Ryan Clifford is 23 years old and she has never had a boyfriend. Her parents think she will end up alone if they don't find someone to marry her, so that's exactly what they do. They find the perfect man for their little girl: Luke Robert Hemmings.
...
Luke stayed for dinner last Sunday, but had to go back home since we both had work Monday morning. I felt bad that I made Jack and Celeste's wedding about me for Luke, but he promised me I didn't. Still, I feel really good with where we're at right now. I still can't say what he wants me to, but at least I know he loves me and will never leave me.
I'm not as scared as I was last week, though, of moving too fast. Even though I haven't told him yet, I'm falling for him and I'm starting to let myself imagine a future for us. Living with Luke, being his wife, having his kids, it all sounds amazing. And I'm not afraid of it. Because he loves me, and I know I
I woke up this morning at 9:30, excited for the day. Cal was still asleep so I tried to be as quiet as possible. All week Luke has been texting me about a surprise he has for me on Saturday, and I was so excited that it was finally here.
I checked my phone and saw that Luke and texted me.
From Lukeッ
Pick you up at 10. I got breakfast.
I jumped out of bed, realizing he would be here in 30 minutes. I quickly brushed my teeth, flossed, and washed my face. Then I ran to my closet and picked out a pair of faded black jeans and one of my graphic tees. I left my hair down in its natural waves and threw on my new Dr. Martens. I decided to go natural makeup and a simple look, no jewelry.
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"Going somewhere?" Cal asked in his sleepy morning voice as he rubbed his eyes open.
"Yeah, Luke's picking me up. He has a surprise for me." I responded as I grabbed my wallet and my phone off its charger.
"Do you love him?" He asked me, the conversation turning serious.
"Cal, no one is every going to replace you in my life. You are my best friend. No one else." I said, sitting on the bed and placing my hand on his shoulder. He laughed at this, pulling me down into the bed with him.
"You're cute," he chuckled. "Trust me, I'm not scared of someone replacing me. I just wanted to know how he makes you feel. Because you deserve to be loved to the fullest." Calum was the best friend any girl could ask for and I'm so glad I get to wake up next to him every day.
"Aw Cal. Thank you," I paused. "Luke makes me feel... better than anyone in the whole world. He is everything I could want in a boyfriend and more. He makes me feel safe, and protected, and loved. I've never felt so loved before by anyone." I admitted, spilling my guts to my best friend.
"Well, first of all, I love you. But I'm glad that he makes you feel that way. If he didn't I would kick his ass." I laughed, giving him a hug. I stood up and flattened out my clothes.
"I love you too, Cal. But now I have to go!" I hurried, seeing that Luke would be here any minute. As I ran down the stairs, I heard Cal yell 'have fun!'
When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I saw Luke talking to my parents in the lounge room. They looked so happy and were hugging Luke.
"What's going on?" I asked, confused why it looked like they were celebrating something.
"Oh, good morning, sweetie! Nothing's going on, we were just talking with Luke." My dad smiled to me, walking over and giving me a hug.
"Anyways, Luke was just telling us you two have a big day planned?" My mom asked, eyeing Luke with a small grin.
"Uh, I wouldn't know. He said it was a surprise." I said, looking at them with a confused expression.
"That's right! It's a surprise, and we have to go!" Luke grabbed my hand, waving goodbye to my parents. He led me to his car and we both got in. "Good morning, my love." He finally said, giving a quick kiss on the lips. He was acting really weird and I just wanted to know what was up.
"Good morning. Why are you acting all crazy this morning?" I laughed, seeing his grinning expression on his face.
"No reason! But you better put on your seatbelt if you want to go to your surprise." He pecked my lips once more before he turned toward the steering wheel and began driving.
☆
After about 10 minutes, we pulled into a small driveway. It was a small house on the coast of the island, in between both our parents' houses. It had a two-car garage and it was the perfect house for a family. I was so confused why we were here.
"Luke, what is this? Are we visiting some of your family that I don't know of?" I asked, trying to get an answer out of him.
"No, no, we're not visiting any of my family. But, let's go see inside. Just for kicks." He was making no sense but I didn't really care because this was a beautiful place and I was really intrigued about how the inside looked since the outside was so amazing.
We walked up the front steps and walked in the front door, which was weirdly unlocked. We walked through the front area, which had a closet, some coat storage and a mat.
A little farther into the house, there was the kitchen which looked so modern and brand-new. It was beautiful and so big! It was open concept with an island in the middle and bar stools at the end for a sitting place. Near the window, which had a beautiful view of the beach, there was a little bench for the perfect reading nook.
The kitchen opened up into the dining room which had a long table and big, long windows that showed the beach.
After that was the lounge room which had a long L-shaped couch and an arm chair in the corner, all around the big TV. There were long curtains that were covering the windows to the big backyard.
The backyard was huge, there was a big pool and grass area. There was also a table to eat on outside and four lounge chairs to sit on.
When we went upstairs, there were five bedrooms and three bathrooms. The four bedrooms were identical, all pale grey walls with a bed, a chest of drawers, a bookshelf, and a desk.
Two of the bathrooms were also identical with a shower, double sink counter-top, a toilet and cabinet for towels and such.
The last bedroom, at the end of the hallway, was the master with the last bathroom being its ensuite. The bedroom was huge. It had a king size bed and a large chest of drawers, as well as a bookshelf, and a walk in closet. The ensuite was also big with a double sink counter-top, a glass shower, a toilet, a cabinet, and a freestanding white bathtub.
The house was beautiful and it easily cost a million dollars.
"Do you like it?" Luke asked after we saw the whole house. He was watching me with such focus that I felt like I was being analyzed.
"It's amazing. I'd be crazy if I didn't like it. But who's house is this?" I asked, finally wanting to know who's house we were touring.
