Twisted-Games

“It’s not a big deal.” Rhys watched, shoulders tense, while I carefully
untied the ribbon and unrolled the paper.
Once I saw what was on it, I gasped.
It was me.
A drawing of me, to be exact, in a pool surrounded by hills with the ocean
in the distance. Head tipped back, smile on my face, looking freer and
happier than I ever remembered feeling. The curve of my lips, the sparkle in
my eyes, even the tiny mole beneath my ear…
He’d captured it all in exquisite, painstaking detail, and looking at me
through his eyes, I believed I was the most beautiful woman in the world.
“It’s not jewelry or anything like that,” Rhys said. “Keep it if you want or
toss it. I don’t care.”
“Toss it?” I clutched the drawing to my chest. “Are you kidding? Rhys,
this is beautiful.”
My words hung in the air, and we realized at the same time I’d called him
by his name again. My first time doing so since Costa Rica.
But it felt right because, at that moment, he wasn’t Mr. Larsen. He was
Rhys.
And Rhys had given me the best gift I’d ever received. He was right—it
wasn’t a fancy purse or diamond jewelry, but I would much rather have one
sketch from him than a hundred Tiffany diamonds.
Anyone could buy a diamond. No one except him could’ve drawn me the
way he did, and it didn’t escape my notice this was the first time he’d ever
shared his art with me.
“It’s all right.” He shrugged.
“It’s not all right, it’s beautiful,” I repeated. “Seriously, thank you. I’ll
treasure this forever.”
I never thought I’d see the day, but Rhys blushed. Actually blushed.
I watched in fascination as the red spread across his neck and cheeks, and
the desire to trace its path with my tongue gripped me.
But of course, I couldn’t do that.
I could tell he wanted to say something else, but whatever it was, he
thought better of it. “It’s no security alarm, but I can save that for Christmas,”
he said with a lopsided smile.
I grinned, giddy from the combination of his gift and his joke. There was
nothing I loved better than seeing the normally serious Rhys joke around.
“I’ll hold you to that.”