Tess
“You’re spoiling me,” I said, watching as a team of caterers set up a table in the middle of the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory.
All my senses were piqued. Rushing water and sweet bird sounds hung in the air.
The fragrance from the hundreds of lush plants and flowers that filled the spectacular garden tickled my nose.
Butterflies of all colors and varieties danced around us. “Seriously spoiling me.”
It wasn’t just a platitude. Scott’s grandfather had lavished me with extravagance. Last night, dinner had been catered lobster out on the veranda, which in itself was decadent, but he hadn’t stopped there. He’d also hired a professional string quartet to play during the meal.
“He did this just for me?” I’d asked, surprised anyone would go to that sort of trouble, let alone a grandfather of a man I’d been officially dating less than a week.
Scott had tried to shrug it off. “He likes to enjoy life. He’ll take any excuse to make a meal an event.”
It may have been normal behavior for the man, but the look Scott had shot Irving said otherwise.
The treatment had continued after the official welcome. This morning, he’d had brunch brought to us on the beach, then followed it up with full body massages by professional masseuses. I’d even gotten a mani-pedi afterward, without having to leave my lounge chair.
Now, tonight, he’d rented out the entire butterfly conservatory for our dinner. He was a rich old man, sure, but the entire conservatory? For the three of us?
“You are spoiling her,” Scott agreed in a tone that confirmed he hadn’t had anything to do with it. “That was supposed to be my job.”
Irving narrowed his eyes at his grandson. “Maybe you need to do your job better.”
“You haven’t given me a chance—”
I interrupted Scott’s protest. “You’re both spoiling me.” The bulk of Scott’s spoiling had come in the carnal form. I’d been treated to a full hour of cunnilingus before falling asleep last night and woke up with his head once again between my legs.
Spoiled rotten.
Scott wrapped his arms around me from behind and placed a kiss on my temple. “It’s no less than you deserve.”
Loved it, yes, but deserved it? “I don’t know about that…”
“Uh-uh-uh!” Irving’s eyes went wide as though I’d said something appalling. “Tell her, Scottie.”
I leaned out of my boyfriend’s hold so I could look at him. “Tell me what?”
“‘You get what you expect.’” He recited it in that way that told me it was something he’d been told many times himself.
“That’s right.” Irving nodded. “You get what you expect. Don’t forget it.”
I didn’t know about that. It was a little simplistic for my taste. But I nodded despite being distracted by a colorful bird that swooped so low in front of me I could see its eyes. “Whoa.”
“Maybe you could get him to land on you.” Scott nudged me to lift my arm as a perch.
“No maybes,” Irving scolded. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. If you think he’ll maybe come and land on you, then maybe he will, maybe he won’t. Expect him to land, and he will.”
He lifted his hand up into the air, and as if on cue, the bird came and settled on his finger.
“Whoa,” I repeated.
Scott wasn’t as impressed. “Okay, Grandpa. What’s the trick?”
Irving chuckled. “No fooling you, is there?” He reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out a small handful of seeds, which he held out for the bird to eat. “I come here all the time. Neville and I are old friends. He knew I’d give him the goods if he came to me.”
Neville pecked at the seeds, then when he flew away satisfied, Irving brushed his hands together, letting the rest of the contents of his hand fall to the ground. Another colorful bird flew down to pick at the remains. Then another.
“I expected that,” he said with a smile. “In all seriousness, though. If you approach your life with maybes, then that’s what you’re sure to get. Approach it with sureness. Totally different outcome.”
“Okay,” I said. Because what else was there to say to that?
“Here, let me give you an example. Tell me something you want.”
Scott’s grip around me tightened protectively. “Grandpa, you don’t need to give her a lecture.”
“It’s fine,” I said. Scott squeezed me, then let me go as if to tell me good luck with that and you’re on your own. I took it as a hint to keep things on the lighter side. “Well. I want that bird to land on my finger.”
“Then pick up some of the damn seed, and do what I did. Too easy. Give me something real.”
Scott gave me an I-told-you-so look.
Fine. I’d play for real. After all the older man had done for me over the last day, I could certainly sit through an elder’s lesson. Besides, I’d missed out on male-guided wisdom growing up. Might as well get some now. “Let me think a second.”
“Something important to you,” Irving prodded. “Something you really want.”
What did I want? It had been so long since I’d asked myself that. Usually, I focused on what I could get. What I could do with what was in front of me. What I could hold on to and how long.
But what did I want?
I peered over at Scott, who was watching me intently, seeming just as interested in my answer. I wanted him. I’d wanted him from the minute I’d seen him. So much time I’d spent trying not to have him, I’d barely ever acknowledged that I actually wanted him.
Now I had him, or some of him, and I still wanted him. Wanted more of him. Wanted him for good, or at least long enough to find out whether I really wanted him for good. I couldn’t imagine that more time with him would make me want him any less.
I couldn’t say any of that, though. Not just because it wasn’t the thing to declare for the first time in front of someone’s grandfather, but also because I didn’t know if Scott was ready to hear it from me.
So I turned my thoughts toward my career. And Kendra. Fucked up as it was, I still wanted to work with Conscience Connect. I believed in the organization, and I’d invested my time building it with her. I just wanted her to take me more seriously. Wanted her to give me more equal footing.
“I want to tie up a sponsorship for the Dysautonomia Relief Foundation and impress my boss,” I said.
Which maybe was cheating since the DRF was almost all but tied up with SIC, but the key part of the statement was the end—I wanted the deal to impress Kendra.
Wanted her to see what I could do on my own and realize how much more I could do with her support.
And most importantly, once the sponsorship was secure, Kendra and Scott would no longer be engaged. “Yeah. That’s what I really want.”
I snuck another peek at Scott and worried I’d said something wrong when I found him frowning.
Irving, on the other hand, beamed. “See, that’s what I’m talking about. I’m guessing you’re already doing the work to land the deal, and now you’re just waiting and hoping things work out?”
“Pretty accurate.” I didn’t look at Scott, afraid he was still glowering, but I wondered about his reaction while I continued to give my attention to Irving.
“Stop hoping,” he said. “Hope isn’t even for the birds. You want to get Neville to land on you, it’s never going to happen by just hoping. Expect to get it. Expect that it’s already signed, sealed, delivered. Say it. Come on. Say it.”
“Uh,” I stumbled, trying to figure out exactly what he wanted me to say. “I expect that I’ll get it.”
Irving rolled his eyes. “Don’t say it like that. Tell me that you’re going to get it in a way that I believe you.”
Okay. I could do this. I took a deep breath, threw back my shoulders.
“Hey, Irving. Great things are happening at my job. I’m about to seal up this killer sponsorship, and my boss is going to be so impressed that she’s going to give me a raise.
And a promotion. A new title too. She might even make me partner. ”
I’d gone too far there, but the rest had been surprisingly invigorating.
“You did good until you said might. Overall, good job, kid.” Irving winked. “I’m sure you’re going to get it. You can give me an update on it when I see you next week.”
“Oh, am I going to see you next week?” I braved a glance at Scott. Did he have another surprise trip planned that I didn’t know about?
“He’s coming to New York for his sister’s birthday,” he said, his expression less tense than it had been. “I’ll bring you to the party.”
“Another chance to attend a Sebastian event? Man, I really am being spoiled.” I sidled up next to Scott, eager to be back in his arms. He welcomed me immediately, dissolving any lingering concern about his earlier frown.
He probably just couldn’t understand why I still wanted to work with Kendra.
Or maybe just the reference to the woman he was still technically engaged to was enough to put him in a mood.
Or maybe he’d been hoping I would have said I wanted him.
I squeezed him, hoping somehow he understood he was my first choice.
Whoops. There I was hoping again. But try as I might, I couldn’t convince myself that Scott knew how I felt. Not without telling him.
The caterers had finished setting up the serving area, and now one stepped over to acknowledge us. “Twenty minutes, and we’ll be ready for the first course, sir.”
“Great!” Irving turned toward us. “Gives you two lovebirds some time to explore. I’m going to go use the little boy’s room.”
He nudged us down the path that wound through the tropical paradise, then headed off in the opposite direction.
“We won’t see him again tonight,” Scott said, reaching for my hand. “Did you notice the table only had two place settings?”
“That little devil.” I laced my fingers through his and let him lead me down the walkway past a pond occupied by two flamingos to a bridge by a waterfall.
It really was a romantic date. Was that what all the spoiling was about?
Irving was trying to hook me up with his grandson.
“It’s cute. He’s trying to get us together. ”
“We are together.” Spoken in true Sebastian fashion, confident and sure.