Page 97 of Beautiful Broken Love

I climbed out of bed, feeling raw between the legs, and dug into my bag until I came across a pair of sweatpants. I tugged them on and grabbed Lew’s UNCC hoodie, and that’s when something on one of the mirrors in the room caught my eye.

A yellow sticky note was stuck to it, and I moved forward to get a closer look. An arrow was drawn on it and was pointing to the left. I looked that way, and there was another sticky note pressed to the wall, also with an arrow, but this one was pointing to the bedroom door.

Another was on the door, pointing out of the room. I followed the sticky notes, only to see there was a whole trail of them leading down the stairs, and they didn’t stop until a new path appeared, made of red rose petals.

I stopped at the kitchen, searching for Deke, because I could’ve sworn I heard him moving dishes around. My phone buzzed in my hoodie pocket, and I plucked it out and read a text from the man I was just thinking about:Keep going

I looked around again, my heart beating a tad bit faster as I followed the petals. I walked barefoot along the wooden deck and stairs until the trail stopped. When I raised my chin, an overwater bridge leading to a dock was just ahead.

Deke stood there in a black T-shirt and shorts and tossed a wave at me when our eyes connected. I couldn’t help my grin as I walked ahead, taking in everything that was set up behind him.

A plush white blanket was spread out on the square dock, two large floor pillows placed opposite of each other, and in the center was a spread of chocolate croissants, mini waffles, finger sandwiches, a glass cup of syrup, and a bowl of fresh fruit.

A kettle was there as well, steam rising through the spout, along with two ceramic mugs. Also there, a slender cup filled with plastic utensils, and pink tulips lying flat on one of the pillows.

“Deke.” I pressed my fingers to my face, stunned. “What in the world? What is this?”

He smiled like a child who’d been complimented on something he was proud of and gestured to it. “Brunch.”

“Are you serious?” I stepped closer to him in complete awe. “You didn’t have to do all of this, Deke!”

He lifted a shoulder like it was no big deal. “I wanted to.”

I studied the spread again before looking into his eyes. “I—I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. Just sit and eat with me.” He pressed a hand to the small of my back, and I stood by the pillow with the tulips.

“These aren’t even in season anymore,” I said.

“Yeah, I lucked out and found some from a local florist. He said they’d probably be the last of them until spring.” Deke swallowed, looking me over in my hoodie and sweats.

I sat with the tulips on my lap as he lowered down and stretched his long legs, focusing on the lake. The water rippled softly, and beyond it were groves of autumn trees and lush green mountains that seemed to touch the blue sky. The sun felt good on my skin, and with the gentle breeze going, it was the perfect combination.

“This is nice,” I said.

“I had the food catered.” Deke fixed his eyes on me. “They dropped it off this morning. I, uh, I remember my mom and Camille telling me women like to be surprised, so I thought of this.”

“Well, they were right. This is a really nice surprise. You even have tea. That’s a nice touch.”

“At the hotel you said you’re sensitive to too much caffeine, so you don’t drink much coffee. Tea is your go-to.”

I couldn’t help smiling at that. “How do you even remember me saying that?Ican’t even remember it.”

“I don’t know. I just remember us ordering my coffee and finding it interesting that you went with a tea, and before I could ask about it, you explained why you always picked tea.” He shrugged. “It’s the little things.”

His eyes sparkled in the sunlight as they locked with mine. He was looking at me again with that glint in them, one full of longing and desire. For some odd reason my chest tightened and I felt a drop in my stomach.

“Well,” I said, gesturing to all the food. “Let’s eat!”

Deke finally blinked and lowered his head, grabbing a mini sandwich. As I dunked a waffle into the syrup and ate, I tried ignoring what I saw in his eyes, because it couldn’t have been that.

Mixed in with the longing, the excitement, and the satisfaction was something I was all too familiar with.

Love.

FIFTY-TWO

DEKE

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