Page 96 of His Temptation
I take her hand into mine and walk us to the elevator. We ride it up to the top floor. We step out into the cement hallway.
“What do you have up your sleeve, Lincoln?”
I laugh as I open the door to the rooftop. The dome bubble tent is setup in the same place with lights strung along the top.
“Just a little place for us to have a private dinner.”
I grab her hand and walk quickly into the tent. It’s much colder outside this time.
Instead of a table, it’s setup with blankets and pillows. The lights of the city surround us.
“Lincoln, you don’t have to go through so much trouble for me,” she says as she takes a seat on the blankets.
I join her, leaning down on one elbow and extending my long legs across the space.
“I’ll never stop making a fuss for you. Come,” I pat the space next to me, “lay with me.”
I let my head hit the pillow behind me and open my arm for her. She rests her head on my shoulder while we both lie in silence and look out at the view.
“It’s such a beautiful view,” she whispers. “Thank you for doing this.”
I kiss the top of her forehead. “You’re welcome. I know it’s been an adjustment for you to be seen around the city with me. I wanted to have our privacy, and I figured a night in at my place would feel like the same old thing.”
There were a couple of photographs posted of the two of us spotted out with each other embracing or holding hands at restaurants. She’s not a huge fan of the attention. I learned a long time ago how to ignore it.
Tonight, I want our privacy. I want her to feel comfortable.
She looks up at me with tenderness in her eyes that make my heart skip a beat. “A night with you is never the same old thing.”
“I feel the same way about you.” I need to do this now before I lose the nerve. “Let’s have some wine before I text them to bring out the food.”
We both sit up and I pull the bottle of red wine from the corner of the tent and grab two glasses. I hand her a glass and we knock our glasses together.
“Cheers,” I say as the glass echoes in the night.
“Cheers.”
We both take a sip of the wine. It’s a bold flavor profile. Bold like I need to be in this moment.
“I have some news.”
Her head turns to the side curiously.
“So, you and I have talked about your parents life insurance dilemma.”
“We have.”
“And I wanted to do something to help, so I asked my buddy Walker to see what he could do.”
Her eyes open wide. “You did?”
“I hope you’re not mad. I just think it’s bullshit that they’ve denied you what is rightfully yours. Any amount of investigation would show that nothing illegal was done here, and you would benefit from getting the money early.”
“I’m not mad,” she replies.
My shoulders deflate as relief washes over me. “You’re not? I was worried you would think I overstepped into something that wasn’t my business.”
She laughs. “You do that all the time.”
