She bites her lip. “Anything?”
“Anything.”
“How about horseback riding?” she asks, her cheeks flushed.
I laugh. “You want to go horseback riding, in that?” I look down at her heels.
She frowns. “I didn’t realize we could do anything I wanted when I picked this outfit out. But yes, I want to go horseback riding. I think it will make me feel free. And then I want you to take me to a local bakery. Buy me something sweet and coffee, and then make out with me as the sunsets, before taking me to dinner. That’s what I want.”
“You are such a girl.”
She puts her hands on her hips. “Well, what would you have us do then?”
I shrug. I hadn’t really thought about what we were going to do before dinner. I just wanted out of this house with her. That was the plan.
“I guess, drive fast in my Ferrari with the top down. Then take you to one of my favorite wine bars to get a drink, and then I guess I could show you my favorite spot to watch the sunset before dinner.”
She thinks for a moment. “Damn it. I like your idea better.”
I smirk, surprised that she would be so agreeable to my plans.
“Let’s go,” she says, holding out her hand to me. I take it, and we run through the house, like two teenagers sneaking out of their parents’ house.
We make it to the garage. “Which car should we drive?”
“The red one,” she says, knowing that one is my favorite, despite not knowing the name of the car.
“Good choice.”
We climb in, and then I spend the next hour racing through the countryside of Italy. Enjoying the twists and turns, occasionally taking a turn too fast just to hear her squeal.
Then I take her to my favorite wine bar, where I let her taste various wines and explain to her why her tastes in wine are wrong. She laughs but eventually comes to see things my way.
Lastly, I take her to an old bridge that looks out over the river to watch the sunset. I take her in my arms, wrapping my hands around her waist, while we watch the sunset. Kissing her neck, just to the side of where I carved my name into her neck a few days before.
Just as the sun is about to set fully, she says, “Why did you give me the tattoo?”
I swallow but don’t immediately answer.
“Why are we on this date? Why give me the perfect day? What’s going on?”
I kiss her again, giving her one more perfect moment, not wanting this to end.
“I’m giving you what you want.”
She cocks her head to the side, not understanding. “You’re giving me my freedom?”
I suck in a breath, not liking her response, but of course, that’s what she wants - freedom from me. I’m not ready to give her that yet. I can’t give her freedom.
“Using you as bait to draw out Clive and Erick.”
She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Is that still what you want?” I ask, thinking I made a mistake.
She nods. “Yes, I want to help.”
“Good. Because it’s going down tonight. That’s what this date tonight is about.”