Page 47 of Wood You Knot

I mean, sure. I wanted to kiss her and all that fun stuff too. But I was willing to take it as slow as she needed. But I certainly didn’t want an audience for our first date, and I was positive she didn’t either. It seemed like the townsfolk were all overly invested in us already, so I wanted to do something low-key and quiet…something for just the two of us.

I followed her on Instagram after she moved back to town, and she posted a lot of beautiful sunset and sunrise photos that she’d captured. She was talented with a camera—she had an eye for capturing the beauty around her, and I already knew how much she loved sunsets.

“Hmm. All right. I suppose I could help you out. I’ll give you the keys, but you better make sure the Hartley sisters don’t get a hold of them. They’ll make copies, and then it’ll be game over. Damien will kill me if that happens.”

“I promise, I won’t let the keys fall into anybody else’s hands—especially not the sisters,” I promised. Turned out the biggest trespassers were the meddlesome Hartley sisters. They were always sneaking onto the private beach with their purple Commander.

I was certain, even if the Hartley sisters attempted to sneak onto the private beach, they’d see us and give us a wide berth. Or spy from afar. Either way, I didn’t think Noah had any real reason to worry about them getting a hold of the gate keys.

Noah dug into his pocket for his keys, pulling one off the key chain. “Okay, here you go,” he said, handing it to me.

“Thanks, Noah. I appreciate it.” I put the key on my own key chain so I wouldn’t lose it, aware that if that happened, Noah would kick my ass too.

“No problem. I’m happy to help you break your dry spell,” he teased, raising his beer glass toward me before taking a sip.

Before I could think of a witty response, my brother started talking. “You should pick up a bottle of the chocolate stout from the brewery. Tabitha loves it. She swears it’s the best chocolate stout she’s ever tasted. Plus, it made her really…frisky, if you know what I’m saying.” Parker wiggled his eyebrows at me, and I shuddered.

“Unfortunately, I do. Thanks for that disgusting visual,” I deadpanned. My brother threw his head back and laughed.

“Parker’s right, though, it’s damn good brew. We offer it in our couples retreat packages and they love it,” Noah chimed in. “Klaus makes batches especially for us.”

* * *

I didn’t end up staying out too late at The Quarter Lounge. I was home and in bed by eleven thirty, but my anticipation for the next day kept me from falling asleep until well past two o’clock in the morning.

After I woke up, I stopped off at the Brewery and picked up a bottle of Choco Temptation before my appointment at the Get Buzzed barber shop for a fresh cut. I came home to shower and change before I took the tools out of my truck bed storage drawers and loaded them with pillows and blankets, tucking the bottle of Choco Temptation in an ice bucket and securing it with the blankets.

Before picking Sage up, I grabbed take-away from The Hungry Hub, remembering she had ordered a burger and onion rings that time we ran into each other. I figured it’d be a safe bet to stick with a couple of cheeseburgers, a side order of onion rings, and a side order of fries.

At six thirty on the dot, I parked in front of the hardware store and grabbed the bouquet of flowers I’d picked up from Hartwood Creek Flowers. I wasn’t sure what to go with at first. I wanted something beautiful and unique to Sage. I felt like roses were too common and didn’t evoke her soft, almost angelic beauty.

After coaxing me to share a little about my date, Ezra Reynolds, the owner, put together a special bouquet—a stunning collection of pink dahlias, purple asters, and goldenrod with pink and peach zinnias, light pink snapdragons, maroon cosmos, purple ageratum, and pink carnations. He’d tossed in a beautiful purple glass-blown vase because I wasn’t sure if Sage had one.

Tucking the vase into the crook of my arm, I left everything else in the cab of my truck and walked up to the access door for Sage’s apartment. I buzzed up, and a moment later, Sage’s voice came over the buzzer. “Hello?”

“Hey, I’m here for our date.”

“Great! Come on up.” She hit the button to unlock the door, and I opened it, stepping into the hallway.

I paused for a moment at the bottom of the stairs and drew in a breath. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so nervous—certainly not when I’d asked Lori out.

If I was being completely honest with myself, the last time I felt this level of nervousness was when I almost kissed Sage on the beach during the Summer Vibes Festival all those years ago.

I lifted my hand and rapped my knuckles against the door. A moment later, it swung open to reveal Sage.

She was wearing a black sleeveless tank top tucked into a pair of distressed blue jeans. Her blond hair was down around her shoulders, and she’d taken the time to curl it into soft ringlets. I didn’t know exactly what she’d done differently for her makeup, but her green eyes seemed even more dazzling.

“Whoa, you look beautiful,” I managed when I finally found my voice.

“Thank you, you look really good too.” Sage gave me a soft smile as she took in my fresh haircut and wardrobe. I’d worn a pair of my best dark wash jeans and a white fitted Henley T-shirt. Her gaze dropped to the bouquet in my hand, her eyes widening with surprise. “You brought me flowers?”

“Of course I did,” I said, unable to hide my grin as I held them out for her to take. Her eyes seemed to shimmer as she lifted the bouquet to her nose and sniffed.

“They’re beautiful, thank you so much,” she said, looking at me, her green eyes still sparkling. “You can come in while I find something to put these in,” she added.

“I also grabbed a vase because I wasn’t sure if you had one,” I said, stepping into the apartment and handing it to her. She took it from me with an appreciative smile.

As she moved into the kitchen to fill the vase, I glanced around. It had been barren the last time I’d set foot inside, but since then, Sage had worked hard to transform the apartment into a beautiful, lively space.

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