Page 34 of Dare to Need

My body still tingled from the trail of kisses he’d planted all over my body. Words may not have been used for him to convey his trust in me, but his body showed me everything I needed to know. Everything was different now and my head spun with excitement in us taking the next steps together. Though, there was still a lingering voice buried somewhere deep within me that told me we weren’t completely out of the woods yet.

I pushed that voice away as Garth took my hand. We reached the double doors of the hotel lobby and for the first time in what felt like forever, I was connected to him through more than just the physical contact. Energy buzzed all around us as we stepped into the night.

Garth’s shoulders shifted upward as he took in a deep breath. “I’ve missed this.”

As he looked down at me, tucked under his arm, I cocked a brow at him.

“All the smells of incredible food. When Lucas and I roomed together in the city for those four years, we made an honest effort to eat our way through the city. Well…at least the places we could afford back then. It’s one of the reasons I love New York City so much. Its food is a genuine reflection of its people—richly diverse, yet somehow cohesive.”

I smiled broadly as I took a deep breath in myself. He was right. Sinfully decadent aromas from the restaurants lining the street made my mouth water and my stomach grumble.

“Maybe when we come back in the fall, we can try to beat Lucas and yours’ record.”

“I think we can manage that.” He kissed the top of my head, sending a lustful shock to the tips of my toes.Damn, how I’d missed those lips this past week.

The fabric of his coat jacket was luxuriously soft beneath my fingers as I tucked my arm around his waist while he directed us toward a black sedan stopped right in front of the hotel entrance. The car was long and would have looked like a rectangle if not for it’s curved edges. On the hood there was a silver figurine that almost looked like angel wings and that’s when I realized the car wasn’t just an ordinary sedan. It was a fucking Rolls-Royce that likely cost more than four years of my tuition.

Within a few steps of the intimidatingly expensive car, a man stepped out of the driver’s seat wearing a three-piece black suit. The white of his collared button-down shone brightly under the streetlights. Just before Garth and I stepped up to the back door, he made his way around the back of the shiny black car and opened the door for us.

“Good evening, Mr. Walker.” He tipped his head as his gaze flicked toward me. “Ms. Barnes.”

Garth extended his arm toward the open door for me to slide in as he said, “Nice to see you again, Ben. I texted you the address for the restaurant. Did it come through?”

As I slid onto the soft leather bench-seat I heard Ben say, “Yes, it did. Restaurant Daniel, correct?”

“Yes,” Garth said as he slipped into the back seat with feline grace that always made me envious.

With a soft click of the door, Ben made his way back to the driver’s seat and Garth and I were basked in darkness. The lights from the outside were barely discernable through the tented windows.

“So, you’re taking me to Restaurant Daniel?” I shifted to the side, so I was facing him, even though the dark interior made it difficult to see the color of his eyes.

He placed a hand on the top of my exposed thigh, the roughness of his palms a reminder of what we’d done earlier in our hotel room. I squeezed my thighs tight, feeling a little uncomfortable with how close Ben was to us in the small space.

“Yeah, it’s supposed to be one of the best restaurants in the city.” He smiled. “I’ve never been there before, and I thought we could have a ‘first time experience’ together.”

My chest clenched. He’d come back to me. The man I fell in love with all those months ago was finally making his way back to meandhimself after tragedy struck. I knew there would still be struggles and that the issues he had with his father still lingered. But tonight was a glimmer of hope that we were getting back on track and that there might still be a chance for him to reconsider taking over his father’s company.

“Thank you,” I whispered as I leaned my head on his shoulder.

“For what?” The short hairs of his five o’clock shadow tickled the top of my head.

“For today. And tonight.” I tilted my head up so I could look into his eyes. “It feels like forever since we’ve had any quality time together, and I’m thankful you made us a priority today.”

He smiled at me, though the seriousness in his eyes gave away the conflict in him. “I should have made you a priority every day this past week.”

Sitting up straighter so we were face to face, I leaned toward him. “Garth, listen to me.” I ran my hand down the side of his face before resting it on his knee. “The only person who should have been a priority since we got that phone call was your father. And you have done everything in your power to be there for him and to start mending your broken relationship. No one expects for you to be at your best right now. When I said I’m thankful you made us a priority, I only meant that I’ve missed you. Not that you should have done that during this time. I…” I started to wring my hands together, but he wrapped his hands around them to stop me. “I’ve never experienced anything like this before, so I don’t always know the right things to say. But I promise you that you don’t need to worry about me, or us right now. And whenever we get these moments together, like tonight, we’ll cherish them.”

With a gentleness that broke my heart, Garth grazed the sides of my neck with the back of his fingers. Stopping at my jawline, he ran his thumbs against the bottom of my cheeks and brought our foreheads together. The earthy scent of sandalwood floated around me as I took a deep breath in. Familiar swirls of dark and light grays stared back at me as I nestled my face into the palm of his hand.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you.” His voice was hoarse, raw with the same emotion reflecting in his eyes.

“You love me,” I whispered into the space between us. “That’s all you’ve ever needed to do.”

Restaurant Daniel was extravagant in an old-money kind of way. The rich cranberry plum carpet was thick beneath my stiletto cladded feet. Warm hues of golden yellow cast upon the walls from the candle lit sconces. And the cylindrical pillars throughout the space were romantic and they made me feel as if I had taken a step back in time.

And the food…oh my god the food. The filet mignon I’d ordered was so tender I was able to cut it with my fork.

“This is sinful,” I said through a mouthful of Panna Cotta.

---