“There’s no need to ask Sin, and Hawk is a photographer. He doesn’t need to worry about this.”
“He’s my brother first. He’ll worry about what I ask him to worry about, which is keeping things calm and organized for you.”
“You are the sweetest. I love that you want to fix this for me, but that’s not your job or Hawk’s, or even Shea’s. It’s mine. There’s a lot of pressure, but I’m just venting, letting you know what to expect and that I have fifteen balls in the air at the moment. This is the kickoff to your tour, and I want everything to be perfect. But don’t worry. I’ve hosted signings before. Not big ones like yours, but I can handle it.” She leaned across the console and kissed him. “Now, do you want to tell me what kind of secret mission we’re on at the park?”
“We’re going to give Hellie the anniversary she deserves.” He reached over the back of the seat for the bag he’d brought and pulled out two black knit hats, handing one to her. “Put this on.”
“Why?”
He pulled on his hat, and then he took hers, and as he put it on her, he said, “Because we have to be stealthy, like ninjas, if we’re going to pull this off.” He pressed his lips to hers. “Besides, you look adorable in that hat. Now take off your sweater.”
“How is taking off my sweater for Hellie?” Her cheeks pinked up, but a tease shimmered in her eyes. “Why do I have to wear a hat if you really just want to fool around? I’m not sure I want to be a ninja if they skip the foreplay and use their friends as excuses.”
“This ninja would never skip foreplay with you, wild thing.” He waggled his brows. “Come on, now, take it off.”
“We’re parked on the side of the road. I’m not taking off my sweater.” She looked around nervously.
“Do you really think I’d ask you to fool around out here? The last thing I want is other guys checking out your naked body. I was with you when you got dressed this morning, remember? I know you have a silk camisole thingy under there.” He remembered quite explicitly, because when he’d seen her in that and skimpy pink lace panties, he’d chased her around the bedroom trying to get her naked again, and they’d fallen to the mattress in fits of laughter.
He pulled out the black sweater he’d bought her and tossed it to her. “If you’re going to be stealth, you have to dress the part. Take that pretty pink sweater off, baby. Time is slipping by.”
She finally relented, putting on the black sweater, and they climbed out of the car. While she got Reno out of the back, Dash opened the trunk and began setting out boxes of supplies on the grass.
Amber watched in confusion. “What is all this?”
“Solar lights. I brought string lights to wrap around the columns of the gazebo and ground lights to light the path from the gazebo to the entrance of the trail she takes through the woods when she comes to the park. We’ll hang solar lanterns in the trees to light her way through the woods. I’ve been charging them in Sin’s backyard since I first met Hellie, when she told me about Edgar and how she came here every year on their anniversary. I also brought these to hang around the gazebo.” He pulled out a string of heart-shaped solar lights. “I enlisted Nana and her friends to make paper hearts and write something about Edgar and Hellie on them.” He opened a box and showed her the pink and white paper hearts, picking out one by the red ribbon Nana had tied to it. “I thought we could hang them around the railing of the gazebo. And lastly, I stopped by the Stardust Café and got one hamburger, no ketchup, and a bottle of Coke with two straws, which was all Edgar could afford on their first date. It’ll be cold when she gets here, but that’s how they ate it that night.”
She looked awestruck. “I can’t believe you did all of this. Hellie is going to be so surprised. How did you come up with the idea?”
“My grandfather does things like this for my grandmother sometimes, and after my dad left, my grandfather and I did it for my mom when she needed a pick-me-up. And I did it for my sisters when they were having a hard time or when guys were being jerks.” He tugged her into his arms. “Are you disappointed that the mission wasn’t just for us?”
She gazed up at him with disbelief. “How could I be disappointed in a man who thinks of everyone else before himself? You know how much the people here mean to me. I’m thrilled for Hellie. You’ve known her for less than two weeks, and you’re about to make this her most memorable anniversary since she lost her husband. I think you are officially the most romantic man I’ve ever known.”
“I don’t know about the most romantic, but I sure as hell am the luckiest.”
THE GAZEBO SPARKLED like a holiday bandstand against the evening sky with string lights wrapped around the columns and heart-shaped lights dangling from the rafters. Amber and Dash tied the last of the paper hearts to the railings. It was a magical sight with the path of lights in the grass leading from the gazebo to the trail that Hellie frequented through the woods, where lanterns dangled like giant fireflies swaying from branches deep into the distance. They’d set the bag from the diner and the Coke with two straws on the bench. Dash had failed to tell Amber that he’d also brought a single rose just because he thought Hellie should have one. Amber’s heart was so full as she watched him, with his black sweater and ninja hat, gathering boxes and putting one inside the other. She had a feeling there was nothing he couldn’t do. Or maybe wouldn’t do was a better way to think of it, because if she’d learned one thing about Dash Pennington, it was that he always led with his heart, and it sure seemed like when he set his heart on something, he made it happen.
“We finished just in time.”
He set the boxes down and turned a sexy smile on her, closing the distance between them. “We’re not quite done.” He handed her a pen and a paper heart, keeping one for himself. “She’ll be here soon, so if you want to leave a note, do it quick.”
He’d thought of everything. How had she ever worried that he was too much man for her? She couldn’t imagine another man holding a candle to him. As she leaned on the bench to write Hellie’s note—Dear Hellie, I believe you can see the truest love in a person’s eyes, and I saw it every time Edgar looked at you. Happy anniversary, love, Amber—she glanced at Dash, hanging his paper heart. Edgar Camden had nothing on him.
“Ready?” Dash reached for her paper heart. As he tied it to the railing, she read what he’d written on his. You look marvelous, m’lady.
“That’s a funny thing to write.”
“That’s what Edgar said to her every time they went on a date, right up until their very last one.”
“How do you know that?”
“When I walked her home from breakfast, I asked her what things she missed most about him, and that was one of them.”
You walked Hellie home from breakfast? He was surprising Amber at every turn, but one thing was for sure. There weren’t enough words in the English language to describe his thoughtfulness. “You forgot to sign your name.”
“I didn’t want to. When I was a little boy, my grandfather told me never to give gifts looking for thank-yous. He says making someone happy should be enough, and it is. I like the idea of Hellie knowing she was on people’s minds but not knowing who was behind all this.” He grabbed the large box containing all the smaller boxes in one hand and took her hand. “We’ve got to get out of here. She’ll be here any minute. Are you up to a quick run?”