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“Really? You wouldn’t mind?”
I shook my head. “Of course not. We just have to figure out what Rhys would like.”
For a large portion of our time during dinner, Banks and I discussed all of the possibilities and options for a first birthday party for Rhys. It was wonderful, because we were both engaged in the conversation, and it helped to ease a lot of the nerves I felt coming into this.
Following dinner, Banks shared, “I have dessert for us, but I figured it might be better to wait on that until after Rhys goes down for the night.”
Nodding my agreement, I returned, “Yeah, I could use some time to make some room for dessert anyway, so that sounds perfect.”
Rhys would be going up for his bath within the next half hour, so it wasn’t like I’d have to wait long. And consideringhow much I enjoyed spending time with him, particularly after he ate and was happy, I knew the time would pass quickly.
Banks and I did just that, too. We spent our time with Rhys, allowing his silliness to ease any lingering tension either of us felt about what was ahead for the night.
I couldn’t explain it, but I had the feeling Banks was experiencing just a bit of worry about how the remainder of our night would go. It was likely we were both concerned about the other’s expectations, and that helped to ease my mind a bit, too.
While I believed we were both dealing with some emotions about tonight, I wondered if we were ultimately feeling similarly.
If flowers had been something I hadn’t expected I’d ever get again, finding someone I enjoyed spending my time with was even more of a foreign concept. I didn’t think I’d ever want to do things with another man that I’d believed less than a year ago I would have only done with Graham for the rest of my life.
Now, I found myself anticipating what it might be like to have the chance for intimacy again. What would it be like to kiss Banks? Would he want to kiss me? Would we enjoy it?
“I’m going to take him up and give him a quick bath before putting him down for the night,” Banks began. “I don’t want you cleaning up our dishes from dinner while I’m gone.”
“I really don’t mind helping,” I told him.
“I know you don’t, but I invited you here, and I’d like you to not have to work at all.”
Fair enough.
“Can I at least make Rhys’s bottle when you get him out of the tub?” I asked.
Laughing and shaking his head, Banks acquiesced, “Fine. But not another thing.”
“Okay.”
Banks took off with Rhys, and I tried to find ways to distract myself from all the questions andwhat ifsabout tonight. One of the ways I did that was by pulling my keys out of my purse and attaching the keychain from Rhys to them. It was such a sweet gift, and as unnecessary as it was, I absolutely adored it.
Before I knew it, I’d taken Rhys’s bottle upstairs, said goodnight to him, and returned to the couch in the living room. Banks joined me shortly afterward, and when he did, he brought out some chocolate-covered strawberries.
“Oh, these are my favorite,” I told him.
“Yeah?”
I nodded.
Sitting down beside me, Banks held the plate out to me. “Take your pick.”
I plucked a strawberry off the plate, waited for Banks to do the same, and felt my heart start beating a little faster when he said, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Lamise.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Banks.”
After eating a couple of strawberries and loving every bite, I finally declared, “I can’t eat anymore. I love them, but if you don’t take them away from me, I’ll devour all of them.”
Banks was clearly amused by me, his face lighting up and his eyes shining. God, he looked handsome. “Well, they’re all going to go home with you, so you can enjoy them later or tomorrow.”
“I can promise they won’t go to waste.”
As we both sat back and got a bit more comfortable on the couch, Banks said, “So, I just want to apologize to you.”
