Chapter Twenty-Six
Wade
I stand outside Scarlett’s side exit and knock twice, then wait. I don’t want to come across as obnoxiously impatient. Even though I want nothing more than to pound on the door and do a happy dance.
I didn’t want to waste the time trying to get in through the front door of The Serendipity. I’m simply too excited to see Scarlett. When I think about the fact that she’s agreed to go out with me, I get butterflies in my stomach.
It still doesn’t feel real. And while I’m so happy she’s going to be with me…I can’t believe she’s agreed to be with me. I’m scared that one of these days she’ll wake up and realize she could do way better than me. That she deserves better than me…and I wish I could be a big enough man to let her go and find that ‘better.’ But I’m not. So I’m just going to have to strive to be the best for her.
“Just a minute!” Scarlett calls.
My phone chimes and I pull it from my pocket to see that Phoenix has texted.
PHOENIX
Whatever you do, don’t tell her that I’m happy about you.
Before I have a chance to text him back, Scarlett swings open the door.
She’s wearing a pair of bright yellow shorts, a floral shirt with short sleeves, and a matching set of floral tennis shoes.
She looks like an ad for summertime, and she smells like warm vanilla.
Scarlett smiles up at me and her earrings spin around, catching the light on the gold ovals.
“You look…” I pause because I’m not sure what the correct word is. Delectable? Gorgeous?
Scarlett scrunches her nose as she looks at me. “You know, it’s not really a good sign if you can’t finish that sentence. Do I look too much like a bumblebee?”
She turns around slowly and I can’t help but laugh. “You look beautiful. And while bumblebees are kind of cute, you don’t really look like one.”
She stops her spin when she’s facing me again. “Oh really? I’m wearing yellow and black.” She points to the shirt and how it’s base color is black.
“Well, you’re just not as fuzzy as a bumblebee, for one thing.”
Her eyebrows shoot up at that. “How do you know? Maybe I didn’t shave my legs.”
I match her expression and step forward. I reach an arm around her waist and her hands come to rest against my chest.
Reaching down with my free hand I rest it against her bare thigh. “Hmm, feels pretty smooth to me. Not a bumblebee. ”
Her lips part as she tips her head back. “I hope you’re not going to wait until the end of our date to kiss me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
She grins and reaches up to pull me toward her, her slender fingers lacing together behind my neck. “You smell good.”
Thank goodness I remembered cologne, because hearing her say that makes my chest feel like it’s going to explode.
I kiss her on her lips, grasping her thigh and pulling her closer. I drop the hand from her waist and grasp her other leg, lifting her into my arms. She obliges me by shifting her hands to my shoulders, holding tight as she deepens the kiss.
I could stay like this forever. I never want to put her down.
Finally, Scarlett pulls back and smiles softly at me. “I think you smudged my lipstick.”
Grinning at her, I set her back on her feet—reluctantly. Not how I meant to start the date…but I’m happy to see her smiling at me…and I’m not about to complain about getting to kiss her.
“I guess we better go on that date before I get too sidetracked,” I mutter as I reach up to brush her hair behind her ear.
She reaches for my mouth, swiping her thumb back and forth. “It was only a little bit of lipstick.”
I chuckle as I reach up to feel for the damage. My hand comes away with some pink on it. “You really like to leave your mark, don’t you?”
She shrugs as she reaches for her purse sitting on the counter behind her. “I never thought I would be territorial. But turns out, I am.”
Scarlett swings open the door and steps outside. I flip the lock and pull it closed after me. “Wait, you can’t just say something like that then walk away!” I call after her as she runs up the concrete steps.
“Seems like I can!” she says in a sing-song voice.
I reach for her hand and lace my fingers through hers. We’re walking to dinner tonight. It’s staying light longer and the weather’s nice. Amor Serendipia isn’t far.
“When did you get all territorial?”
“That’s what you want to know?” She looks at me with incredulity in her face.
“Yes, I think it’s important to establish the facts.”
“And everybody thinks Phoenix is the lawyer,” she mumbles.
“I like to know when you get jealous. It helps me feel good.”
“At least you don’t mind airing your insecurities,” Scarlett teases.
“Not when it gets me what I want.”
We stare at each other, standing on the corner of the street.
“Oh look! Traffic’s clear!” Scarlett tries to tug me with her to the crosswalk. I stand firm, pulling her back to my side.
“Scooter…don’t make me beg,” I growl.
She spins to face me. “You’d beg for me?”
“I think I’ve already proven that I would.”
She smiles softly up at me. “It was at the courthouse when Claire was talking to you. It seemed like she was flirting with you.”
“Are you sure you weren’t mad just because it was Claire?”
She smirks up at me. “No. Because I was mad at you . I didn’t want you to be giving her the attention. I wanted you to be looking at me.”
“And so you decided to flirt with Jack?”
She shrugs. “It caught your attention, didn’t it? ”
I bend down and give her a quick kiss. “You’ve always had my attention.”
Scarlett’s cheeks flush and she squeezes my hand.
Somebody honks their horn at us and shouts out the window, “Are you crossing the street or not?”
Scarlett grimaces and we hurry across the road, the man sitting in his Tesla glaring at us as we speed through the cross walk.
By the time we reach Amor Serendipia, I actually am hungry.
The same man that had been there the night Jack and I crashed her date, greets us at the door.
His eyes immediately focus on our interlaced fingers. “Are you here on a date with him?” he demands.
Sheesh. Am I going to have to contend with everyone that’s ever wanted to date Scarlett?
But Scarlett holds up my hand and grins at him. “Yes, I am.”
The man smiles. “Thank goodness. It’s about time you found a good one. I was starting to get worried for you.”
“Hey now!” Scarlett exclaims.
A chuckle sneaks out before I can stop it and Scarlett gives me a friendly elbow to the ribs as we follow the man to our table.
“Thank you, Victor,” Scarlett says. “I’ll have my usual.”
“Do you want horchata as well?” Victor asks me.
I nod. “Sounds great, thanks.”
He disappears to the back and Scarlett scrunches her face as she studies me across the table. “I heard you laugh when he made that comment about our dating.”
“That’s because I’m just so happy to be here with you,” I reply smoothly.
She doesn’t look convinced, but she stands up. “I need to use the restroom. If Victor comes back, just tell him I’ll have the usual. With extra guacamole this time.”
I smile as I watch her walk to the back of the restaurant. It’s so strange to be here with her. And that she’s mine.
Everything is out in the open now. No secrets.
Oops. Except maybe one.
I pull my phone out of my pocket and text Phoenix.
WADE
I’m on a date with Scarlett. We haven’t really talked about you.
PHOENIX
Good. Don’t. I want you to have a good time.
WADE
I feel like I should tell her that you know we’re dating.
PHOENIX
Do you want your relationship to be over before it starts?
I don’t have a chance to text back because Victor comes to take our order and by the time he leaves, Scarlett is back at the table.
“Well this is a lot better than last time.” Scarlett sighs then takes a long sip of horchata. “As long as you’re not about to try and give me a speech about joining your special finance program…”
“I forgot to tell you, I quit the fire station and am starting a finance bro podcast,” I tease .
“Don’t even joke! That was horrible.” She shudders and reaches for the basket of chips.
I clear my throat and tug at the collar of my shirt. I know what I need to say, I just don’t want her to be mad.
“So…with us dating…and Phoenix out of town…”
Scarlett’s eyes go wide. “Thank goodness for that.” She shoves a chip full of salsa into her mouth. I’m impressed she got it to fit.
“Yes, well, you’ll have to talk to him?—”
“I moff finx ill,” she mumbles around the chip.
“I didn’t catch that,” I tease even though my heart is racing a mile a minute. I know I’m going to be in trouble when she finds out Phoenix has been in on everything.
“I don’t think I’m going to say anything to Phoenix,” she says as she rests her elbows on the table.
“What?” That wasn’t what I expected her to say.
“He’s going to throw a fit when he finds out, and honestly I’m having too much fun with you to let him spoil it just yet.”
There’s something in her words that gives me pause. “Is it because you don’t think we’ll last?”
My teeth grind as I wait for her answer.
“I don’t know the future,” she hedges.
I level a serious glare at her. “Are you in this or not?”
“Dammit Wade. Of course I’m in it. I’m in it for you and with you! I wouldn’t have said yes if I didn’t think we could be something together.”
“Something more than a phase…right?” I hold her gaze.
“Wade. You are many things to me, but a phase is not one of them. You. Know. Me. I’ve thought this through. It’s not that I want to hide you from my brother because I don’t think we’ll last. I just am having so much fun without having to explain myself. I don’t want to spend our first few weeks of dating arguing with my brother. Because it’s an argument I have to win, and knowing him, he’ll be furious that we’re dating.”
“But what if he isn’t?”
Scarlett blinks slowly then throws her head back and laughs.
She laughs long enough I start to worry about her. When she finally gets a hold of herself, she’s gasping for air.
“When has Phoenix ever been happy about me dating someone?” she asks when she finally stops laughing.
“I mean, I understand what you’re saying…but maybe he’d be happy?—”
She bumps the cup of horchata and it spills on the table and splashes on the front of her shirt. “Oh dang it, I shouldn’t have been laughing so hard.”
I’m secretly relieved because I was about to tell her that Phoenix knows about us.
I grab a stack of napkins, standing up to help try and mop up the mess.
Scarlett’s eyes are watering, she’s laughing so hard. “I’ll go get some paper towels out of the bathroom.”
She stands up to leave as I clean up the mess.
By the time she gets back, I can’t bring myself to tell her anything about Phoenix and how he knows. She’s right. We should enjoy this time.
Scarlett’s grinning ear to ear as she sits down across from me again. “Do you know how nice it is to be able to laugh with you when something embarrassing happens?”
I reach across the table and grasp her hand. “Do you know how contagious your laugh is?”
She blushes and rests her free hand on top of mine.
We sit there smiling like fools for a few minutes before I ask, “Want to see the new calendar for Station 7?”