Conklin's Foundation (Conklin's Trilogy) (17 page)

Talk about
ruining a moment.

I took a deep breath.  I did promise him I would tell him everything.  “He told me he was in love with me.  That he understood it w
ould never work because we live different lives, which is crap.  I could care less about money or status quo.”

Tyler
blinked for a long second then kept his eyes on me, waiting for me to continue.

“He was worried you would
n’t want the same things as me, worried you might not take our relationship seriously.  Worried I would get my heart broken.  But I told him you were all I wanted and he smiled and agreed he could tell.”

W
hy is it so hard to actually tell Tyler you love him, because that is what you really told Gage!

“Well, you are all I want,”
he whispered, gazing down at me and pulling my hand to his chest, leaning his head into mine.  “I can’t imagine not wanting the same things as you, and I never want to break your heart.”

I gave him a
heartfelt smile, running my hand along the nape of his neck while standing on my tip toes to kiss his cheek.  Hearing him say he couldn’t imagine not wanting the same things as I put my fears aside.  He really did want to make our relationship work.

We were done talking about Gage
. Thankfully, he didn’t react badly to Gage’s confession.  If anything, he used it as reassurance for how serious he was about me.  About
us
.

We danced quietly some more, but it wasn’t long before
Tyler’s lips were at my ear.  He started humming the song that was playing but then quietly sang.  It melted my heart. 

“So please just fall
in love with me this Christmas,

There's
nothing else that I will need this Christmas.

Won't
be wrapped under a tree,

I want
something that lasts forever.

So kiss me on this cold December night.”

I looked up into his eyes that were soft pools of more green than blue.  He kept humming as I looked up at him.  The lyrics expressed everything I wanted to hear and wanted to tell him. 

I want something that lasts forever.

I tilted my head and reached up to kiss him. 

“I love you,” I whispered against his lips.  My chest rose rapidly, trembling from finally saying those three little words
out loud.

Tyler took
a sharp breath, resting his forehead against mine, his arm gripping around my waist tighter as he held my hand over his heart.  “I love you too, Becca.”

Chapter 10

Waking up to Tyler still in bed two days in a row was magnificent.  It was just after 8:00am, and I was spooned and tangled in his arms.  We had hardly moved since he woke me at 5:00am for his official Merr
y Christmas and then some.  I personally enjoyed the ‘and then some’ the most.

He nuzzled my ea
r, letting me know he was awake. His hand ran along my arm up my shoulder.

“This is the best Christmas present ever,” he murmured, kissing my jaw.

I giggled and turned to face him.  His expression was so soft and loving.  I loved this side of Tyler Conklin.  “I have other presents I think you will enjoy.”

He lifted a brow,
his mischievous Conklin grin spreading across his face. 

“Not that
kind of present,” I laughed, rolling away from him, reaching for his white undershirt I practically ripped off him last night.

I heard hi
m rummage through his end table then crawled across the bed behind me as I put on his shirt.  His arms embraced me, holding a small rectangular box wrapped in silver with a bright red bow.

“Open yours first,” h
e said, kissing my shoulder.

I took the box from him, tilting my head back to look at him.  He put his hands on my hips, patie
ntly waiting for me to start unwrapping.

I slid my finger through the
red ribbon, sliding off the bow then began peeling back the silver paper.  My breath caught in my throat when the red Cartier box appeared from the wrapping paper. 

I had received one item from Cartier, and it was when I graduated from high school.  It was a simple platinum watch from my father.  I remember my mother gasping when she saw it, unaware he had purchased it for me.  Little did I know my father spent $40,000 on it, which is probably why my mother nearly had a heart attack
when I opened the box.

Tyler trailed kisses from my shoulder to my neck as I shakily opened the red leather box. 

“Tyler!” I gasped, as a shiny platinum bracelet spread across the white velvet.  There had to of been at least 30 diamonds, all a gracious size.  Some were shaped in teardrops while the rest simple circles. 

“Do you like it?” h
e asked, kissing my ear.

“Tyler, this
is beautiful, but you didn’t have to-”

“Shh…
don’t start,” he hushed me, nibbling my ear, moving his lips back to my neck.  His hand left my hip then reached behind him, placing another small box in front of me.

I
tilted my head to the side, enjoying his lips caressing my skin.  He stopped, and I heard him chuckle.  “Open it.”

I licked my lips as I un
wrapped the smaller box.  My eyes went wide again when I saw another red leather box.  I held it in my hands, gulping again.  Tyler chuckled against my skin.  He took his hands and placed them on mine and helped me open the box.

A pair of stunning
earrings filled the white velvet, matching the bracelet. The earrings were made of teardrop diamonds with a circular diamond in the middle.  They were stunning, and I was speechless.

I could feel the smile play on his face as he
nuzzled my neck.  I went to stand up, needing some space from the expensive diamonds that were on my lap.  He pulled me back down by my wrists.

“One more,” he breathed across my neck as his arms came around me once more, holding a larger package.  My stomach dropped, knowing what was inside the silver wrapping.

I took the gift with both hands and ripped it open, revealing another red leather box.  Popping it open, I found the matching necklace inside.  I closed my eyes.  I knew Tyler had money, but I never intended him spending so much on me.  I felt like he was trying to buy me or show off.  It wasn’t like him to flaunt, and I felt like flaunting was exactly what he was doing by giving me this set of jewelry.

I stood up, afraid to turn and face him.  “Thanks,” I mumbled.  “They really are lovely.”

When Tyler stood up, I could feel the tension of his anxiety in the air.  I wrapped my arms around my waist as he moved in front of me.  My head was down, and I was thrown off by how he had put on his black Under Armour boxer briefs.

He reached for my face, pulling it up to
look at him.  “What’s wrong?” he asked, his scowl full blown with worry.

“That is a lot of diamonds,” I whispered.

He searched my eyes then around the room, not understanding.

“I’ve neve
r wanted to buy a woman jewelry. I thought you would like it.  I thought-” he gulped, “I thought that’s what you do for your lover.”  He dropped his hands from my face, clearly confused.

I looked up at him, running my fingers over his eyebrows and along his forehead, wanting his face to relax.  “It’s just a lot.  When I see $150,000 in jewelry
, I see thousands of hungry faces.  I didn’t mean to disappoint you.  I’m just not into extravagant gifts.”

Tyler relaxed his
shoulders, moving his hands on my waist.  “I know you’re not.  That’s one thing I love about you.  But baby, I fill a lot more mouths with a lot more money.” 

“You do?”  I croaked, feeling another piece of my heart pull from my chest like a magnet to his.

He nodded, giving me a half smile.

“You really have no idea how much I’m worth, do you?”
he murmured, cocking his head, reaching up to tuck a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

“I don’t care about money.
I know I have grown up with it and most people think I’m some spoiled princess, but sometimes I wish I could hide from it.  I don’t like that it has a tag on me.”  I couldn’t stand how the community associated my name with my father’s millions. Not just because of what kind of reputation it gave me, but because of what people spoke about my father.  He gave more money away than he kept.  He taught us that money wasn’t everything, how we needed to find our own way.  Yes, we all have trust funds, but he would never release them to my siblings and me until we learned how to properly manage it and how important it was to give back.

“Tyler, you are worth so much more to me than dollar signs.  I hope you know that.”

“And yet another reason why I love you,” he grinned, his voice quieting at those three little words.  My heart hammered as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Thank you for the diamonds.  They really are prett
y.” I was softening to the idea of keeping them.

“You’re welcome.  But know with every gift I give you, I give back just as much.  I make more m
oney than the rest of my family,” his voice was full of pride.  “I have many investments on the side, and I’m a great stock reader,” he smirked.  “Numbers guy, remember?”

I bit my
lip, trying to contain my smile but failed at his attempt to make light of the conversation.

“Come on
, let me give you your presents.” I tugged on his wrist, urging him to follow me down to the Christmas tree. My gifts for him weren’t nearly as extravagant as what the red leather Cartier boxes held, but I’d hoped he’d like them.

Tyler paused at his dresser to grab a pair of sweats before we went downstairs.  I did the same considering it was winter
, even though things normally got steamy whenever I was alone in a room with him.

I grabbed Tyler’s hand and led him down the spiral staircase to the lit up Christmas tree.  I let go of his hand as he sat down on the large sectional couch in front of the fireplace.  I rummaged to find his
pile of gifts, quickly stacking them on top of each other to bring to the couch.

He had a boyish grin on his face as he saw the gaud
ily wrapped Christmas presents I placed next to his lap.  “Are all of these for me?” he asked, examining the boxes.

I nodded my head
enthusiastically, barely containing my excitement.  I sat beside him, pulling my legs underneath me while getting cozy on the couch.

He took the top package and gently shook it, holding it next to his ear as his grin grew wider.

“Open them,” I encouraged, placing my hand on his bicep.

With deft fingers
, he opened a small box first.  Once the wrapping paper was off he lifted the lid and found a Waterford platinum pen.  He pulled the pen out and examined it with a huge smile.  His name was engraved on the side.

“I find it odd that being an architect you don’t carry around a nice pen, so I thought I would get one for you.  I actually got the sam
e thing for your brothers and RJ,” I admitted, caressing his bicep as he twirled the pen in between his fingers.

“This is great;
thank you.  It will make a home in my dress shirt pocket,” he smiled, leaning over to give me a kiss.

He set the pen down and moved to the next, which was another small box.  I was practically biting my nai
ls. This was the gift I knew he would love and had to call a favor into my father.

His eyes went wide.  “How did you get these?
  They don’t normally go on sale this early,” he said with excitement, leaning forward holding the two tickets behind the dugout to the Cubs opener at Wrigley Field. 

“I have my connections.
  I have never been to a Cubs game before.”

He bit his lip as he stared
at the tickets, clearly trying to hide his excitement.  “I would be honored to take you.”

“This one kind of goes with the tickets,” I said, pointing to one of the other boxes.

Tyler swiftly picked it up off the floor and started unwrapping.  He pulled out the tissue paper to reveal an Anthony Rizzo official jersey.

“I figured you would need one for the game, and he is a first base
man, right?”  I asked.

Tyler’s eyes were glimmering as he held the jersey up.  “Yes, he is.  Very good choice.  I am so excited to wear this.”  He set the jersey down and reached for me, curling his hand around the back of my neck, pulling me in for a deep kiss.  “You are too perfect,” he whispered giving me another kiss.

I giggled into his mouth and pushed on his chest.  “Finish opening all of your presents before you jump me, please.”

Tyler laughed as he picked up another box, which happened to contain a Tigers
t-shirt.  I laughed at his sour face and told him he had to wear it underneath the jersey to the game.  He shook his head, trying to seem appalled, but was clearly tickled by my playfulness.