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“I know colors mean things,” Cassius said. “Yellow is supposed to be for friendship, which I’m hoping we can build before moving on to anything else.”
“And who taught you what flower colors mean?” Aella quickly demanded.
Chuckling, Cassius snaked an arm around her neck. “Rein in your jealousy, and let’s go eat, Torrisi.”
“I’m not jealous.”
“Keep telling yourself that, love.”
Despite having lived in Whiskey Creek all her life, Aella couldn’t quite pinpoint where they were. It was a park she was sure she’d driven past several times, but in the center was a gazebo she was positive hadn’t existed until that day. A trail of yellow rose petals led them up the steps to a round table covered in a white tablecloth, also decorated with rose petals.
“How did you manage to pull this off?” Aella inquired, eyeing the lit candles as she sank into the chair Cassius pulled out for her.
“Mars helped, though I had to listen to him complain the entire time. And a private chef, I had to slide a little extra to keep the food intact since you wanted to be late. You’re costing me a lot of money, Elle,” he joked, taking his seat.
“Shut up,” she grinned. “I’m worth it.”
“Luckily, I have a feeling you’re right.”
Aella was trying her hardest not to fall under the charming spell of the man sitting across from her. But it was almost impossible after all the time and effort he’d put into the night. The gesture and theme with the roses already had her wobbling at the knees, knowing that he’d dragged his best friend into the mix to help decorate and hired a private chef to make one of the most delicious, melt-in-your-mouth salmon dishes she’d ever had was enough to have her let her guard down, if only for the night.
“As beautiful as this is,” Aella gestured around them. “Who’s responsible for cleaning all this up?”
“That doesn’t have anything to do with you, nosey,” Cassius joked. “But if you must know, the same people who set it up. I’ll just text them when I’m done, and they’ll handle it.”
“Mmhm,” she hummed, going back to her food.
“You know, it won’t kill you to compliment me and admit I did a good job.”
Aella chose to ignore that.
“So,” she began after swallowing a mouthful of pillowy mashed potatoes. “This woman you mentioned earlier.”
The grin he gave her left Aella squirming in her seat. “What about her?”
“How long were you dating her?”
“On and off for a couple of years.”
“So she was a friend with benefits?”
“If you want to call it that.”
“Hmm.”
“What?”
“Why didn’t you ever take things further?”
“If I answer that question honestly, you might not like me by the night’s end.”
“Who said I liked you now?”
“I don’t need to hear it. The look on your face every time we make eye contact says enough.”
Aella’s eyes widened. “Excuse me?”
“I didn’t stutter, Elle,” Cassius replied coolly.
