And he loves me.
They bring out the cake. Three layers with chocolate frosting and eighty sparkling candles, all lit up, threatening to burn the town down. Happiness shines from Gran’s face as we sing Happy Birthday to her. Her family helps to blow out the candles as she declares this to be the best day of her life.
Internally, I tell myself the very same thing. Today is the best day of my life. I look up at Darius, just to be sure this is real, that he's real, and he smiles down at me, kissing the top of my head.
My dream daddy.
The rest of the evening is a blur. At the end of it, I find myself overtired, Darius carries me up the stairs to bed. He helps me change, tucking me under the quilt. He leaves me with a kiss on my forehead. “I love you, Katie Kat.”
“I love you, too,” I murmur as I fall asleep, visions of wedding dresses and white picket fences in my mind.
In the morning when it’s time to leave, Gran pulls me aside. “It sure was lovely getting to know you, Katie. I declare, I’ve never seen my boy so happy as he is when he’s with you.”
“Aww, thank you. I’m quite happy myself.”
Her sparkle dulls as her gaze grows serious. “There is one thing I feel like I should tell you.”
I bristle, half expecting Tiffany to come up again. To find that she and Darius have some secret lovechild or were married before or—
She stops my overactive writer's imagination with a soft hand to my arm. “Katie dear, I know you two aren’t really engaged. I saw the news report.”
“But Darius said you don’t watch television. How did you…”
She gives me a pointed look. “It was sent to me.”
“Ah.” The Peach Queen strikes yet again. Shame fills me at his grandmother knowing about our escort beginning. But then I remember his words of love and I feel happy, and proud. “Well, all relationships have to start somewhere, don’t they?”
“That’s exactly what I was going to say. The engagement may have been fake, but after seeing you two together, I know the love is real.” She pulls me in for a warm hug. “And you know what, I have a feeling that the next time you come back here, you’re gonna have the right kind of ring on your finger. The one that lets you two share a bedroom.”
A wedding band? “Do you really think so?”
She releases me with a soft smile. “I really do. I have a sense about these things. And I know Darius better than anyone else does. Except maybe you, that is.” She gives me one of her famous winks.
We say our goodbyes and get into the town car that will take us back to the airport. Darius has all our bags loaded in the trunk, but as we pull away, I feel a nagging suspicion we’ve left something behind. “Where’s my backpack?”
He waves his hand, gesturing behind him. “In the trunk with your other bags. All... of your other bags. For someone so small, you sure pack a lot.”
As we pull down the drive, I think back over the whirlwind packing job I did early that morning. I was flying on cloud nine and could have easily left my laptop on the nightstand. In fact, I’m certain I did leave it on my nightstand. “Do you mind if we pull over and check?”
“Of course.” He stops the driver and gets out with me. The trunk opens and I see my backpack. Lifting it, I feel the weight of my computer inside, but I still pull back the zipper to check. It’s in there, but in the main section of the bag, not the protective sleeve I usually slide it into. Knowing I was so deliriously tired last night, my man literally had to carry me up the stairs, I chalk it up to fatigue.
“All set?” Darius looks to me for my approval.
I give him a nod. He shuts the trunk and we get back into the car, headed for home.
The flight is uneventful. I’m still buzzing from our shared declaration of love. I don’t even feel scared during landing.
We arrive in Vegas, and I step out into the hot, dry air. And find myself missing the lush green of Georgia. But at least my hair is manageable once again. I take my backpack, throwing it onto my shoulders, Darius insists on carrying my other bags for me, as he always does, that’s just the daddy in him and I love it.
Then it hits me... where am I going?
He takes our things, handing them to his Vegas driver, the one who took me home after our first night together. Is he dropping me off at my apartment, first, then heading to his penthouse?