Page 25 of Beauden & Yelena

“Yes. I prefer to grill. Steaks and chicken taste better that way but I will cook in the kitchen if I don’t grab something from the lodge.”

After closing the door, she turns to me with a devilish smile on her pretty ass face. “Oh my gosh.” She laughs. “I didn’t even ask for a tour. I just made myself at home,” she says and that very thought crosses my mind.

Yelena making herself at home. Here.

This shit with Yelena is crazy. I can’t get her out of my damn mind and I can’t stop thinking that she belongs here, with me. I want her in every aspect of my life and world. Since I could remember, my pops would tell Breaudie and me that we would not get to our full potential as men until we found our one. According to him, we would know her within minutes of meeting her because she would instantly bring calm into our lives. I thought that was cap, just something he said because he wanted us to know how much he loved our mom. However, now I know he was telling the truth. Yelena calms me. She makes me smile and I want her around all the time.

“I think it’s too late for that, beautiful. You rushed in here and took over,” I tease. “I can’t stop you now.”

“Thank God for that half smile on your face. Otherwise, I would feel bad.”

She pushes past me, intentionally brushing into me. “Excuse me. I’m dying to see what’s over here.” She continues her tour, walking adjacent to the nook. I don’t stop her when she opens the door. “Is this your bedroom suite?”

“Yes. Don’t stop now. Go in.”

She walks in but I stay in the doorway, leaned up against the frame as she tours it. Even the sight of her here confirms my feelings and thoughts.

She belongs.

“My whole condo could fit in this room and that bath. I could die there. A split bathroom with a great tub, his and her sinks, and his and her closets. This is too much for one person. You are living like a king here.”

“I just need my queen,” I utter with my eyes focused on her. She stops looking around and stares at me. After a few moments, she looks away. Yelena knows what’s up but I think my intensity causes her to shy away.

“Umm,” she finally says. “D-d-do you have anything to drink?”

I have more than that.While we were on our ride, I had Raquel prepare a picnic dinner for us. She has everything set up in my living room in front of the fireplace. Although I didn’t tell her who the picnic was for, I’m pretty sure she knows it’s Yelena. My employees are very observant and I’ve switched it up these past few days. My presence around the lodge during a leadership retreat has never been as frequent as now.

“Yeah. I do and food too. Are you hungry?”

“Actually, I am a little,” she replies and I hold my arm out.

She takes my hand and I lead her through the kitchen, past the dining room, into the living room. She stops dead in her tracks when she sees the fire, the blanket, the stacks of pillows, the basket, wine, and platter sitting in front of the basket. I’m a little shocked myself. Raquel went all out. It looks better than I even imagined. Definitely not whatmypicnic would have looked like.

When she turns to stare at me, her entire pretty face is beaming. She fires off a million questions. “Is this for me? For us? How did you do this? When? Did you think of this by yourself?”

“Which one do you want me to answer first?”

“I just love it, that’s all.” She beams, then throws her arms around my neck and places a soft peck on my lips. When she attempts to pull back, I latch my arms around her then lean in for more. Her lips meet mine and we kiss for real.

When we end our embrace, she steps out of her boots and removes her coat. As she eases down on the floor, I remove my boots and Stetson then join her. I try to get comfortable and prop up on a few of the pillows. Raquel really did her thing with this; I don’t know where half of the pillows came from but I appreciate them. Chilling on the hard floor isn’t what’s up but I’ll do it just to see this smile on Yelena’s beautiful face.

Yelena grabs the wine bottle then hands it to me. I grab the opener off of the board with the fruit and cheeses. While I open the bottle, she pulls glasses out and sifts through the basket.

“There’s pasta, salad, and bread in here. It smells delicious.” She inhales and exhales slowly. “But let’s make a toast before we eat.”

“Bet.”

At her wish, I fill both glasses with red wine then hand her one. She scoots closer to me then props up on the adjacent pillows. The smile from earlier is still on her beautiful face.

She raises her glass to mine then says, “May this be the worst day of our lives.”

“What kind of shit is that?”

Still smiling, she says, “Think about it. Today was great, perfect really. I’ve loved everything about it. Didn’t you?”

“I enjoyed every moment with you,” I admit, putting my shit out there.

“See, so if this is our worst day, every other day will be freaking amazing.”

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