Page 60 of Handsome
Sarah hugged her waist, but we both went out on the patio, though the second we were alone, she said, “Guess we’ve been dismissed.”
I shrugged and then held her seat for her. “She's used to getting what she wants.”
“Having people grant her every request and fulfil them is an ideal, and she's a lucky woman,” she said, and then smiled when she noticed she had a pot of hot water with lemon, as requested. She poured as I sat down.
We already had basic plates since Sarah had been upset about the extravagant buffet of options earlier. Once my brothers and their families arrived, the "extravagant" buffet would be back, but this morning we kept it simple.
I added cheese to my flatbread and decided I wanted to ask Sarah out again. I looked at her and said, “Instead of hanging around while my siblings arrive, would you like to go out, maybe head to the beach and get something to eat?”
She narrowed her eyes, but I spotted a slight curve of her lips that could have been a smile. “Are you asking me out on a date?”
“No pressure.” I said quickly. Last night it seemed to me that she was asking for a do-over, but I might have read everything wrong.
“Well, then ask.” she said, while she scooted closer to me.
I took her hand in mine and asked, “Will you go out with me on a date?”
She beamed at me and bounced in her seat as she said, “Yes! I wanted to say yes yesterday, so I’m glad you re-asked.”
“Perfect,” I said, and we ate our small breakfast in comfortable, silent harmony.
Once we were done, we returned to find my mother burping my son. She glanced at us and asked, “Did I hear you two want to go out by yourselves for a few hours?”
The staff clearly listened to everything. Sarah was red-faced, but I said, “Yes, Maman.”
She stood and told me, “Look, go put on something nice. I’ll have the staff lay out stuff in your room and send my stylist in for you, Sarah.”
Sarah’s eyes widened. “Stylist?”
She then smiled and spoke to Sarah like they were best friends, saying, “Yes. Cyrus will take you wherever you want.”
Sarah tensed and clutched her grandmother’s necklace, saying, “The burgers sounded nice.”
And if that was what she wanted, we’d stay low-key. My mother walked us to the stairs and said, “You two have all day to yourselves. Enjoy it.”
Again, we filed upstairs like we had our orders. Once we made it to the top step, I asked, “Is there anywhere you want to see? We can take the jet and be back in the evening.”
“The jet?” she asked and sucked in her bottom lip.
My brother’s birthday was tomorrow, so I said, “Yeah, though since we have to be back, I’d stick to the East Coast.”
She took a deep breath and gave me a short nod, like she just made a momentous decision. “Miami.”
I stared at her, my expression probably stunned, and asked, “Yeah? You don’t seem the party type to me.”
She patted my abs and nodded. “True, but my grandmother always wanted to retire there, so I’m curious about it. And besides, in the movies, there's always a big dance-off going on there somewhere, and we’ve been practicing.”
My face heated. I hadn't expected her answer would be about me. I hugged her and said, “Sounds fun. I’ll have it all set up, then.”
I went to my room to shower and find something to wear that could double as dancing clothes.
Once I was done, I returned to Sarah’s room and heard my mother and her stylist in there with her. My mother hugged Sarah and said, “You're going to Miami? Then you'd better keep your hair up with all that humidity.”
Sarah glanced up at my mother and her eyes seemed glassy as she said, “Sounds like a good idea.”
The stylist worked on her hair while I watched from the door as my mother picked out clothes from the closet while she mused, “I hope you and my son have fun. He’s always so serious.”
Sarah's answer sounded like she'd already enjoyed herself today, “Well, he loves to dance, so I figure we can practice there.”
