Page 115 of All's Fair in Love and Blood - A Romantic Comedy Novel

“I’m proud of you. You made your goal of becoming CEO of a Fortune 500 well before your forty-fifth birthday. Now what will you do with your life?”

He flashed me a grin while driving insanely fast down the highway. “Believe me, darlin’. I have bigger and better plans than this.”

“And what are those?”

He wagged his brows. “You’ll see.”

With the way Kane drove, we were at the restaurant in no time. Naomi was already there, and I noticed how well dressed she was. I’m pretty sure she’d bought the lacy black dress for this occasion. She even had her hair in a fancy updo. I didn’t draw attention to it when I hugged her, other than to say, “You look beautiful.”

She kissed my cheek. “Not as beautiful as you.”

I looked down at the curve-hugging chalky-blue pantsuit that I’d worn to receive the “devastating” news I wasn’t going to be Armstrong Labs’ next CEO.

“You’re gorgeous,” Kane said before I could reply to Naomi.

When he said it, I believed it.

Dad soon arrived, looking a bit nervous as he walked up. It was kind of fun to see him behave so unlike himself. He had his hands in his pockets, trying not to seem like he was staring at Naomi, all while staring at her. It was kind of adorable.

“Augustus,” Naomi said formally.

“Naomi,” he responded with a hint of wistfulness that made Naomi smile at him briefly before she caught herself.

This was going to be a fun night, I could tell.

Kane and I made sure of it when we took seats next to each other at the table, making it so Naomi and Dad had to sit close to each other for all four courses of dinner. This restaurant didn’t mess around when it came to food. It was my kind of place. I also loved it for the entire wall made of windows and the exposed ceilings. I loved to look up.

I thought the dinner conversation would center around Kane’s promotion, but mostly it was about me. Naomi and Dad easily found themselves taking a walk down memory lane.

“Remember when Scarlett was three and would sneeze and then say, ‘I think I have the bless-yous’?” Naomi asked nostalgically.

Dad smiled and laughed. “Yes, I do.”

“Well, I was adorable,” I chimed in.

“Yes, you were.” Naomi gave me that adoring motherly look.

“She still is.” Kane kissed my cheek.

My parents also reminisced about how smart I was and how they knew I would grow up to be a genius. Kane and I mostly sat back and watched them talk.

While my parents did their thing, Kane kept staring at me with this look. I couldn’t quite place it, but I liked it, whatever it was. The look only intensified as the evening wore on, until dessert—the cranberry cheesecake—was demolished. As soon as I took my last bite, Kane unexpectedly asked, “Would you mind if Scarlett and I excused ourselves? There’s a pressing matter we need to attend to.”

There was? This late at night?

Dad smiled at Kane. “Of course not.”

Naomi looked a bit flustered at the thought of being left with my father all by herself. “I should probably get going too.”

“Please stay,” Dad was quick to say. “We could have a drink,” he offered.

Naomi bit her lip and blushed. “I suppose one,” she stuttered.

I could practically see Dad internally sighing.

Kane stood and reached for my hand to help me up.

“You kids have fun.” Dad winked, making me wonder if he knew something I didn’t.

I kissed each of my parents goodbye, hoping they would have fun, too, before Kane whisked me out of the restaurant like a man on a mission.

“Where are we going?”

Kane stopped and kissed me hard once. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” I said, unsure. He was acting off.

“Scarlett, do you trust me?” He was being awfully serious.

“Yes. Yes, I trust you.”

“Okay,” he said, relieved. “We need to go home and change.”

Kane said hardly a word as we rushed home to Dad’s house, where Kane was once again staying while his house was being renovated. His only instructions were for me to change into something comfortable and to wear tennis shoes.

I did as he said and met him back at his car. He was already there with a picnic basket in the back seat. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

On our drive to somewhere, Kane played Christopher Cross and drove like he was entering the Indy 500. It wasn’t until a half hour in that I realized where we were headed.

“I thought we were going to Edge of the World tomorrow?”

Kane glanced my way. “This can’t wait.”

“Isn’t the trail closed at night?”

“Technically.” He grinned. “You did say, though, that you trusted me.”

“I do, but couldn’t this wait until tomorrow?”

“I thought so, but no.”

“All right.”

He said not another word, though I could see the thoughts spinning in his eyes. He was planning something.

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