Convincing Amy (Amy, #1)

Chapter 35: Words

Chapter Thirty-Five

WORDS

It was midday before Amy awoke with a pounding headache. She cursed silently to herself, feeling the symptoms of a hangover from the night before. The bedspace around her was empty of anything to do with Matthew, and she guessed he had already woken hours previously.

Groaning, Amy dragged herself out of bed and stumbled into the en suite bathroom, colliding with a doorframe on her way. In desperation, she used the toilet before deciding that a shower would be the most effective method of awakening. The warm water soothed her muscles and relaxed her confused and befuddled mind. She stepped out and dressed in the laziest clothes possible – track pants and a tank top.

Walking down the staircase with a small, wrapped box in her hands, Amy tiptoed, cautious not to give away her location to the hidden Matthew. She could hear the television on and suddenly felt guilty that she had not awoken with Matthew to wish him a happy birthday. Instead of being cheerful and laughable in the early hours of the day, she’d been fast asleep clutching a hangover.

When she entered the living room as silently as she could, she had to double check that the man sitting on the couch was not Jake Hamilton, for he and Matthew looked almost identical. Going through a check list to make sure it was definitely Matthew on the couch, Amy approached from behind, dropping her gift onto the kitchen bench as she passed.

Matthew started as he felt the soft cushions of the couch behind him gain extra weight. He looked around in time to see Amy stepping over the back of the couch and shuffling into his lap. She did not let him greet her good morning, kissing him as soon as she possibly could, her hands reaching up to wrap around his neck. Matthew returned the kiss with a gleeful smile, holding Amy’s body tightly against his own. The pair eventually broke away, each one wearing a grin.

“Happy Birthday,” Amy smiled, looking into Matthew’s shimmering eyes.

Matthew planted a gentle kiss upon Amy’s forehead; she closed her eyes in contentment. “Thank you.”

“I have something for you,” Amy announced, hopping off Matthew’s lap and retrieving his gift from the nearby kitchen bench.

“I told you I didn’t want anything, Amy,” Matthew groaned.

“Tough luck, mister,” Amy said as she sat back on the couch, this time beside Matthew, handing him the small box.

With a look of thanks upon Matthew’s face, he slowly unwrapped the box from its blue paper.

“Wait! Wait!” cried Amy; Matthew ceased unwrapping at once.

“What?” he asked, confused.

“Don’t you know you have to read the card first?”

Matthew rolled his eyes, put down the half-opened gift and retrieved Amy’s card from its envelope. It was a simple birthday card, but it was the words written within that mattered to Matthew the most. The words were cramped into the small space of the card, covering the entire area of the card:

Dearest Matthew,

I wish you the happiest of birthdays, which I will again and again ask for you in our many years to come.

I thank you for being there for me throughout my time here at Yale – I don’t think I’d have made it without you.

I cannot wait for the moment when you arrive in Australia. I want to begin our life together more than you could ever imagine.

“The art of love is largely the art of persistence.” The first time I met you, I felt that you were going to be a great nuisance. With your persistence, however, I have learnt otherwise. Thank you.