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Her father rose from his chair and pulled her into a hug. Doreen joined them by wrapping her arms around their torsos and squeezing.
Tears flowed down Desiree’s cheeks. The group hug did her in. She had intended to fight her emotions, but she wanted to feel everything she was supposed to feel at that moment.
“This is the best gift anyone could ever give us. Thank you, Desiree. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” Her father squeezed her tighter.
23
Montez met Desiree outside his door, and she raised her eyebrows in surprise. “What’s going on?”
He had been looking forward to this moment all night and held up a strip of cloth. “You have to put this over your eyes.”
Her eyebrows inched higher. “Kinky.”
He laughed. “Get your mind out of the gutter, although we can do whatever you’re thinking later. I need you to put this on because I have a surprise for you.”
She grinned, immediately closing her eyes and turning around so her back faced him. “Go ahead.”
Montez placed the blindfold over her eyes and tied it behind her head.
“I can’t see,” she said, waving her hands around.
He took her by the forearm. “That’s the point, gorgeous. You have to trust me and let me guide you.”
Gently, he led her into the condo, and they started across the floor. Desiree sniffed the air.
“Something smells good.”
Montez didn’t reply but continued to lead her to where he had set up a romantic indoor picnic. At least, he thought it was romantic, and he hoped she did too.
He stopped in front of the spread on the floor, where he’d placed a low table covered with spicy food from their favorite Indian restaurant, including lamb vindaloo and madras curry with chicken. The table was flanked on either side by large pillows for them to sit on, and he’d purchased battery-operated lanterns and strategically placed them on the floor to cast a soft amber light on the setting. He had never done anything like this before and felt simultaneously cheesy while excited to see her reaction.
“Ready?”
Desiree bounced on her feet. “Yes.”
Montez carefully removed the blindfold, and when she saw what he had done, she gasped. Then she looked at him. “Baby, this is so nice.”
“You like it?”
“Iloveit. Thank you.”
She raised onto her toes, and they shared a brief kiss.
Being with Desiree allowed him to do all the things he’d wanted to do in the past but never did because of his bad experiences in high school, and as she had pointed out months ago, from making the wrong choices with women. With Desiree, he had become a different man and stepped into the type of relationship he’d always secretly hoped for. The kind he had seen at home between his parents, where the love and affection his father demonstrated for his mother was a timeless, romantic example to follow.
Desiree sat cross-legged on a pillow. He joined her on the one across from her and poured them each a glass of wine.
“Next week, we’re rolling out the last phase of the marketing plan to Women in Marketing, and it’s been a success. Thank you.”
Not only had revenue increased because of the campaign, the new clients were very vocal about their positive experience with At Your Service, which generated more clients.
Montez held up his glass, and Desiree touched hers against it.
“You’re welcome,” she said.
“How did the conversation go with your parents?” he asked.
Desiree tore off a piece of naan bread. “They were happy, though reluctant to accept the gift at first.”
