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“I'll get that right away. And for you?” He gestures toward Cain.
“Nothing for me,” he responds.
“Party-pooper.” I stick my tongue out.
Five minutes later, cone in hand, Cain and I sit on a bench facing the water. It reminds me of little diamonds the way the sunlight reflects off the waves.
I'm licking the cone when I notice Cain watching me. His eyes are hooded, and I instantly realize how I'm licking it.
“See something you like?”
“You can say that.”
I incline my head in question. “Why didn’t you get one?”
His gaze drops to my lips. “That’s not what I like . . .”
I let my tongue leave my mouth again, this time licking very slowly. He practically groans.
“Stop that,” he scolds.
“You don’t like it? Here, take a lick. It might cool you off.” I reach the cone out, but he doesn’t, so I continue to lick.
When I pull it back, he smiles lazily at me, then leans forward, swiping his tongue against the ice cream on my lips.
“It’s good, right?”
“Delicious.”
“Told you.”
“What makes you think I was talking about the ice cream?” he says, and I take another lick to stop myself from climbing him like a tree in public.
Once we’re done flirting over my cone, we walk back to the car and drive back to the house. When we arrive, I see there’s another car in the driveway.
I narrow my eyes at Cain, who only smiles. “What are you hiding, Mr. Archer?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Would I ever. Not just about our mystery guest.
I want to know all of Cain’s secrets. All of his hurts and happiness. I want to deep dive into his mind and find those hidden pieces. There has to be something that will point me in the right direction of keeping us together.
When we walk inside, I see a chef there who appears to have been cooking the entire time we’ve been in town. As we step inside, the cook is packing up to leave, but the table is set with full serving pieces and lit candles.
“This is my surprise? This is too much, Cain!”
Wow. He really thought of everything.
He’s so generous and knows the many ways to my heart. I don’t want to leave him after this trip. There’s no chance of that happening after our magical day.
I’ve already fallen for Cain. Completely head over heels.
“I’m going to head upstairs and get changed into something nicer.” I take a step, but his hand wraps around my upper arm.
“Layla, you don’t have to change.” He turns me to face him. I lift my hand, motioning to the table lit with candles and the chef-prepared meal.
“I am not dressed for this.”
A smirk spreads across Cain’s face. “You could be wearing nothing, and you would still be perfect.”
“You would like that, wouldn’t you?”
“I would, but that’s not the point.”
I lift my brow, stepping farther into the room and closer to the table. “Then, what is the point?”
He moves closer to me. “The point, is I’m just happy to be here with you. I don’t care what you’re wearing. If you want to freshen up and put pj’s on, that would still be too much.”
“I’ll be back,” I say as I head off to the master bedroom.
Once in the closet, I slip on a sundress but opt for no shoes.
Casual, right?
Picking up my phone, I dial Mara. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself.” Her excited voice greets me through the line. “I tried calling you. What’s the good word?”
“I’m away.” In the floor-length mirror, I glance at my reflection. The dress is pretty. It’s a simple, sleeveless, white eyelet slip that falls to my upper thighs.
“Say what?” she asks as I start to walk out of the closet and back into the master bedroom.
“I went away with Cain. He surprised me.”
“Oh . . .” She pauses for a minute, then coughs. “That’s nice.”
She no longer sounds as cheerful to hear from me. Something is off with her voice.
“What’s wrong, Mara? You don’t sound like yourself.”
Mara takes a large breath, and I brace for her to speak. “Listen, I’m thrilled for you, but it seems so fast.”
“It’s not that fast. I’ve known him for almost two months.”
“It’s still not that long, and although you might have known him that long, you haven’t spent much time with him. Collectively, fewer than two weeks.”
I know she just doesn’t want me to get hurt, and I can see where she’s coming from, but she doesn’t understand.
“You don’t get it. It might have only been two weeks or two months. Hell, it could be two years, but there is a feeling I get when I’m with him. I can’t walk away, Mara.”
“And herein lies the reason I’m still single.”
“And that reason?” I ask without missing a beat.
“Because I’m a horrid pessimist. Don’t listen to a word I just said. Go enjoy every minute of your fairy tale. You deserve it.”
