Katie Ashley - Strings of the Heart

I slowed down my frantic pace of riding him. Cupping his face in my hands, I smiled. “I love you, Rhys McGowan. I always have and always will.”

His hands feathered down my body to grip my hips. “And I love you, Allison Slater. You and only you.”

My heart began beating wildly in my chest at his declaration. No matter how many times I heard him say the words, they never got old. I’d waited too long and fought too hard to ever take them for granted.

Rhys began to push me on and off of him. Our mouths fused together as we sped up the soft and sweet rhythm from before into one that was more frantic. Wrapping my arms tight around his neck, I pressed my breasts flush against his chest. I loved the feeling of this position—the closeness and connection. I could feel Rhys tensing up, and I knew he was just as close as me. Pulling my lips from his, I stared into his eyes as we both went over the edge. Together.

We remained in bed late into the morning. After making a bathroom break, I’d thrown on one of Rhys’s T-shirts along with my panties. Rhys, however, remained naked under the sheet. As I lay with my cheek pressed to his chest, I could hear the gentle thump, thump of his heart beating. One of my hands was entwined with his. There was a white elephant in the room that neither one of us seemed to want to mention. It was the last day of the summer tour, and I was supposed to be returning to Savannah tomorrow to start classes on Monday. The weeks and months together seemed to have flown by at warp speed. I wanted nothing more than to slow time down to a standstill so I could savor each and every moment with him.

After an eternity of silence, Rhys cleared his throat. “I have something for you.”

I rose up to prop my head on my elbow. “You do?”

He nodded. “I hope it’s something to make leaving a little easier.” With my curiosity piqued, I reluctantly let him untangle himself from me. I got an appreciate eyeful of his ass when he got out of bed and strode over to his suitcase. It didn’t take him long to take out a box.

When he returned to the bed, he slipped under the covers again. “After we got together this summer, I kept thinking that I wanted to give you this to show you how much you mean to me.”

The size of the box gave me a little concern. It was most definitely a ring box. As much as I loved and cared for Rhys, I was most definitely not ready for an engagement ring. Not just yet. Not after we had been working on building a relationship and a life together.

With trembling fingers, I tore off the pink ribbon. An odd sense of déjà vu filled me. I was no longer in the bedroom on the bus. Instead, I was transported back to my Sweet Sixteen when Rhys had given me another gift with a pink ribbon. When I cracked open the box, I gasped.

Inside was a ring, but not the one I had feared. It was an oval disc with a magnolia just like the one Ellie had painted years before. Taking it in my hand, I saw that it was on a platinum band with diamonds encircling the magnolia. Even the bud of the magnolia was a yellow princess cut diamond. Tears filled my eyes, blurring the beautiful image before me.

“I didn’t think we were quite ready for an engagement ring, and even though they’re kind of passé, I liked the idea of a promise ring. I’m promised to you and only you for the rest of my life, Allison.” Considering my emotions were bubbling over, I could only nod my head. “I didn’t want to get just any ring. I wanted it to have meaning for us.” Reaching over, his fingers gripped my chin, tipping my head up so that I met his gaze. “And then it hit me—the magnolia. It’s the lasting symbol between us—the very string that tied our hearts together all those years ago.”

“Oh, Rhys,” I murmured, the tears flowing freely down my cheeks.

“I had Ellie paint another one for me, and then I took it to a jeweler I know who does unique pieces.”

“It’s…the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” I whispered.

He smiled. “Then it belongs on the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

Unable to hold myself back any longer, I threw my arms around Rhys’s neck, holding him tight. When I pulled back, I feathered kisses all over his face. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

Rhys chuckled. “I love you, too, babe.” Taking the box from me, he took out the ring. “Give me your hand.”

When I happily obliged, he slid it onto my left hand. “This signifies that you belong to me and only to me.”

Cocking my brows at him, I couldn’t help but counter, “And what about you? Where’s my ring to bind you to me?”

He held up his left hand in front of me and wiggled his fingers for a second. I stared blankly at his palm before my eyes honed in on his ring finger. I gasped. “Oh. My. God.” On the back of his ring finger was my name. Tattooed permanently in black ink. “When did you…how did you?”

Rhys laughed. “Yesterday when you and Abby were off shopping with the twins, I snuck into a tattoo parlor. I thought it made sense to do the inside now. Then when we get married, I’ll do the outside.”

For the life of me, I couldn’t think of what to say. I guess Rhys noticed because he asked, “Don’t you like it?”

“I love it,” I blurted.

He grinned. “I sure as hell hope so.”

I shook my head. “I just can’t believe you did that. For me.”

“For us,” he corrected.

Leaning over, I brought my mouth to his. “I love you, Rhys,” I murmured against his lips.

“I love you, too.”

After we made out for a few minutes, I pulled away, breathless and flushed. “If we don’t stop, I don’t think I’ll be able to walk today.”

Rhys chuckled. “I’m sorry. It’s just I can’t seem to get enough of you. And I guess it’s the thought of your departure tomorrow that makes me fucking starved for every bit of you. I don’t want to be deprived of one minute of you.”

It was now or never time for me to take the white elephant by the trunk, so to speak. “I have a surprise for you, too,” I said.

“You do?” Rhys asked, his lips nuzzling my neck

My stomach turned a few nervous flip-flops as I braced myself to give him the news. “We're not going to be separated after all.”

Pulling back, Rhys stared questioningly at me. “What are you talking about?”

Over the last few weeks, I’d kept pretty silent about the plans I’d been making and the avenues I’d been exploring. I didn’t want to get Rhys’s hopes up before I knew with absolute certainty that things would work out. After exhaling a ragged breath, I said, “I'm not going back to Savannah. I'm going on the road with you.”

Several emotions ricocheted through Rhys's eyes before he started furiously shaking his head. “No, I'm not letting you do that.”

"Excuse me? Since when do I need your permission?”

“You can't just drop out of college, Allison. Not as hard as you have worked.”

“Oh really? I know someone else who did, and last time I checked, he's doing pretty well for himself.”

Rhys scowled at me. “My situation was totally different, and I did get my Bachelor’s degree in pre-law.”

“Actually, I think mine is a little better. I'll actually be working on my degree while doing more apprenticeship.”

His brows lined in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I'm going to take some online classes. At the end of the day, I don't have to have a degree to launch my own clothing line. I need real world experience, and I'll be getting that with your stylist, Renee.”

“Do your parents know about this?” When I bobbed my head, Rhys groaned. “Great, just another fucking reason for them to hate me.”