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“Let’s talk about the elephant in the doorway,” I say.
She looks behind her.
“I’m talking about those, silly.” I point to the bags she’s holding in each hand.
“Just a few gifts,” she says with a coquettish one-shoulder shrug.
“Arianne.” I shake my head. “What did I tell you?”
“I know you said just to bring myself—”
“I said just to bring your fine ass.”
She blushes.
“Well, my fine ass grew up with Scottish parents. Showing up empty-handed isn’t in their DNA—hence, it isn’t in mine. Since you took care of the food and dessert, I figured I’d supply the drink.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“I know, but I wanted to.”
“I already have wine covered—”
“I figured you’d say that.”
“What did you get us?”
“I took care of champagne,” she says, lifting one hand.
“I already bought champagne to celebrate tonight.”
“Oh.” She frowns, but bounces back. “You can never have too much champagne!”
“I agree. What else did you bring?”
“Since you thoroughly enjoyed cognac while we were in Germany”—she lifts the other bag— “I thought I’d get you a bottle. I’m sure you must have some in stock, but just in case you run out.”
“You kill me.”
“I wanted to be more original, but…”
“But?”
“There’s so much I don’t know about you.”
“Hence, why we’re dating, baby. Get your fine ass in here.”
She steps inside, and I grab the bags from her.
“Thanks,” she says. “I got a crash course in cognac today. Who knew there was so much to learn?”
I drop the bags on the console table, close the door and lock it before returning my undivided attention to her.
“What did you learn?”
“Well, you just don’t walk into a liquor store and ask for a bottle of cognac. You have to know what you’re looking for. You have different levels of sophistication for different price points and different palates,” she says. “The salesperson told me if I wanted to impress my host, a bottle of Louis XIII would make for an unforgettable gift. When I saw the staggering price tag, I nearly choked. I swear, my eyes popped out of their sockets. Three thousand seven hundred dollars for booze? I settled for a refined bottle of Rémy Martin XO—”
“You did the right thing by settling.”
