Wingless Book Series (book 1) (25 page)

Inside the box was a card. I
opened it, reading it slowly. His writing was as handsome as he
was.

“
Eve, I hope you
like this, Ari helped me pick it out. Wear it tonight; I can’t wait
to see you in it…… Evan
.”

I closed the card, setting
it all out on the bed to look it over. It meant a great deal
to get gifts like this.

I stood in the mirror looking at
myself. It looked exceptionally good. I absolutely liked it. There
was a tapping on the door.

“
Yeah?” I asked.

“
You dressed?” Evan practically
yelled from outside. The excitement in his voice was
funny.

“
Yes, come in,” I said, laughing
to myself.

“
No. Come out. We want to see
you,” he said.

“
Who is we?” I asked.

“
My brother and Ari and me silly,”
he said, laughing.

I sighed, opening the door. They
all were practically smooshed together waiting. Kenny tried to play
it off as if he was dragged there by Ari, but even his face was
amused by it all.

They all were wide-eyed and
smiling.

“
You look amazing Eve. Happy
Birthday,” Ari said, hugging me tight.

“
Yeah, you look really nice,”
Kenny said, looking at me quickly and then looking away.

“
Thank you, guys,” I
smiled.

Evan couldn’t take his eyes away
from me. He took my hand and twirled me once again in a circle.
“You’re stunning,” he said, kissing my hand repeatedly to be
dramatic.

“
Thank you. What’s with the
outfit?” I asked, eyeballing his black slacks and red dress shirt.
We matched. As I look around, I noticed Ari was in a red dress with
a black sweater and Kenny was in black and red, too.

“
Dinner tonight at my dad’s,” he
said.

“
Oh, really?” I said, feeling a
little iffy about making another journey there.

“
Yes, really. For your birthday.
It will be great!” Ari squealed, clutching my hands in
hers.

“
Okay, okay, so we got an hour.
I’m going to go watch the game,” Kenny said, unbuttoning his shirt
and walking off.

We arrived at Carlo’s, pulling up
behind Kenny and Ari.

Evan killed the engine and turned
to me, pulling a black blind fold out of his pocket. “Put this on,”
he said, handing it to me.

“
Really?” I asked, half curious
and excited and half nervous. I would make a fool out of myself
without sight.

“
Yes, really. Please just go along
with it. You will be really happy,” he said, helping me pull the
blindfold down.

“
I trust you,” I said, feeling for
the door as he pulled me out.

He took my arm and waist, walking
me slowly and carefully. I was scared I was going to fall, gripping
on to Evan’s shirt as we made our way to where I wasn’t
sure.

“
Evan, that’s good you don’t want
to kill her,” Kenny said, his voice suddenly popping up.

I went for my blindfold and then
heard laughter. “I’m joking Eve, calm down,” Kenny said.

Finally, the walking seemed
to end. Evan pulled the blindfold off of me. It took a moment for
my eyes to adjust. The yard was covered in little white
candles. I turned in circles at all the white
lilies and the floating candles that were in the pool as well. It
was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

I clutched my hand to my
chest looking at all the lights and flowers, welling up with tears.
Ari and Kenny stood to the side as I took it all in. Evan came up
beside me, pulling me close to him. I put my head on his shoulder
just looking. I didn’t even know what to say or do. I was so blown
away by it all. No one had ever done anything like this for
me before.

“
Do you like it?” he asked
softly.

“
I love it. It’s beautiful. And I
can’t believe you went to all the trouble,” I said, tears
falling.

Evan caught each with his
fingertips, smiling at me. “It wasn’t any trouble, you deserve it.”
He pulled me close, smiling at me still. I could see in his eyes he
truly was happy. I truly was happy myself.

“
Well, thank you. I’ll just have
to make sure I outdo you on your birthday,” I laughed, half
crying.

“
Oh, shush,” he said, pulling me
toward the table set up.

Carlo came out of the door,
smiling from ear to ear. He was wearing a black suit and had the
familiar cigar poking out the side of his mouth. He came rushing
forward, arms out to embrace Evan, but instead of going to Evan, he
grabbed me first. Evan released my hand.

Practically crushing me with his
hugging, Carlo kissed my cheeks, pulling away to look at my face.
“I’m so happy for you, and happy birthday,” he said
intensely.

“
Thank you,” I said, feeling a
little awkward.

“
You look gorgeous. I had my staff
make your favorite dinner. We set it all up of course according to
Evan’s orders. I think it looks marvelous. My son did a good job.”
He beamed, looking at everything with me. His arm around my
shoulder, he puffed away at his cigar, taking in the
decorations.

I was amazed at how happy he was
at this. He truly was making me feel more comfortable.

“
Dad can I have her back now?”
Evan asked, taking my hand, giving me a gift.

“
Of course. I
have some phone calls to make and then
I
will be joining you all,” he said, heading in the
house.

“
Another gift? Wow,” I said,
sitting down at the beautiful white table set up. Ari and Kenny
took seats as well, watching me intently.

I pulled the ribbon from the red
package. It wasn’t that big, and I was guessing it was jewelry of
some kind. Opening it revealed a silver necklace and a large
diamond. I gasped.

“
Evan!” I exclaimed.

He took it, putting it on me. “Do
you like it?” he asked me, touching the diamond.

“
Of course, but it’s way too
much,” I said, touching his hand.

“
No, it’s not. Nothing is, or ever
will be, too much for you,” he said sternly.

Ari smiled at me as I looked her
way. Kenny put his arm around her, staring at me with a look of
calm on his face. This was good for Kenny who usually seemed
bothered by something all the time.

We all sat down at the table as
the staffers started bringing out plates. They brought mine out,
setting it in front of me, removing the lid. It was definitely my
favorite meal, lasagna. I smiled at how much Evan seemed to
remember. We enjoyed the food and chatted. Evan kept close, seeming
overjoyed with it all.

Even Carlo, or Tony to some (I
preferred Carlo) was having a good time. Evan conversed with Carlo
and Kenny. They were all laughing.

Ari moved her chair over to me
touching my arm. She was smiling sipping on fancy champagne.
“Everything turned out so well,” she whispered to me.

“
I know, it’s all way too much,” I
said, smiling at Evan as he laughed some more with Kenny and Carlo.
Everyone was just having the best time. It was beyond
amazing.

“
It’s not. Just enjoy it. Believe
me, none of Carlo’s kids have to worry about money. So just get
used to it,” she said, fiddling with my diamond that hung from my
neck.

It was nice being taken care of,
and even though it was a little hard to get used to, I thought I
could. What girl didn’t want to be spoiled by the man she was
falling for?

Carlo tapped his glass, catching
our attention. Evan pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me,
his chin gently touching the back of my head. Ari went back to
Kenny.

“
It’s a beautiful night and I
thought I would say some words,” he said, sipping his
drink.

“
To Evan and Eve, may everything
that happens from here on be nothing but the best for you both. I
truly believe you have made my son his happiest,” he said, winking
at me.

Everyone clinked their glasses
together. Carlo looked at Kenny. He reluctantly lifted his,
clearing his throat.

“
I don’t make toasts, but I guess
I will for Dad’s sake. Happy birthday, Eve. I hope it’s a memorable
one,” he laughed, looking at Evan. Evan shook his head at him,
squeezing my arm.

“
I think it’s pretty memorable,” I
said to everyone. They all laughed.

“
Okay, anyone else?” Carlo
asked.

Ari jumped up with her glass, the
excitement just oozing from her. I stared around at each face,
wondering how one birthday could be this joyous. It was beyond me,
but I wasn’t going to be judging. Everyone was
different.

“
Eve, I haven’t known you that
long, but you truly have become a really good friend to me. You’re
such a nice, caring person. And it means a lot to me. I can see how
happy you make Evan, and that’s awesome!” she exclaimed,
practically climbing the table to hug me. She crushed Evan,
wrapping her arms around me.

“
Alright, alright, Ari,” Evan
said, getting up. The look on Evan’s face was one that I wasn’t
familiar with.

He stood, clinging to his glass,
his expression that of a feeble being. He almost looked sick. I was
entranced by this and couldn’t keep my eyes off of him. The whole
setting went from talking and clatter, to almost silence. Evan
cleared his throat. He was acting fidgety. He turned to face me,
his glass shaking in his hand. My nerves were starting to creep up
on me now. He was never the weak one; I was scared something was
wrong.

“
Are you alright?” I asked softly,
not trying to catch anyone’s attention.

He blinked, taking a deep breath.
“Eve,” he said, ignoring my question.

“
What?” I asked, feeling
numb.

“
It’s hard to put it into words
how much I feel for you. I never have met another girl who’s just
blown me away in every way. Who you are as a person… I can’t even
find the words to tell you how great it is. You make me feel right.
You make all of this make sense.” He took my hand, holding it
tightly as he spoke.

I was speechless, and rather
embarrassed at all the emotion coming from him all at once all
because of my birthday. It was sweet, but I was starting to wonder
what it would be like if I did something even more amazing than be
born on a specific day. I listened carefully to everything he was
saying, it was all so amazing. I wasn’t sure if I deserved it, but
according to them, I did.

“
I’m not a mushy romantic or
anything, but seriously, I feel like it is true what they say. I
think you are my soul mate. And that’s funny, because I never cared
about those things before.

“
Okay, so what I want to say to
you is, I want to share everything with you and only you. I want to
take care of you, and I want to be in love with you and only you
for the rest of my existence. However long or short that may
be.”

I took a quick glance at everyone.
Ari was blotting her eyes with a tissue. Carlo was watching
intently, and Kenny was holding onto Ari as she sobbed. They all
were very interested what was happening.

I wasn’t sure what I was
supposed
to do. I looked at Evan, smiling,
squeezing his hand.

“
I’m not the most articulate
person when I feel like all eyes are on me, but I feel the same and
I hope you know that.” Evan dropped to his knee still holding on to
my hand.

My heart almost stopped. I wasn’t
stupid. When a guy dropped to his knee it meant usually one thing.
“Evan!” I yelled, about to hyperventilate.

Evan’s face lit up at my reaction,
a big smile spreading across his face. He pulled a ring box from
his pocket. It was black velvet. He opened it. Ari
squealed.

“
Eve, will you be willing to put
up with me until, ya know, whenever?” He laughed, trying to ease
the mood.

“
Like marriage?” I exclaimed,
covering my mouth with my hand. I was so thrilled I couldn’t even
cry. “Are you serious? Oh my god!” I yelled.

Evan shook his head, laughing at
my hysterics. He looked at Kenny for help. Kenny threw his hands
up. They all must have thought I was losing it, or maybe that I
didn’t comprehend.

“
Yes, that’s exactly what I’m
asking you. So what do you say?” he asked, taking the ring out of
the box and waiting.

“
Of course!” I said, throwing my
arms around him. I kissed his face holding onto him for dear
life.

I think it was more than the
idea. It was the thought that Evan could truly
envision himself with me for good. I never thought anyone
would tell me that, and to think that he saw something in me worth
holding onto just made it all even more right.

Evan lifted me, my feet dangling
above the ground as we kissed a long, happy, joy filled kiss.
Everyone cheered and whistled. It was the best day of my whole
entire existence.