Page 102 of Beautiful Desire

As we get closer, I can see what looks like a blanket on the ground, but I’m not sure. We pull up to another wooden post on the opposite side of the pond. There’s no dock over here, just a small wooden platform that looks like it would be big enough for two chairs at most to sit out here and fish on.

After securing the rope to the pole, Dom helps me climb off the boat and onto the small deck. Although the gazebo is a lot closer to us now, it’s sitting up on top of a little hill, so I can only make out the steps and some lights.

Grabbing my hand once again, he pulls me away from the water’s edge and up the grassy hill. It doesn’t take long before we get there, and when we do, I’m speechless. The gazebo is decked out in not just twinkly lights, but candles too.

I was right; there is a blanket on the ground. A large brown one lays in the middle of the wooden floor. The top railing and the bottom perimeter of the gazebo are lined with candles, and the roof is covered with more twinkle lights. In the middle of the blanket is a wicker basket surrounded by a heap of pillows.

I’m absolutely speechless. No one has ever done anything this remotely nice or romantic for me. Tears prick behind my lashes, and a guilty feeling settles in my stomach. Ineedto tell him about Lily.

“Dom—”

He cuts me off by placing a finger over my lips. “Please, let me speak. I know this isn’t the typical dinner date, but you’re not the typical woman. You’re special and deserve something as special as you are. If you don’t like it, we can always go somewhere else. I just want you to be happy.”

A tear rolls down my cheek at the fact that this beautiful man went through all this trouble for tonight, at the last minute while we both worked today, to make me feel special.

“What’s wrong, fiore? Why are you crying?” His brows scrunch together.

Shaking my head, I say, “I’m not sad. These are happy tears. No one has ever done anything remotely nice like this for me.”

Confusion crosses his face as he takes in what I just said. “No one?”

“No.”

“What about Paul?” he spits out.

I try not to laugh at the slight jealousy I can read on his face. “What about him?”

“He never did anything nice or romantic for you?”

This time, I do laugh. “Not unless you call me walking in on him in his office sleeping with someone else romantic.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep.”

“Huh. Well, what about your parents? Your dad didn’t do anything like this with you growing up?”

We make our way over to the blanket and each take a seat. Fiddling with my fingers, I shake my head.

“No, he was always busy with work. He worked long hours, and I didn’t really see him much. And when I did, he was always prepping my brother and I to follow in his footsteps.”

Not wanting to think back on that time and how I disappointed my dad by not going to law school, I plaster a sad smile on my face and hope Dom changes the subject. Reaching over to the wicker basket, I open the lid and peer inside.

“Oh, what do we have here?” I ask, hoping Dom will take the bait…but he doesn’t.

“What does your dad do?”

“He’s a judge.”

“Wow. Is your brother a judge too?”

“He’s working on it. Last I heard, at least, he was.”

A pit forms in my stomach as I think of my brother, Jett. We didn’t really speak much before I had Lily, but after I told them I was pregnant and the father wasn’t in the picture, the communication came to an abrupt halt.

“Are you not close with your family?”

“No, not since—” I stop myself before I say something that would ruin this perfect night.

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