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This close, I can smell his cologne. Fresh and crisp. It reminds me of nature. Intoxicating. A warm fall day. A walk in the park. Whatever the scent, I wanted to immerse myself in it and get lost.
“This is the fast way,” he points out.
“I wouldn’t have said that if I knew that this was the fast way.”
“Shh.” He tightens his grip on me. “Be quiet.”
I close my mouth, and I let him take me for a ride. I expect us to go to the garage, but instead, he heads toward another door, one I have never opened. It’s skinnier than the rest, so I always assumed it was a closet.
He presses a button hidden slightly behind a floral arrangement. It dings a moment later, and the door slides open.
My mouth drops. “You have an elevator.”
“Yep.”
“I didn’t know.” I stare at him, heart pounding at the proximity. “Why didn’t you just use the elevator instead of carrying me up yesterday?”
“That wouldn’t have been as much fun.”
I shake my head at him.
He steps inside with me still in his arms, turning sideways so we can fit through the opening without my ankle banging against anything. As soon as the door closes, the elevator starts moving.
In a flash, it feels like we’ve stopped again.
The elevator door opens, and I expect to be in another room on another floor, but instead, the New York City air hits my face.
It’s an outside patio.
“Is this yours?”
“Yes.”
“Wow.”
If I thought that was “wow,” I gasp when I see what he has actually created.
After a few steps out of the elevator, I see not only the New York City skyline and all the buildings higher and lower but also the picnic he set up.
Correction: Picnic 2.0.
There’s a canopy with woven lights. Underneath, a blanket is spread out in the middle with a basket settled on top, too. Since I can’t sit on the floor, Trent even set up little reclining chairs.
Trent Aldridge went all out.
There’s even an outdoor space heater.
He thought of everything.
Of me.
He lowers me to the chair, and then he sits in front of me on the ground.
“Ready to see what we’ve got?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
At my words, he opens the basket and starts to pull out French baguettes, a cheese platter, pastries, champagne, and strawberries.
