For now, I took her in, pure elegance. And not only that, but she was my date. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around that. Pride and happiness mingled.
“What?” she asked, angling her head with a smile, her eyes never leaving mine in that flirty, lighthearted way. Anticipation pinged.
“Just admiring my view.”
She held out her hand. “Shall we continue this appreciation session over some sinful wine and food? This place has a spinach dumpling appetizer that you have to try. I want to watch your face when you do.”
I placed my hand in hers. “I’m all yours.” I meant it as a casual, fun reference to the evening ahead of us, but we both heard the words and their gravity.
Something shifted behind her eyes, and she softened. “Yeah?” The question came with unmistakable vulnerability that I didn’t often see from her.
“Yeah,” I said, attempting to communicate the depth of my feelings through that one little word. She seemed to understand. For a moment, we just lost ourselves in each other until she lifted her hand to my cheek and cradled it. We exchanged an important smile and headed out for the night.
Over dinner, I fell for her even more.
The soft lighting, gentle music, and amazing food didn’t hold a candle to the company. Carrie enchanted. I adored her witty quips just as much as her sage advice. My favorite, though, was the way she flirted, sometimes overtly, but mostly she fell on the subtle side. A soft squeeze to my knee as we waited on our food. A wink when the conversation hit a lull. Or sometimes when she’d catch my eye and just say, “Hi,” in that quiet little voice she’d adopt, the one that said we were the only two people in the world. I’d never adored that word so much.
“How’s your dinner?” I asked. She’d ordered the pasta in white wine asiago sauce, and the little noises she made upon first tasting it told me it had been a good selection.
She gestured to her plate, still piled high with pasta. “I’m sad because I can’t eat it all and want to.”
“Well, your pout is admirable, so I bet the pasta understands. You can take it home with you. Bonus pasta. In an unfortunate turn of events, I don’t have the same option.”
My plate was clean, my food long gone. I’d ordered the medallions of filet and hadn’t been more pleased with a meal in years. It was definitely the perfect spot to celebrate.
“I’ll share my leftovers with you tomorrow. I get to see you tomorrow, right?”
“I was planning on it. What if we went down to the beach? Just us and the water and a long afternoon.”
“I can’t think of anything better. Plus, you in a swimsuit alone would have sold your idea.”
“Excuse me.” We looked up at the smiling, middle-aged woman I’d seen dining a few tables away. “I know you’re having a nice dinner, but would you mind if I got a photo with you. Big fan.”
“Not at all,” Carrie said with a serene smile.
When the woman handed Carrie her phone and raced around the table to pose with me, I think we both took a moment to absorb her intentions. “Oh,” I said, turning to her. She was already smiling for the camera, so I did as well.
Once the photo was taken, the woman turned to me. “My kids are gonna flip. Keep up the good work.”
“Thank you so much,” I said, caught off guard but also touched. The photo seeker dashed away, and I turned back to Carrie, wide-eyed. “I thought for sure she was here for you.”
She shrugged. “I’d want my photo with you, too. I get it.” Her smile was still in place, but a few watts had slid off.
I leaned in, grappling to fix it. Our relationship had been built on her being the more successful one, and in my opinion that would never change. However, I was also aware of her recent insecurities at work and wanted to help. “It’s our night off. Why don’t we take dessert to go?”
That seemed to perk her up. “We don’t need the wall tonight. We could pick up Micky, maybe watch a movie? Forget the world?”
I could tell that she seemed to need it, and I was more than willing to be her respite. “I’d love that.”
“Thank you.”
“But first, we need that to-go dessert. I think it would be wrong to leave here without it.”
“How about we have them box up one of everything?”
I blinked. “I’ve never been more in love.” The words were automatic, which had to mean something. My mouth and my heart seemed to have a thing going tonight, and they didn’t want my brain involved in any way. I froze for a beat, understanding that I’d voiced the words out loud. To her credit, Carrie didn’t so much as miss a beat.
“Then I should spoil you with food more often.”
A deep internal sigh of relief hit. Nothing was lost or over-confessed, jeopardized or made awkward. Just two people out for dinner. Two people who very much enjoyed each other’s company. And hopping into bed together. And kissing with the fire of the sun. And maybe love was part of that in the larger scheme. It wasn’t an easy emotion to shy away from once it was upon you, and I felt its presence unmistakably.
Love.
As we fell asleep that night, our limbs intertwined in her bed, our breathing slowly ushering us to sleep, I felt it with every fiber of my being. I loved this woman. Deeply and without question. I wasn’t sure what appropriate amount of time was supposed to go by before an official proclamation, but for me, it was a done deal. I was in love and, frankly, a little drunk on it. I lifted my head from where it rested on her pillow and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. I watched a brief smile play in the light of the moon before she was out again.
Beautiful. Peaceful. Loved.
Everything was as it should be. The universe had smiled on me and granted me the gift of this wonderful and unexpected connection to another person. I was blessed and knew it.
Chapter Fourteen
We’re live in five,” Devante called out to the room as he made a lap around the studio, following his last minute checklist prior to air. As for me, my heart was pounding with such vigor that I wondered if others could see it beneath my shirt.
Focus. Just another day on air from a different location. No big deal. No life-changing moment about to take place in front of hundreds of thousands of people. Carrie had left for the conference the night before, and with a kiss in the studio parking lot beneath the stars, she’d offered me encouragement. “You take care of my spot, okay?”
I winced. “What if I screw up? Go silent and wither away and die a slow on-air death. Because that’s kinda what I’m afraid is going to happen.”
“That’s the most ridiculous statement I’ve heard you make. You’re calm as a cucumber in the face of chaos. I’ve seen you continue reporting with two grown men beating each other, feet from you.”