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His eyes lit up--then went dark with heat--when he saw she was wearing only a towel. "Damn," he said, "it's good to see you." He looked super yummy in a navy button-down shirt and dark slacks, and she realized he must have showered and shaved in his room at the B&B. He pulled her into his arms. "Are you just getting into the bath or just getting out?"
"Out," she replied, "but I'm more than happy to get back in with you."
He groaned, the sound reverberating from his chest to hers. "I can't tell you how badly I want to do that, but we need to get going."
"Get going? Where?"
"I've made reservations." He smiled at her. "Romantic reservations." Of course he had. Because all he wanted was for her to be happy. "But if you're too tired--"
"No, I'm fine." Though she'd been drooping on her feet before, she suddenly felt like a million bucks. All because Justin loved her. "Actually, I feel great now that you're here. I just need to get dressed." She opened her antique pine armoire. "Dress code?" Judging by his outfit, she took a guess. "Something pretty?" She held up a green silk dress with long sleeves and a nipped-in waist.
"Perfect. I'll wait in the kitchen while you get ready. Otherwise, I won't be able to resist the allure of taking a bath with you." She had to laugh at the slightly pained look on his face as he walked away.
She would have loved to have climbed into the tub with him, but honestly, the chance to put on makeup and a dress and heels to go out on a date with her boyfriend filled her with a wonderful rush of happiness. It was funny how something small like this could make her feel lighter, more hopeful. She needed to remember this moment as she moved forward over the next weeks, months, and years--that she shouldn't make the mistake of forgetting to appreciate the little things--a sunrise, a smile, a perfect chocolate chip cookie.
And especially a romantic evening out with the man she loved.
He wouldn't tell her where they were going, but that was perfectly okay with Taylor. As long as they were together, she knew it would be great. Even the drive was perfect, the sun having just disappeared behind the mountains, leaving the vineyards glowing in a soft, dusky light.
Twenty minutes later, Justin pulled into the Wine Train parking lot. "Surprise."
"I've been wanting to do this for months!" She threw her arms around him and kissed him. "I love it already."
She could see how pleased he was by her appreciation of his romantic gesture as he grinned and said, "I hope you love it even more once we're on the train."
"Ms. Cardenes, Mr. Morrison, welcome to Romance on the Rails." The conductor, who was wearing a sharp black suit and cap, gave them a bow. "We are very glad you are able to join us tonight on our magical and romantic journey. Please watch your step as you board, and then I will take you to your private dining quarters."
Taylor lifted her eyebrows at Justin. Private dining quarters? She hadn't even realized the Wine Train had such a thing. She'd looked into buying a ticket to one of their murder mysteries a few months back, but had glossed right over their romance package. After all, what was the point in thinking about romance when the only man she cared about was thousands of miles away?
She would have given herself a little pinch to make sure this evening was real if Justin hadn't taken her hand just then. Following the conductor, they passed through one beautiful restored Pullman car after another. There were a few families in the first car, but most of the Wine Train's passengers tonight were couples. Young, old, or somewhere in between, they all looked happy to be on board the luxurious train, and most looked to be deeply in love as well.
But it was hard to imagine any of them could compare with what she and Justin had together. A bond so deep, so true, so strong, that love was blossoming even in the midst of their less-than-perfect situation.
Tonight was perfect, though. A romantic trip on the Napa Valley Wine Train was exactly the kind of date she'd been longing for this afternoon when her head was spinning.
The conductor led them into the final car. "You will be dining beneath our glass-topped Vista Dome with the stars twinkling above and panoramic views of the silver-painted vineyards all around you as we traverse Napa Valley tonight. If you will please take a seat, I'd like to present you with one of our finest local vintages, a sparkling wine we hope you will greatly enjoy. And now, please relax and let us know if there is anything we can do to make your romantic evening shine even brighter."
"I know one thing that can definitely be improved upon," Justin said once they were alone. He scooted his chair closer, so that they were sitting side by side instead of on opposite sides of the round dining table, and put his arm around her as the train slowly made its way out of the station. "I would pull you onto my lap, but this looks to be a family-friendly trip." The wicked glint in his eyes gave testament to the fact that he really did want her sitting on his lap.
Blissfully happy, she leaned her head against his shoulder. "This is the perfect escape."
"I agree."
Sitting close, they looked through the windows and the roof as the stars began to appear one by one, almost as though someone were turning them on with a light switch simply to captivate the two of them. Together, they pointed out the constellations they knew and made up names for those they didn't.
Taylor wasn't sure she'd ever seen so many stars. Or maybe it just seemed that way because everything seemed brighter and better when she was with Justin.
"Do you remember that night we snuck past the fence at the Dish and spent the night gazing at stars?" The hiking trails on the edge of the Stanford campus had been named for the massive high-powered antenna that had been installed at the top of the hill in 1962.
"I was just thinking the same thing," he said, pr
essing a kiss to the top of her head. "I nearly told you that night."
She shifted to look at him. "Told me what?"
"That I loved you. That I'd always loved you. That I always would."
Her heart melted, and when she kissed him, she couldn't hold back. Before she knew it, she actually had started to climb into his lap, family-friendly trip be damned.
The sound of a throat clearing had her jumping back into her seat, cheeks flaming. Justin, on the other hand, looked extremely pleased with himself.
The waiter did an impressive job of keeping a straight face. "Everything we will be serving you tonight is made from local ingredients. To begin, an amuse-bouche made of local butternut squash and zucchini."
Taylor's stomach growled, and she realized she'd barely eaten all day. She usually ate breakfast after her guests in the morning, but with her mother and Bruce there, she'd been in a rush to get things worked out with them. And then they'd gone to meet with Debra in Yountville before coming back to put on tea for her guests. Altogether, she'd nibbled only some scrambled eggs in the morning and then half a cookie in the afternoon.
Having promised everyone from Justin to her mother to her doctors that she would take good care of herself, she should dig in. But first she needed Justin to know something. "I nearly did the same thing that night up at the Dish. I was this close to blurting out my feelings for you."
"You were?" He looked stunned. "How the hell could I have been so blind? If I'd had even the slightest inkling that you felt the way I did..."
"I've always been good at hiding my feelings, at pushing them away when they feel too big or too hard to deal with." She swallowed hard. "Sometimes, I'm afraid I'm going to fall back into that pattern. Even this afternoon, I was so ready to escape reality that I made you promise to act like none of it is happening, to pretend that everything is sunshine and butterflies and rainbows."
