“Possibly.”
“I knew your favorite pizza place would work,” he said.
“How did you know it was my favorite?”
“Every time we passed by that place you went on and on about how great their squared-off slices of pizza were. I figured my first time trying it should be with none other than it’s unofficial advertiser.”
“I really do talk about that place too much,” I said.
“I like your passion for things, Grace. Never change that.”
He laced his fingers within mine as the elevator opened onto his floor. I was already beginning to feel like I was home again, and that wasn’t a good thing. But the moment we emerged into his penthouse apartment, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was the place I’d called ‘home’ for over three months, and I hated to admit it… but I had missed the place. The light streaming in from the windows. The open concept of its entire layout. The library down the hallway.
But there was one place I had yet to venture into.
And it was the one place Hayden was guiding me to.
“Come on. I don’t think you’ve seen the upstairs,” he said.
Balancing the pizza in one hand with the drink tray on top of it, he took my hand and guided me up the steps. I was in awe of his coordination. How strong he was on his hip. The stairs led up into the second story of the apartment and the top floor was lined with floor-to-ceiling glass. The stars shone their light through the panes and cast a pale blue hue against the open floor plan of the room.
There was a massive four-poster bed, matching blonde cedar bedside tables and a dresser, a massive television mounted on the wall, and a door that I could only assume ushered into a bathroom.
“This is your bedroom,” I said.
“It is. The two rooms downstairs are technically guest bedrooms.”
I slipped my hand from Hayden’s and slowly walked to the center of the room.
It was surrounded with windows. Nothing but, actually. The carpet beneath my heels was plush and I felt myself constantly sinking into it. There was a door in the corner I almost didn’t catch. Caddied between the start of the windows and the edge of the television.
“That’s the walk-in closet. The door beside me on the opposite end of the room is the bathroom.”
“It’s beautiful up here, Hayden. You have… such a breathtaking view of the city.”
“I have my eye on something else right now.”
My gaze whipped over to him and I saw him raking it down my form. Taking in the way my dress fell along my body. Even I had to admit how good this dress looked on me, and watching him take me in the way he was pulled a smile across my cheeks. My skin flushed underneath his gaze and I rocked on my feet, resisting the urge to knock back his compliment.
“You really do look stunning, Grace.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself in those jeans,” I said.
“Like the way they fit?” he asked as he turned around. “I thought they did my ass a favor.”
I threw my head back and laughed again as he made his way for the bed.
“How does pizza in bed with a movie sound?”
He peeled back the covers and slid underneath, kicking off his shoes while setting the pizza in the middle. It was the most laid-back date that I would’ve never expected from Hayden, and yet it somehow suited us. Not him. Not me. But us, as a couple. I walked over to the other side of the bed and slipped out of my heels, then I removed the clip from my hair and let it fall in my face. I whipped the covers back and wiggled down beside him, and Hayden handed me my drink.
“Your Pepsi, Madame.”
“You’re relentless, you know that?” I asked.
“I didn’t even do anything.”
“Sometimes you don’t have to. Sometimes all you have to do is say a word or do something.”