“Absolutely. I know the long-distance thing isn’t ideal, but there was such an obvious spark between the two of you when you were together. That doesn’t happen every day.”
He opened the front door and paused to tell me, “I have to run, but I want to hear all about it tomorrow. You have the house to yourself, by the way. Yolanda and JoJo are having dinner and seeing a play with friends, and Dylan and Lark decided to do an impromptu weekend getaway. Just FYI, in case the cybersex gets loud tonight.”
He grinned and winked at me, and then he left before I could tell him that wasn’t going to happen. Ryder and I had kept this strictly platonic since we got back from Las Vegas. There was no reason to assume that was about to change.
I hurried upstairs to see what Ryder had sent, and a surprised laugh burst from me. An absurdly large tan-colored teddy bear was leaning against my door. Beside it was a gorgeous bouquet of yellow mini sunflowers and purple irises in a vase, along with a small, gold gift bag.
Steve, the black cat who’d shown up at the pink Victorian one day and never left, was curled up on the bear’s lap. “Sorry, cat,” I said, “but I have to move the bear so I can get through the door.”
As soon as I started to shift the stuffed animal, Steve leapt up and stalked away. The bear weighed a ton and was easily four feet high, even in its seated position. I dragged it into my room before going back for the gift bag and flowers.
To get cute for my date, I traded my outfit for a black silk slip dress with spaghetti straps, brushed my hair, and added some tinted lip balm. I took a seat at my desk and fired up my laptop, and then I texted Ryder to let him know I was ready. Why was I nervous?
We both hopped onto a Zoom call, and when he appeared on my screen, he murmured, “Wow, you look amazing.”
“Thank you, and thanks for the gifts.”
I angled the computer so he could see the bear, and he started laughing. “Oh, shit. I wanted to send you something you could cuddle, but I didn’t realize it was going to be that big.”
“It’s very cute, and the floral arrangement is gorgeous.” I held up the flowers and smelled them before returning them to my desk.
“The sunflowers are supposed to represent me. I grow several different kinds every summer. And the irises are meant to represent you, because purple is your favorite color, and because I thought they were really beautiful and elegant.”
“They go together perfectly.”
“I think so, too.”
I picked up the gift bag and asked, “Can I open this now, or should I wait?”
“Open it now. It’s nothing big.”
It contained a gold box tied with a purple ribbon and filled with six gorgeous, artisan chocolates. “Thank you again. These are too pretty to eat, but I’ll do it anyway because they smell heavenly.”
“I know flowers and chocolate aren’t very original, but what can I say? I’m an old-fashioned type of guy.”
“Hey, they’re classics for a reason.”
We both heard a loud knock, and Ryder glanced at his phone and told me, “That’s your dinner. I’m going to go get something from the kitchen while you answer the door.”
I ran downstairs and quickly returned with bags from two different restaurants. Ryder was still gone, but one of his dogs had taken over for him. As the greyhound sniffed Ryder’s screen and the camera, I said, “Hi there, puppy. I’ve forgotten your name.”
“That’s Sally,” Ryder reminded me, as he reappeared and took a seat. “As in long, tall Sally.”
“How could I forget?” I held up the bags and asked, “Should I unpack all of this, or do one at a time?”
“Go ahead and unpack all of it. There should be a couple of cocktails in there, because I thought you might like some drinks before dinner.”
The cocktails were mojitos with fresh mint, delivered in reusable mini mason jars. There was also a green salad, a perfect sushi roll decorated with a single orchid, and a luscious-looking slice of strawberry cheesecake. My next question was, “Is that a yam tempura roll?”
“Yup.”
“How did you know that’s my favorite?”
“You mentioned it once.”
“Did I?”
“Yeah, about a month ago. I don’t remember how we got on the subject, but I said I wasn’t a big fan of sushi because I didn’t like raw fish. You explained there are all different kinds, and that your favorite—yam tempura sushi—doesn’t have any fish in it at all.”
