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She hesitates but does as asked. I move behind her again and rest my hands on her shoulders from behind to guide her towards the back sliding doors. The sweet scent of her coconut shampoo or lotion or whatever it is tickles my nose. In the best way, of course. I will willingly inhale Jenna’s island-y smell for the rest of my life.
“Okay, almost there.” Keeping one hand on her shoulder, I reach around her with the other to slide the glass door open. A warm breeze off the lake wraps around us as I lead her over the slight step down, then turn to close the door before I squeeze both of her shoulders. “Open your eyes, Jen.”
Though I can’t see her face, I know the moment she opens them because I feel her body freeze under my hands. And because she doesn’t say anything, positive nor negative, I try to take in the scene through her eyes. Or at least as someone who wasn’t in on everything, because I honestly have no idea how to view the world through Jenna’s endlessly optimistic eyes.
With the help of my sister, Marshall, Ember, John, and Jackie, we have the setup in front of us now. Marshall and Jess already have a nice outdoor dining table on their deck, but thanks to Ember and Jess and Jackie it looks like something out of a magazine, especially with the lake in the background. They set white square plates on top of navy-blue placemats, and there are matching cloth napkins in round golden holders fanned out on top of both plates.
A bouquet of flowers from the inn is in a clear vase in the middle of the table. A wooden bowl with a salad of mixed greens, feta cheese crumbles, fresh sliced strawberries, candied pecans, and a homemade berry vinaigrette drizzled on top is placed beside another wooden bowl of freshly sauteed green beans. Our main course—two rib eyes fresh from Falls Market—are seasoned and in the fridge so I can grill them, along with the dessert I picked up earlier when I came over to my sisters to help prep everything.
And at the dock is the same boat we went out on for Ella’s birthday, in case Jenna is up for a sunset boat ride later.
“Seth, this is…” Jenna turns to look at me, her blue eyes wide. “How did you…?”
I smile. “Help. Lots of it. And in case you were wondering, no, I’m not converting us to veganism.” I reluctantly release her, but not without dropping a soft kiss on her shoulder, and gesture to the chairs at the table. “Feel free to have a seat. I’ll be right back. Oh, before I grab our main course…”
I can feel Jenna’s gaze follow my every move as I connect my phone to the Bluetooth speaker I’m borrowing from my sister, tap shuffle on a dinner jazz playlist Ember texted me, and then when I go inside. I pull the tray of steaks, along with the charcuterie board from Farm to Table, from the fridge and take them outside with me. Jenna’s eyes light up when she sees the food and yeah, it’s official: if the woman loves steak, she and I are soulmates. Which is saying something, considering I don’t believe in that concept.
“Since it’ll be a little while before the steaks are ready, I present to you a charcuterie board that I did not make.” I set the board, arranged with a mouthwatering blend of crackers, sliced meats, olives, berries, jams, and cheeses, on the table near where Jenna sat down. “Like I said, I had a lot of help in making this evening happen.”
“Wait.” I see the moment the dots connect in her head. “Joanna was in on this?”
I shrug with a grin.
She shakes her head. “Of course. How did I not guess that? I think all your helpers deserve a handwritten thank you or something.” She spreads fig jam on a cracker, then folds a thin slice of salami on top, and apparently my new favorite hobby is watching her eat, because I’m mesmerized as she slips the cracker between her soft pink lips. Who knew charcuterie could be such a turn on? “Mmm. I don’t know how, but Ben’s charcuterie boards get better every time. Did you know that he makes all the jams—even the blueberry and fig ones?”
“Considering it says as much on the menu, yes, I did,” I tease lightly as I set the steaks on the grill. I texted Marshall just before we left Jenna’s and he turned on the grill so it could heat up before he and Jess left to go up to the inn for the evening. “But that’s impressive. I personally prefer to stick with cooking main or side dishes, grilling, or the very occasional dessert. I usually leave most of the desserts to my sister, though. She’s the one who excels in that area.”
Jenna’s quiet for a moment because she’s still chewing her cracker. “Uh, I bet you’re pretty good at them too, though. I know you make excellent chocolate chip pancakes, which is basically dessert in breakfast form but we tell ourselves they’re healthy ‘cause there’s eggs in them and the chocolate comes from a plant.”
I laugh as I glance over my shoulder. “I’ve never heard that before.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
She shrugs, an overly innocent smile on her lips. “Probably because I just made it up.”
I shake my head and turn my attention back to the grill, adjusting the temp so the steaks will cook slower. “I hope this isn’t a disappointment. This date, I mean. It’s not that I didn’t want to take you out or that I didn’t want to be seen with you. I don’t care who sees us together. It’s just, well, I don’t want people dissecting every part of a relationship they know nothing about so early on. And that sounds terrible, I kno—”
“Seth, I couldn’t have imagined a better date.” I jump because her voice is right behind me, then inhale sharply when her arms slide around my waist from behind, her cheek resting on my back. “But the real question is, how did you know that I can’t resist a man grilling steaks?” She slides her hands up to my biceps and squeezes, and I have to force out an exhale. “Especially when he’s wearing a suit likethisone.”
“I know you better than you think,” I say, and flip the steaks before closing the grill. I set the tongs on the side tray, then turn to face Jenna, pulling her to me with my hands clasped at her lower back.Two can play this game, darlin’.“For instance, I know that you love the color yellow.”
She gasps. “What?No.Really?”
“Mm-hmm.” I trace one of my fingers along her jaw, then curl a lock of her hair around it. “I know that you almost always have your hair in a messy bun, but it looks amazing when it’s curled.”
“You don’t say.” Her words are breathy.
I smile because I love knowing I have that effect on her. “I know that you tend to put other people before yourself, especially when it comes to your kids. Which is honorable, but also a little bit unhealthy.”
“Guilty as charged,” she admits with an unfocused smile, her eyes falling to my lips for a second before they dart to meet my gaze again.
“I know you look adorable in pajamas.” I lower my voice. “And you lookgorgeousin the dress you’re wearing right now.”
A flush crawls into her cheeks. “Flattery will get you everywhere, Chief Johnson.”
“I know you do yoga faithfully every night and that I probably couldn’t twist myself into half of the poses you do.”
