Still shivering with pleasure, I hug the dress to my chest for a second, and then go about changing. It’s already six, which means I only have an hour to make myself presentable. And to judge by the style of this outfit, Ankor has something fancier in mind than our usual dates.
So far, we’ve mostly confined ourselves to exploring distant parts of the island. Going on hikes into beautiful remote jungle areas, climbing up mountain peaks to take in the sight of the whole island. Or going back to our now-favorite beach, which more often than not is empty enough that we can recreate our first hookup there.
It’s starting to feel like a real relationship. We have our spots, our traditions, our firsts. Our favorites.
I shower, the smile never leaving my face, and put on my makeup and the dress just in time to meet Ankor in the lobby right on schedule. As usual, the second he sees me, his eyes light up and it’s all he can do to keep his hands from wandering too far as he wraps his arms around me and kisses me.
“Gorgeous as ever,” he whispers against my lips.
“You clean up pretty well yourself,” I reply, tugging on the lapel of the suit he’s wearing. I’ve never seen him this dressed up. I have to admit, the suit is doing wonders for him. And making me wonder if we might better spend our evening heading back upstairs for a while…
But he’s already leading me out the door, his hand wrapped tight around mine. On our way past, we both wave to Mrs. Jenkins, who’s sitting outside reading a book.
“Have fun, kids,” she says, with a twinkle in her eye that tells us both she knows exactly how close we’ve been getting over the past few weeks. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she adds. “Which leaves you plenty of options, believe me.”
We laugh as Ankor opens the passenger door of his car and I climb in. “She’s a riot,” I say as he takes the wheel.
“My favorite,” he replies, and there’s a humorous glint in his eyes as he waves to her in the rearview mirror.
I don’t recognize the road we take. It’s a different direction than we normally go, toward town rather than away from it. Then again, I’m pretty distracted by the feeling of Ankor’s hand on my knee, warm and reassuring all at once.
“So, any hints about tonight’s destination?” I reach down to take his hand.
His fingers interlace through mine. “That would ruin the surprise. Let’s just say, it’s a special occasion.”
“Oh, really?” I cast a sideways glance at him, amused.
“It’s about time I took you out properly,” he replies.
I laugh and roll my eyes. “You take me out all the time.”
“Not really. Not the way I would if we were back in the real world, in my old life.”
His words make me frown a little, worried. I side-eye him. It’s the first time, since our confession night, when he told me who he really was, that I’ve heard him mention his past. The old him. It makes me wonder why he’s bringing it up now. “You’re the one who’s always telling me to live in the present. Not to let my past define me.”
“And it shouldn’t,” he’s quick to agree. “But I want to treat you right, Sinclair. I want to show you how much you mean to me.”
“I don’t need fancy dates to know that,” I protest.
It makes him smile. “Which is what I love about you.” He squeezes my hand and leans over just far enough to kiss my cheek without taking his gaze from the road. “But that’s exactly why I want to take you out and spoil you. Because you deserve it so much more than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Than his gold-digger exes, he means. I feel a pang of sympathy. After all, I can’t imagine what that must have been like for him. Always being used, starting to trust people and then finding out they only valued him for what they could get out of him.
I don’t want to be like those girls. Ever. And I want to be here for him now. To show him that what I feel is real.
So I force a pang of worry out of my mind. We’ll be fine. Ankor’s been so careful about hiding his real identity. I’ve done the same. We’re a million miles from our pasts. It won’t catch up to us just for having one night of fun.
He takes us into Kahului, the biggest city on the island, right near the waterfront. There’s a famous restaurant there, world-renowned, and the moment we pull up out front, a valet steps out to take care of the car, while another leads us to our private tasting room. I side-eye Ankor.