Page 144 of Our Chaotic Love Affair

I blinked. “What?”

“You heard me. Proper dates. Flowers. The whole thing.” He was grinning now. “I’m going to romance you so thoroughly that you forget we did everything backwards.”

“We didn’t do everything backwards.”

“We had a fake engagement before our first real date.”

“Fair point.”

“So.” He kissed my forehead. “Get ready to be wooed.”

“Wooed?”

“Extensively wooed.”

I laughed. “Do your worst, Lurch.”

“Oh, I will.” He pulled me closer. “I’m thinking dinner at that place you mentioned once. The one with the view of the Brooklyn Bridge.”

“You remembered that?”

“I remember everything you tell me.” He kissed me softly. “Then maybe a weekend trip somewhere. Not Rome. Somewhere new. London. Scotland.”

I kissed him. Long and deep and trying to pour everything I felt into it.

“I love you,” I said when we broke apart.

“I love you too.”

We stayed there for another hour. Talking about the future. About my business plan and his sabbatical. About where we’d live. His place was bigger. Obviously. I lived in a shoebox. Anywhere was bigger. About whether we’d get a dog.

“I’ve always wanted a dog,” I reminded him.

“I know. We’ll get one.”

“Really?”

“Really. You pick. I’ll handle the logistics.”

“Even if I pick a huge messy one who drools, sheds, and farts?”

He cringed. “If that’s what makes you happy.”

“You know what would make me happy?”

“That’s pretty vague.”

“Got any of those condoms stashed in a pocket?”

He arched a brow at me. “We don’t have the cover of darkness.”

“We have a blanket. Come on. Live a little.”

And we lived.

By the time we were finished, I was sated and ready for the long drive back.

CHAPTER 45