“Happy Valentine’s Day, Wildcat. I wanted to do something that I thought would be special for you.”
She blinked a few times as she took in the table, which had several candles lit, along with two tall vases of red roses.
Turns out, I was a romantic dude when I wanted to be.
I just usually didn’t feel the need to do it, but I did with her.
I pulled out her chair, and she took her seat, just as Jacob appeared. I barked out a laugh. He was wearing a black tuxedo, which I had not requested. The kid was only sixteen years old, and Lulu and I weren’t even dressed up since we’d be heading to Booze & Brews after this.
“Hey, buddy. You didn’t need to be so formal. This is Lulu. Lu, this is Jacob. His mom, Dolly, owns the studio.”
“Hey, nice to meet you,” Jacob said before turning to me. “My mom made me wear this. I was the best man in my uncle’s wedding last year, so she insisted I put it on.”
“Well, I appreciate the effort,” Lulu said with a laugh.
Jacob had two large bags in his hands and set them down beside me, looking up for guidance. I hadn’t really planned on him doing more than being here to receive the takeout food I’dordered, and Dolly had been kind enough to give me a key to lock up after we left.
“I can take it from here. I appreciate you waiting for the food.”
“Your champagne is in there, too.” He took a step back. “Ya’ll have a great night. Leave everything here, and I’ll be back first thing in the morning to break it all down before my mom’s first class, just like we discussed.”
I nodded.
“Thanks. Have a good night,” Lulu and I said in unison as the kid hurried out of there.
“Poor guy was forced to wear a tuxedo for all of five minutes,” Lulu said with a laugh as I started unloading the to-go boxes.
“Yeah. His mom was Emerson’s dance teacher, and she’s a good friend of my mom’s, so she wanted it to be nice.” I set the containers in the center of the table because we’d always been big on sharing our entrées. I popped the champagne and filled the flutes as Lulu pulled the tops off the containers.
“You thought of everything,” she said.
You deserve everything.
We held up our champagne flutes and clinked them together.
“Cheers to a good night,” I said.
“It’s always a good night with you.” She smiled up at me as she scooped some pasta onto her plate, and I did the same. “Thanks for doing all this. And I’m not just talking about tonight. I’m talking about everything.”
Her eyes were blinking rapidly again.
“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked, reaching for her chair and pulling her closer.
“I’m sorry I’ve made this all so weird.” She shrugged. “It’s not because I don’t feel this. Because I feel it, Rafe. I’m just—I know I’m leaving. I know you’re staying. I know this will end soon, so I’m trying to be cautious.”
“I know you are. And that’s okay. I’m not pressuring you. I like what we have. Even if just for a short time.” I pulled her onto my lap, wrapping my arms around her. “I like you, Lulu Sonnet. Whether you live here or on the other side of the world, that won’t change.”
She turned to look at me. “I want to have sex with you.”
I barked out a laugh. She was quite possibly the most unpredictable woman I’d ever met. “I’m never going to argue with that. But how about we have dinner first, yeah?”
“Yeah.” She chuckled before putting one hand on each side of my face. “And I like you, too. A lot. More than I want to admit. But here I am, admitting it.”
“See? Was that so hard?”
“It was painfully hard,” she said, resting her forehead against mine. “Okay, I’m going back to my chair to eat.”
She kept her chair close to mine, and we ate, her legs nestled between mine, as we couldn’t seem to sit close enough. We laughed and talked, sharing our plates and having a good time. We polished off the bottle of champagne and half of the bottle of wine that I brought when she reached into her purse.
