“What is wrong with you, Bennett?” She swivels in her seat and crosses her arms in front of her chest. “I don’t like this version of you. You’re being horrible to me, and I haven’t done anything to deserve this.”
“I’m so sorry, baby,” I say feeling like a complete dick. “I’m just stressed, and tired. That’s all. And tomorrow we fly back home, and I know the next few months are going to be insanely busy.”
“It’s what you signed up for. If you don’t want to do it, then pick a different career path.”
Wow, talk about savage. “You’re right, I’m being unreasonably short with you. You haven’t done a single thing except be perfect and I’m treating you like an ass. I’m sorry,” I say as I try to soften my voice.
“Hmm.” She taps her foot on the floor of the car. “Don’t be a jerk anymore.”
“I won’t.” I hope.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re...” Kathryn pauses. “Hang on, I know where we’re going. This is in the direction of Bette and Benjamin Doyle’s house. Are we going to their garden?”
“I should’ve blindfolded you,” I say and reach for her hand.
“Ohh, I liked it there. Remember, that was our first date. You made a picnic, and we sat under one of the trees.” Kathryn unlinks our hands and runs her finger across her mouth. “I remember our kiss in the garden.”
“I do too.” The thought of kissing Kathryn is making my cock stir. Thankfully, I pull up at the Doyles’ and quickly exit the car to readjust my jeans because that was beginning to be quite uncomfortable. I open the door for Kathryn and hold my hand out to her. “Ma’am.”
“Thank you, kind sir.” She places her small, warm hand in mine, and I help her out of the car. “Why did Mr. Grumpy bring me here?” Kathryn closes her eyes and takes a long, slow breath. I love watching her. She has such a zest for life, and an appreciation for the simple things. She never takes anything for granted either. I love that about my girl.
“I thought we had dinner, so why not have dessert under the stars?”
She opens her eyes and stares at me, slowly squinting. Kathryn lifts her chin and arches a brow, clearly suspicious. “You’re up to something.”
“No, I’m not,” I reply with haste. “I’m not at all.” I open the back door and grab the picnic basket with the container holding the piece of decadent chocolate cake I stashed in here while she ducked into the bathroom at dinner. “See, just cake.”
Kathryn narrows her eyes and purses her lips into a thin, tight line. “Hmmm.”
I grab her hand and start tugging her toward the back. “Hurry up, woman.”
“Woman? Wow, such a gentleman.” When we reach the back, there are thousands of twinkle lights wrapped around so many of the trees. “How perfect does this look?”
“It does,” I agree.
“This garden is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I just love it here.” She snuggles into me as we walk down to the spot we claimed all those years ago. “Promise me something.”
“What?” When we reach our spot, I take the blanket from inside the picnic basket and place it on the ground.
“Promise me that whenever we come back here, we ask the Doyles if we can picnic in their garden.”
“I promise you, we’ll do that.”
She sits on the picnic blanket and takes off her shoes. Kathryn leans back and looks up at the stars. “I thought Mom would’ve freaked out, I’m relieved she didn’t.”
“Your mom just wants you happy.”
“I was so worried about it, and I’m kicking myself for not saying anything to her sooner. But I made a promise to myself that I won’t let fear stop me from saying what I need to say from here on in.” I crack open the container with the chocolate cake and take out a spoon. “Do we have to share a spoon, or do I get to sit here and watch you eat?”
I scoot closer to her and scoop a small piece of cake. “I’m going to feed you.”
“Oh, are you?” Kathryn sits up and crosses her legs under her body. She closes her eyes and opens her mouth, and my cock springs to life. She’s deliciously sexy. I feed her the cake, and Kathryn slowly chews it, making appreciative sounds. “Mmm. So good.”
My heart twists in my chest as I watch her tongue peep out and sweep across her lower lip, catching a tiny crumb of cake. I want to keep feeding her just to watch her mouth move. “I’ve been thinking about something,” I say.
Kathryn’s eyes open and she stares into mine. “What?”
I cut off another piece of cake and lift the spoon to her mouth. Her lips part as she waits for my offering. My pulse quickens and my skin heats with desire. “I want you to have something.” She again licks her bottom lip, making my heart skip a beat. “You have no idea the effect you have on me.”