Aria’s POV
Carl had been acting strange all day—sweet, attentive, almost… excited. I didn’t understand why until he appeared in the doorway of my room, smiling like he was hiding something behind his back.
“Aria,” he said softly, “get dressed. Nothing too fancy. I’m taking you somewhere.”
I blinked. “Somewhere… where?”
“You’ll see.”
He winked and disappeared before I could protest.
Thirty minutes later, when he led me outside, I actually froze.
He’d turned the small back garden into something out of a romantic movie—golden fairy lights strung above, a table set for two, candles flickering in the warm evening breeze, soft music playing somewhere in the background.
“Carl…” I whispered, breath catching. “You did all this?”
“For us,” he said simply.
Not “for you.”
For us.
My heart
