Page 31 of It Had to be You

Tatum turned toward the table and gasped. "Is that what I think it is?"

Gesturing at the table, the chef nodded. "Your gentleman stopped in after you two returned from

your adventuring and told me that you hadn’t had any luck finding any arroz con leche. Lucky for you, they brought me a box of coconuts from the market, so I was able to make up a batch of just that coconut pudding before dinner."

She looked into the bowl and saw the cinnamon sprinkled over the otherwise pristine surface of the pudding. Leaning over it, she inhaled the heady scent before she beamed up at the Chef. "You make every day worth living."

Alexander laughed and sat back in his chair. "You certainly know how to make a guy worry that all it takes to turn your head is a well-made dessert."

"To turn my head? Maybe." She sighed, her hands moving over the tablecloth as she spoke. "But to really steal my heart, he’d have to have a spoon. But I’m not above using my fingers in this pudding!"

The chef chuckled and walked away, whistling a strange little tune.

"Seriously?" She grimaced as her stomach growled. "Even my stomach is making fun of me. I need a spoon!"

Alexander cleared his throat and reached under the napkin sitting before him on the table and produced a spoon, twisting it one way and then the other so it glimmered in the light. "You mean this?"

Gaping at him, she lifted her own napkin and found nothing. "What?" She was laughing at the whole situation. "Are yougetting me back because I only let you have a teeny tiny piece of my crème brûlée?"

He shook his head and reached out a hand to cradle the bowl of pudding in his hand. Leaning over, he looked down into it and scooped out a bite sized bit. "I do get to return this favor from the other night."

She watched him hold out the spoon, extending it until the curved edge nearly touched her lip.

Closing her lips over the bowl of the spoon she pulled every bit of the chilly coconut heaven that the chef had created for them. "Mmm." She looked at Alexander and shook her head. "It’s heaven. Pure, heaven. You need to have some." She reached for the spoon, but he pulled it away. "You’re having too much fun, aren’t you?"

He didn’t say a word, but she could see the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes as he held back his laughter. Lifting the spoon, he scooped up another bite and held it out. "Ready?"

She rolled her eyes then and gave him what she hoped was a sassy look. "You have no idea."

Tatum parted her lips and waited for him to give her another delightful taste.

She didn’t have to wait long.

The world, it seemed, had turned on its head, and she was actually looking forward to discovering how this new adventure was going to turn out.

Tatum looked across the small table and gave Alexander an impatient, raised brow. "Don’t stop now," she grinned, "I can’t wait to see what’s next."

CHAPTER 8

There was one last surprise for her that night. Another amazing moment to add to the list that Alexander was writing for her. Another surprise that lifted her heart and gave her hope that she just might have stumbled on the most amazing man she’d ever met.

Stepping off the dance floor, her face flushed with joy, she felt a rush of excitement as the feel of Alexander’s hand pressed gently up against her back. Everywhere she looked, there were smiling and happy couples.

And contrary to what she’d worried about, no one seemed all that shocked that Alexander had taken to her. No sideways glances that she could see. No whispered comments. It seemed that all of Martina’s clients were as amazing as she was. When they reached their table, Ben and Pearl were there and in Pearl’s arms was a bouquet of orchids. They were long stems of blossoms that Tatum had seen before, but only in the most elegant hotels or the mansions of people who had been her sponsors in the past. And yet the blossoms in her friend’s arms were even more

beautiful than any in her memory.

"Those are lovely, Pearl." Tatum turned her gaze to Ben. "You are certainly a man among men! What a thoughtful gift."

The couple shared a smile before Pearl stepped forward. "These are for you, my dear."

"Me?" There was a strange sensation that rushed through her. A blush on her cheeks met with the cool sensation of tears gathering on her lashes. "You didn’t have to."

"Oh, we didn’t," Ben’s voice was deep and carried a great distance in the room, "these are from your thoughtful young man."

Turning her head toward Alexander she saw his own understated smile and the look in his eyes. "I wanted you to have something as beautiful as you are."

And right at that moment, she lost the battle to hold back her tears. Pearl placed the bouquet over her arm and gave her hands a squeeze before she moved back to Ben’s side.

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