“Seriously, besides, I don’t even know how he got my number to begin with.”
“I gave it to him. He’s been hounding me all day about this shit, but I don’t have time.”
She bites her lip, knowing exactly why I don’t have time. “Well, all good. We have it covered.”
Finally, she gets close enough that I can pull her closer.
“I know you do.” I lean down, my lips finding hers, something that I haven’t done all day.
I take my time tasting her, twirling our tongues, kissing her until I feel her body melt against mine. Her hands start undoing my buttons, and I smile as mine stops hers. I love that she needs me almost as much as I do her, but tonight, I want to take things slower.
“Are you ready?” I ask against her lips, then pull back to see her eyes flutter open.
“For what?”
“Dinner.”
“Oh yeah, I am.” Her mischievous smile is delectably cute.
I take her hand and walk her out of the room.
“Oh, like actual food?” She sounds disappointed, and I laugh, pulling her down the hallway.
“Well, it is that time of the day.”
We approach the back entrance to the kitchen, but I lead her the opposite direction, towards the back door that opens onto the large outdoor patio and hear a small gasp when she sees the candles that line the pavers.
“What’s all this?” Her voice is soft, and her eyes bounce around, taking everything in.
And I must say, Nico and the boys really pulled off the romance. They even managed to hang white fairy lights along mama’s olive tree vines that swirl in the trellis walkway to where her precious garden still blooms.
I take Lilly’s hand to my mouth and kiss it gently, then walk her under the vines to mama’s rose garden. There is a table set along the backdrop of arguably the most beautiful place in this entire estate.
“This is unbelievably, our first date.” I say, pulling out her chair, watching her admire the scenery before her adoring eyes settle back on me.
“This is beautiful, thank you.” She raises herself on her tip toes, kissing me quickly before taking her seat.
“Yes. It is.” I can’t keep my eyes off her as she looks around, eyes still sparkling.
“You know, normally a date comes before the ring?”
“There is nothing normal about us, so why bother with the conventional.”
“We should definitely toast to that!”
I take the Don Perignon from the table and pour us both glasses. Once we are both ready, I keep our toast short.
“To us.” I clink her glass and she doesn’t break eye contact as we both drink. “I’m sorry we couldn’t do this away from the house, but it’s best we keep a low profile for a bit.”
“This is perfect.” She hasn’t stopped smiling. “I don’t even know how you found the time.”
“There will always be time for this. And once this is all settled, we should talk about our first trip together.
“Really?” Her eyes widen with excitement.
“Now that I’m not going to be worried about you jumping out of planes, definitely. From what you’ve said you love to travel.”
“Love, love, love to travel. Some of the best times I’ve ever had have been travelling with Ria. How about you?”