“Yes, they are.” She giggles, shaking her head, clearly finding the whole concept of me surprising her for dinner amusing.
I pull into the parking lot of a fairly nondescript beige building and turn into a parking space.
“Okay,” I say, cutting the engine. “We’re here.”
“Does that mean I can open my eyes now?”
“Nope.” I unbuckle my seatbelt and do the same for her. “You’ve gotta keep them closed ‘til we’re inside.”
Skyler pouts, tempting me to bite at her plump bottom lip, but otherwise keeps her eyes firmly closed. “But how will I be able to walk inside?”
“I won’t let you fall, Baby Bird.” I get out and jog to the other side of my truck to open the passenger door. She gasps as I trace my fingers from her shoulder down to her fingertips. I squeeze her hand. “I’ve got you, Skye. Take it slow.”
I help her down onto the pavement. She turns her head left and then right, as if she’s trying to gauge our position using the power of echolocation alone.
“Any guesses as to where we are?” I ask, trying to hold in my chuckles.
Her chin falls to her chest in defeat. “No...”
“You’ll see soon enough, I promise.”
Laying my hands on her shoulders, I step behind her, guiding her into the building and making sure she doesn’t bump into anything.
“Don’t make me walk into a wall or something,” Skyler mutters.
I touch my lips to the shell of her ear and whisper, “Baby Bird, I would never do that.”
She gasps, and I feel her shoulder muscles relax beneath my hands. I love that I can make her shiver with nothing but a few words and a simple touch.
“You better not, Daddy,” she grumbles, trying to sound threatening and failing miserably—not that I’d ever tell her that.
I guide her into the building, holding the door so she can step through easily, then direct her into an elevator and up three floors. We collide with a wall of delicious smells as soon as we step off the elevator. A few more steps down the hall, I open the door leading to Skyler’s surprise.
“Can I open my eyes now?” Skyler asks, clasping her hands together and beaming with excitement. “Pretty please with a cherry on top?”
This time I can’t hold in my laughter. “Yes, Skye, you can look now.”
She opens her eyes and her jaw drops.
For the first time since we met, my baby girl is speechless as her gaze roves over the multiple cooking stations, each one complete with a stove, prepping area, and storage cabinets for cooking supplies. One cooking station stands at the front of the room, visible from all the others, where a handful of people are already clustered, making small-talk and presumably waiting for the chef to arrive.
“What is this?” Skyler asks, staring at the room in disbelief.
I rub the back of my head nervously, hoping I haven’t misjudged her level of interest or inadvertently insulted her by signing her up for a class.
“It’s a cooking class,” I tell her. “You told me you and your dad used to cook together all the time, so I thought it’d be fun if we did some cooking together. They offer all kinds of classes here a few nights a week, and tonight the theme is Ethiopian dishes. I’ve never had Ethiopian food, so I thought it might be interesting to learn. But if you already know the dish, or if you don’t like it, we can just—”
Skyler cuts off my worried rambling by throwing her arms around my neck and hugging me tightly.
“Oh my God, Ben, this is so incredibly thoughtful!” She pecks small kisses all over my lips and cheeks. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. This is the best surprise ever. I love it so much!”
Drunk on Skyler’s kisses, I can’t resist blurting out, “I love you.”
My heart stutters in my chest.
Skyler pulls back just enough to meet my gaze. “You do?”
Aw, to hell with it...