After a late-night chat with Ambrose, we spent the following week mostly apart. It wasn't intentional, but our schedules weren't crossing paths. It definitely wasn't because I couldn't stand being in a room with my boyfriend and his best friend that he's obviously still in love with. No, Milo just had bombarded me with auditions in case the Isabel's role was passed over to someone else.

Yup.

Sounds about right.

I groaned, turning over the page of my new script, and felt a kink in my neck from my unhealthy sleeping schedule. Staring at the ceiling for a lethal amount of hours was my new hobby. Ambrose had been preoccupied with his friends leaving or meeting up with lawyers to go forward with his assault case. Maybe he hadn't noticed I was subconsciously pulling away, putting up that barrier again.

Either way, with that barrier up, I was still his. My heart belonged to him. Whether it was a good or bad thing had yet to be determined. How am I supposed to focus on remembering these lines when all I could replay in my head was Ambrose's confession about kissing Lana? Or trying to. Does it really matter anyway?

From his puzzled gaze, I knew he lied when I asked if he love her. I'm not trying to invalidate his feelings for me, but there's something about Lana he hasn't let go of yet. Even so, I still loved him. It's pathetic. But if we were only supposed to be a temporary thing, I wanted to savor in it as much as possible.

Momentary.

Our relationship represented those spring showers before the sun blazed out from the clouds following by the sun. Lana has always been his sun. I think I'm his clouds, shadowing and obscuring his feelings from the truth. Until the time came when we would part ways and he would go back to Lana. Like everyone expected.

Like I expected.

My phone vibrated on the granite countertop. A photo from an Amazon worker dropping off a package was sent to my cell. Confusion washed over me as I thought about my recent purchase... Nothing. With a shrug of my shoulders, I dropped my script on the island and wandered over to my hotel door.

I glanced outside, catching a glimpse of a worker turning down the hallway, and grabbed the box. To my surprise, instead of its normal plain white prime packaging, it was enveloped in red wrapping paper with a heart-shaped bow on top. With a simple tug, the box came undone, to reveal an elegant Connor x La Fleur bouquet that features sixteen roses and a custom-designed notecard.

My stomach fluttered with anticipation as I opened the letter and saw Ambrose's dinosaur writing on the card.

Home is where you are. Baby, my feelings for you are like an ocean. It will never end till time. I spent days blissfully lost in the brightest hues of your sea-foam green-blue eyes. There isn't a second of the day when I'm not yearning for your presence.

If you're desiring me as much as I'm yearning for you... travel to the greens of the world and brightest of the sky to find the missing piece.

Ambrose Bright, formally known as bean sprout.

The lighthearted letter rippled away the heaviness from minutes before. Regardless, Ambrose had my heart feeling a million different things, and even when I questioned where his feelings really lied, I'm a sucker for him. He's my pied piper. Singing sweet rhythms into my ear like the intoxicating frequency of the flute that caused children to parade behind him.

Narrowing the beaches in Chicago was going to be a challenge, but I loved the idea of spending Tuesday evening searching for my boyfriend. Ambrose wasn't lying about taking his romantic gestures to the next level.

An unknown amount of time later, I parked at the fifth beach and opened my door. The air was chilly and moist. Ocean waves crashing the shore flooded my ears. The sun came as free-spun laughter to the land, igniting the jocund glow.

A brood frown crept over my face as I found no evidence of my sexy, charming, handsome brown-eyed boyfriend. The wind blew my hair all over the place and seagulls screamed above my head. Before I could return to my car, a pair of hands obscured my gaze and alarm flashed through my veins.

"Don't worry, babe. It's just me." Ambrose's smooth, velvety voice was enough to melt my heart into goo.

A laugh shuddered out. "What are you doing?"

"Just don't take the blindfold off until I tell you."

I bit my lip. "Yes, sir."

My pulse raced as tingles emerged on my skin from his simple touch. His hands gently gripped my waist, pushing my frame into his muscular one, sending a wave of pleasure throughout my body. With our bodies pushed against one another, he propelled us forward for so long that I swear we must've ditched the beach.

"Okay..." Ambrose said, "It's safe for you to take the blinds off."

My stomach fluttered with anticipation. Fear slowly flashed through my thoughts, but I pushed them aside, wanting to focus on the good things in life for just this moment. My heart thumped nervously as I took the blindfold off and lost my breath.

The sky was painted with shades of pink and orange. Rosy brushstrokes gushed into indigo waters and kissed the golden shores. The glowing sun rimmed the edge of the earth, spreading a path of white streaks towards us.

That's just the beginning.

Candles and red roses surrounded a blanket in front of me. The center held champagne glasses, grapes, strawberries, and silver cutlery. There was a white ceramic container with sushi, Ambrose's specialty pasta, and mint chocolate cake.

Expect that wasn't it.

Behind the dinner were two large trees with string fairy lights wrapped around them. The clips on the fairy lights held pictures of us from when we hated each other to our first photo as a couple.

If I wasn't already blown off my rockers, Ambrose stood in front of the dinner, holding a bouquet of roses, smiling at me.

"I know since the Lana mishap that things haven't been the same. It's my fault. I fucked up, badly. But I wanted to give you a million different reasons why you and I are endgame."

"Oh my god, you never fail to be cringy," I teased, my cheeks burning.

Ambrose raised my hand to his lips and planted a kiss on my palm. "It's true. I'm yours, D. Nothing you do can keep me away from you."

One corner of my mouth tilted up. "I think I can think of a few ways to make that happen..."

He teased. "Like what?"

My arms wrapped around his shoulders as I leaned over to nibble on his ear. "Three words. Bed, spankings, and handcuffs."

Ambrose let out a needy grunt as his hands began to wander up and down my waist, caressing me. "As long as I'm the one making your fine ass beg for more, then there's no way I'm quitting."

His teeth gently tugged on my lower lip. But before we could slip into a world of pleasure, I pulled away, earning an awful groan from him.

"Only you can give me a boner in under two minutes." Ambrose chuckled in a strained manner as he readjusted his pants.

Finally, I appreciated the scenery around me and wandered around his work of art in slow motion, not believing that any of it was real. My jaw was on the floor. Ambrose had a way of scrambling up my thoughts when he did shit like this. My favorite photo definitely had to be when I chucked eggs at his head.

Ahh.. memories.

"Do you like it?" he asked, amused by my opened-mouth reaction.

My mind failed to conjure up a worthy reply. A hint of guilt streamed through my body like a sugar rush. How was I supposed to enjoy this when I spent the past week doubting his feelings for me? Instead of concentrating on his assault case, he spent hours wrapping fairy lights over the trees. Am I really worth this trouble?

I lowered my eyes and kneeled on the blanket, then handed him the bottle.

"Did you happen to get my favorite wi-."

"Wine?" He chuckled and sat down.

He opened his wooden picnic crate and pulled out a wine bottle with two glasses. Ambrose filled my glass, and I chugged it without clinking ours together.

"Memories swirl around us like fireflies. They always stay with us, whether in pictures." Ambrose pulled a photo off the clip and laid it between us. "Or in our thoughts. Like here, when you wore that adorable yellow sundress at the picnic for the sole purpose of running into your dad. I made you sit still when I could've drawn you from this very picture, but I wanted to capture the beauty only two eyes can see."

My eyes snapped to his and melted from the warmth in them. I mustered a smile and gazed at the sunset, wishing it'd never set.

"Why so silent?"

I shrugged. "I don't know..."

Ambrose ruffled his fingers through his locks and placed sushi on my plate. "Umm... D? Do you still want to be together or did you just say it because I was in a bad place?"

Millions of thoughts disassociated me from this moment. From him. Being with him almost made my life complete, but the lingering thoughts were consuming. My spine ached with dread. Hands clenched. Eyes threatened to water. I wanted this so bad yet I'm terrified to have it. I know it'll get taken away.

At any moment.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and pushed a fork into a piece. "No, I want to be with you. I'm not used to these grand gestures. Colton only did things for the camera, not because he actually liked me. I don't know how to react."

"But I feel like that's not the only reason you've been acting distant." Ambrose's smile faded as he focuses on spooning the pasta onto my plate.

My brain struggled for words. "I do want to be with you... But my feelings are being compromised. You tried to kiss your ex-girlfriend, your best friend, the girl you told me a million stories about. It fucking hurts because you're my everything, but maybe I'm just not enough for you. Maybe Lana has been your perfect match all along."

His handsome face contorted with anguish when he, at last, spoke up, "D, you're my everything. I can't picture my life with anyone else but you. I know my actions have spelled out the opposite, but I'll work my ass off to prove it you I'm in it for the long game. If I had magic powers, I would go back to that day and push myself down the freaking cliff before I could repeat everything again."

He licked his lips. "I know I asked you to forgive me... That was wrong of me. I shouldn't have asked as if it's something easy to get over. I just want you to give me another shot to make things right, and be the boyfriend you deserve..."

Anxiety clawed at my chest. During my relationship with Colton, I gave him various chances because I was so in love with him. It was my first relationship, I didn't know any better and all I wanted was for us to get married one day. He used that to his advantage. Colton exhausted me mentally until I was just a yarn of string instead of a full-knitted sweater.

My relationship with Ambrose was drastically different from Colton's. So was it fair to base my decisions on an unfunctional relationship, to begin with? My heart craved for his warmth, to lay in his arms during the night and wake up entangled in them in the morning. But my mind was afraid to fully let go.

I mean I'm on the verge of crying over a fucking almost kiss.

How more pathetic could I get?

"It's complicated... My head is hurting from this conversation. Why don't we just eat grapes and forget everything?" I chuckled, slightly rummaging through the picnic basket for grapes or strawberries.

My heart galloped like a horse in the race when his fingertips grazed my chin, forcing it upward to face his distressed gaze. "Please don't change the subject. We have to discuss this if we want to move forward together."

I sighed. "I forgive you. Does that make you feel better?"

"No. No, it doesn't."

Indignation rose in my chest. "I don't forgive you then. Is that what you want?"

His handsome face contorted with heartache. "D, I know you have a hard time letting people in because of Colton... your dad... and every other shithead who screwed you over. You're debating over giving us another shot because of your experiences. I don't blame you for protecting yourself. I'm lucky enough I got you to look in my way for even a second. I want to be the person who gives you the world because you fucking deserve it. I won't be upset if you want to break up... Heartbroken definitely but you deserve someone better than me."

My heart felt like it's lodged in my throat. Not many guys would confess those kinds of feelings. The very few guys I knew would act like I owed them something and I was lower than them. Ambrose treated me equally. Maybe even better by putting me on some kind of pedestal. It's probably something common in a relationship, I just wasn't lucky to experience it until now.

My body flooded with a mix of love and anxiety.

He held my gaze for a few seconds, his torment and desire flashed in his irises until he grabbed me. As if I'm light as a feather, he lifted me onto his lap and smashed his mouth to mine. The kiss was urgent and soul-shattering. It took my breath away and left me dizzy.

"I want us to be together forever, bean sprout," I whispered against his lips. "But if you ever hurt me like this again then I'm leaving even if it breaks me."

I kissed him again, showing him how I meant my words, plastering myself to him. But when I reached for the hem of his shirt, he grabbed my hands.

"What?" I asked, slightly surprised. "You don't...?"

His face pinched together with pain. "Of course, I do. But I also don't want you to think that's all I want. I need you to know it's more than that. I need you to know I'm not going to fuck this up."

"I do."

I believe him.

I had doubts earlier but right now there's none.

He hooked his finger under my chin and tilted my head back for a light kiss. "Good, but we're still not fucking tonight."

My bottom lip poked out on its own, making Ambrose chuckle at me.

"Stop pouting."

"Make me," I challenged.

Fire gleamed in his eyes and he kissed me again, harder and deeper. His tongue tangled with mine until I'm whimpering and then he's gone. He pulled away, pushing my hair off my shoulders, and sticking his pinkie out.

My forehead wrinkled. "What are you doing?"

"I promise... it's you and me in the end."

I laughed at his gesture while I linked our pinkies. "I promise... it's us until the end."

I love a couple who are able to communicate! They've really come far since the first chapter!! So proud of them!! Do you guys have a fav liek Ambrose over Davina? Or the other way around?

Love you guys and can't wait to read your comments!!!💜💜