and ready to take me out and he had even ditched his bike for a car. He hadn’t even given me any proper explanation on where we were going but it was somewhere in the woods. So I had chosen to wear a dark green track pants and a dark pink, almost cherry coloured top with flared sleeves and tied my hair up in a ponytail. The red colour I had dyed my hair in had faded away completely, leaving me with blond locks a lot lighter than my previous hair colour. Maybe it was the bleach that was acting up, but my hair seemed healthy and I loved the colour.

After a few minutes of being carried on Clay’s back, he finally came to a stop somewhere that had a lot of air. An open space, perhaps? A field? I had no idea, but I was relieved when he finally set me down on my feet.

The grass here was tall, reaching to my knees. I could feel them sway in the wind as they flirted with my ankles. Clay untied my hands first and with a warning not to move an inch, disappeared for a few minutes. It was tough waiting for him, but I knew my patience would be rewarded. I had my hands balled into fists by my sides as I waited.

When he came back, he moved to my back and untied the blindfold slowly and wrapped his arms around my waist. “You can open your eyes now.

It took a while to adjust my eyes to the sudden light after being blindfolded for about an hour. But when I was finally able to see what was in front of me, without the stars dancing in my vision…I was left spellbound.

“Oh my…” I gasped at the breathtaking view in front of me.

We were on a grassland near a cliff and it gave a view of the nearby town below and the setting sun above. Even though it was still afternoon, the temperature wasn’t that hot and there was a wonderful breeze playing through the tall grass. A single lone tree stood at the edge of the cliff and under it was a picnic blanket along with all the goodies imaginable, including wine.

“Wow.” I breathed. “This is stunning…how did you even find this place?”

“During a hiking trip with Riley.” Clay spoke from behind me, his arms still around my waist. “The view gets even better at night, when the entire town lights up.”

Clay was right; as beautiful as the view was now, it would be even better at night.

“I have something else for you as well.” He whispered in my ear while moving his hands up my sides to rest them on my shoulders. “Will you be good this time and keep your eyes closed?”

His voice made tingles shoot up my spine and I nodded instantly, impatient to see what else he had planned for me. Closing my eyes unwillingly, I waited as I heard him shuffling through his jacket. A few seconds later, his hands returned to my shoulder as something cool was placed around my neck.

A necklace? The heaviness felt like a pendant but I didn’t open my eyes until Clay whispered in my ears to open them. My hands instantly went to my throat as I felt the chain and then the pendant, as Clay came to stand in front of me.

The sun turned a bright orange around the edges as twilight set in and it looked like a halo around his head. Clay was beautiful, there was no doubt about it, but at that moment, he looked stunning enough to be a God. The sun reflected off his copper hair, making it look like a beautiful mix of red and gold and his emerald eyes seemed to be glowing from within.

“Clay…what is this?” I touched the pendant with my hands, but didn’t look at it yet. The pendant was big, about the size of a quarter and it felt like crystal of some sort.

“It’s for you.” He smiled sheepishly. “It’s symbolic of our relationship…of how much you matter to me.”

“You really didn’t have to,” I told him. “I know how you feel…at least I think I do.”

“It just felt right,” he told me with a nervous smile. “Go on…take a look.”

The anticipation was killing me so I didn’t waste any time. I was pretty sure that I’d have loved it even if Clay had given me a twig as a gift, but when I brought the pendant up to my eyes, I felt my breath catch.

It was a heart. The pendant was attached to a silver chain and the heart was a beautiful emerald green, the colour of his eyes, with a touch of blue at the centre…the exact colour of my eyes. It looked impossibly beautiful and I don’t know how he got this pendant. But I understood what he meant when he said it was symbolic of our relationship. I was the only one in his heart.

“Thank you.” I told him, soothing my fingers over my pendant. “This is beautiful. I’ll cherish it forever.”

“I love you…Flora.” Clay said, startling me. “I love you more than I thought possible and I realized it the day you came to save me, risking your life for me. I couldn’t breathe when I saw the rogue attack you and I don’t want to feel that ever again. My love for you grows every single day until I can’t believe how I got so lucky. I want to spend eternity with you, grow old with you by my side. I feel like words aren’t enough to explain how I feel about you, but I-”

I kissed him then. Wrapping my arms around him, holding him close to my body, as close as was physically possible…I melted into the kiss.

“I love you too.” I told him when we broke the kiss to get air into our lungs. And Clay’s smile shone brighter than the sun as he pulled me back in for another kiss filled with raw passion.

Clay wrapped his arms around my middle and hoisted me up. I immediately wrapped my legs around his middle, taking in all the sensations at once. The feeling of his soft, supple lips on mine. The tingle of sparks that danced through my skin whenever he touched me. And the feeling of my heart fluttering inside my chest in happiness.

What I didn’t realize then was that my happiness was only going to last a limited amount of time.