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The TV interview takes an hour to record. It will be aired later tonight. If we don’t linger over dinner, Olivia and I can catch it. I have just enough time to go home and take a quick shower. I dress and check my reflection critically in the mirror. I’ve gone for a semi-casual look which works well for dinner.
I hope that Olivia had a great afternoon and the spa treatment has left her feeling relaxed. She works so hard and she certainly deserves to be pampered. I park my car outside her apartment building and rather than text her as is our custom, I head to the entrance. I hit the buzzer and she lets me in.
I take the stairs and when I get to her floor, her front door is open. I stand near the window looking out while I wait for Olivia to appear.
“Hi,” she says and I whirl around. Her hair is done up in an elaborate style which shows off the necklace and earrings I gave her. She looks regal. Like visiting royalty.
“You look beautiful,” I tell her as she walks to me, her hips swaying seductively underneath the silver evening dress she’s wearing.
“It isn’t over the top?” Olivia asks, glancing at her dress.
“Hell no. It’s perfect.” I reach for her hand and pull her gently to me, then wrap my hands around her waist. I nuzzle her neck, inhaling her scent. “I love your smell.” I move to kiss her mouth but she pulls away after our lips brush against each other.
“You have lipstick on your lips now.” Olivia laughs and wipes my lips with the back of her hand. Then she raises her gaze to my eyes. “You are so handsome, Jace Anderson. I don’t know how some hot woman hasn’t snagged you by now.”
“She has.”
Her face heats up and a smile lights up her face.
“I love you, Olivia James.” I don’t want her to think that the first time I expressed my love for her was a mistake. I’ve fallen head over heels in love with Olivia. As Dylan pointed out, age is nothing but a number. There are a lot of couples with a ten-year age difference between them and it doesn’t affect their relationships.
Olivia kisses my mouth lightly. “Shall we go? We don’t want to lose our reservation.”
“Sure.” I ignore the stab of disappointment. Olivia doesn’t jump into situations. She takes her time, so expecting her to say the words back is setting me up for failure. I’ll give her as much time as she needs as long as eventually she’ll be mine, just as I’m already hers.
“Oh, Jace,” Olivia says in the car as we’re heading to the restaurant. “Thank you so much. I had such a great time today. I feel like I’ve been on a month-long vacation. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I didn’t know it was possible to feel so fucking happy over another person’s happiness.
“I dozed off at the spa,” she adds with a laugh.
I laugh as an image of Olivia sleeping as she got her treatments done comes to my mind. She does look relaxed and I’m glad I thought of that as a birthday gift.
I slide into a parking space conveniently located at the front of the restaurant. It’s a warm night, with a slight breeze to keep the air cool. Holding Olivia’s hand as we walk comes naturally as if we’ve been together for years.
“Where have you been all my life?”
She laughs. “I could ask you the same question.”
Inside, we are shown to our table at a private spot in a corner. I pull the chair for Olivia, then take the chair opposite hers so I can have the pleasure of looking at her gorgeous face all evening.
“Champagne?” Olivia asks, eyeing the champagne bottle on ice which I’d already preordered. Her birthday evening is going to be perfect. A night she will always remember and the many firsts that we’ll have together.
“We have to have champagne to celebrate,” I tell her. I nod at the waiter to pop it open. He does and pours it into two flutes, then excuses himself to get the menus. “A toast. To you, Olivia, to the kind, sweet, smart, funny person that you are. I feel so blessed to have found you. To us.”
Olivia has tears in her eyes as we clink glasses and then sip on our drinks. The waiter returns with the menus and after perusing, I go for the braised lamb while Olivia orders some fish dish that I’ve never heard of.
“Why didn’t you mention that your birthday was coming up?” I ask her.
A cloud comes over her face. “I’ve never celebrated my birthday.”
“Why?”
“Birthdays were always a disappointment when we were growing up, so we sort of avoided them. They were never a celebration.” Olivia takes a sip of her champagne and sets the flute back on the table.
I’ve never heard of anyone who doesn’t celebrate their birthday even if it’s just an acknowledgment of the date.
“I remember once, my mom told me to ask my friends over and she would bake a cake and make some snacks. She was on one of her few sober streaks and I was over the moon with excitement.” A soft smile comes over her features.
