She lets out a heavy sigh as she bites her bottom lip. “You let me rant the whole way down.”
I start the maps on silent to keep the location from being announced. I may have been joking about the mask, but I want to attempt some sort of surprise until she figures it out herself.
I reach for her thigh as I start to back out. “I told you, I can handle it.”
Her eyes narrow. “Wanna bet? I can do so much worse.”
I turn the radio off, then give her a wink. “Do your worst. You have about thirty minutes until we get there.”
Bringing my eyes back to the road, I wait for the first hook of hers to come, but her hand links through mine with a squeeze.
“Thank you for this.”
I give her a quick glance. Her shoulders are no longer at her ears and her face is relaxed. “For what? A date?”
“For planning it. For planning three of them, actually, and keeping me in mind while doing it.”
“Mia, honey, that’s a pretty standard thing for a partner to do. You don’t need to thank me.”
She weighs her head back and forth with a small smirk. “Maybe not, but I wanted to. I appreciate the effort, and I know I love it when someone points out that I did a good job.”
Yeah, Mia loves some acts of service, but words of affirmation is her main love language. I bring her hand up and place a kiss on the back of it. “You’re right, thank you for saying that.”
Mia’s anxious questions don’t come until we were about five minutes out. Honestly, I expected her to figure it out at the halfway mark, but she probably just thought there was no way we’d go there.
“Adam, are we going where I think we’re going?” A nervous laugh follows after her question.
“I don’t know, where do you think we’re going?”
That pinched expression she got with the eye mask threat comes back. “Adam.”
“Mia.”
“There’s no way we’re going there. You don’t even know what I’m talking about.”
“Are you sure about that?” I smirk, knowing we’re seconds away from pulling into the neighborhood of our future home.
I see Mia suck in a breath as we approach the turn, and when I take it, her smile is remarkable. “I thought you said we were having a picnic.”
“We are.”
“But…” Mia blinks several times as, I’m assuming, she’s trying to piece together what exactly I have planned. Or trying to make sure she’s actually witnessing her grandfather’s house come into view.
Hell, I have as well. The pictures her dad showed me don’t do this place justice. Its brownstone has clearly been properly maintained along with its Victorian stonework.
I told Patrick I only wanted to see the outside though, just to make sure I get the right place, but the inside is Mia’s to show me. I can’t wait to hear all of her stories and memories of this place.
I can’t wait to fill the house with new ones…and the first one starts tonight.
When we pull in the driveway, Mia has tears pooling in her eyes. “I swear they’re happy tears—just ignore them. It’s these damn hormones. I’m really going to need the details now, please.”
I tuck some of her hair behind her ear. “I’ll fill you in, but I don’t want our food getting cold.”
I get out of the car before she can get a full protest out and open her door. “Come on, it’s set up out back.”
“Wh—how?” Mia takes my hand. “I’m loving this, but still very confused as to how you pulled this off.”
“I had some help. I believe your dad said he left the gate to the back open… Do you happen to know where the gate is?”
