Chapter Twenty-two
Why the fuck are my hands sweating?
I have everything ready and prepped and planned to within an inch of its life; nothing can go wrong, and yet I’m sitting here shitting myself that the entire world is about to implode.
“Sir?” My driver catches my eyes in the rear-view mirror, “Did you want me to retrieve Miss Adams?”
I don’t use a driver often, preferring to drive us around myself, but tonight called for it. I want to give her my undivided attention, and I can’t do that if I’m navigating these city streets.
“No,” I wipe my palms on my thighs and reach for the handle, “I’ve got it.”
He dips his chin in acknowledgement and returns his attention forward, leaving me to go get my girl.
The rain is still coming down in sheets, drenching the city, so I rush into the apartment building and take the short flight of stairs up to Sidney’s floor. Lifting my hand to knock, the door disappears before I can make a connection and my whole breath gets lost in my throat.
I will never tire of looking at this woman.
Dark curls spill over her shoulders, the top section pinned back to show off her pretty face.
She’s darkened her eyes with makeup, her lashes looking impossibly long, and slicked red lipstick over her plump lips.
There’s a slight shimmer to her skin, a dusting of glitter that makes her sparkle in the right lighting, and that dress…
She’s only ever worn it a handful of times, but it is my favorite.
The color against her skin and hair is a perfect contrast, the tight fit following the curves of her body.
It flows down to her ankles, the material a soft satin that moves like air.
She’s wearing a tall pair of heels, giving her a few more inches, so I don’t have to bend too far down to press a soft kiss to the corner of her painted mouth.
She smiles up at me, “You’re early.”
Turning my wrist, I check the time. “Only by five minutes.”
“Wait here,” she steps back, “I just need to put in my earrings.”
I watch her duck back inside, listening to the steady clip of her heels as she walks through her apartment, and then she’s back, still twiddling with the clasp on her earring before grabbing her black purse and returning to me.
“Where to first?” She asks, melting into my side when I pull her closer.
Natural.
Easy.
The perfect fit against my body.
“I need to feed you,” I tell her. “Then the surprise.”
“Can I get a hint?”
“Not on your life, cricket.”
“That’s mean,” she pouts.
“No, what’s mean is me having to look at you in that dress all evening and keep my hands to myself.”
“You asked for it,” she frowns.
Reaching up, I smooth away the crease. “I wasn’t complaining, Sid. You look stunning.”
“You don’t look too bad yourself,” she softens.
“Couldn’t let you show me up,” I wink, guiding her as quickly as her heels will allow through the rain and into the car. She gives a quick greeting to our driver and then buckles up before we move back onto the road, joining the early evening traffic.
“How was your day?” I ask.
“I think that wedding will get called off,” she tells me.
“Wait, Stella’s?”
“Mmhm,” she mumbles, “I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am.”
“What about the job?”
“I’ll still do my job. That’s what they’ve hired me for. Oh, wait!” She shakes her head, “Did you know Isaac is her brother!?”
That takes me back for a moment. “Isaac Shaw?”
It clicks a second later that they share the same surname.
“Right!” She blurts the moment she sees the realization on my face. “I didn’t see it before, but they were in the same room together earlier, and I’m surprised we didn’t notice it. They look alike!”
“You saw Isaac?” Unease works through me. I don’t like him anywhere near her, knowing how he looks at her. I’m sure if he knows about us, he’ll work even harder to try and take her from me.
“Well, yeah, he was at the appointment with his freaking sister! Small world, am I right?”
“What did he say?”
She cocks her head with a frown, “Nothing. I mean, I mentioned we were dating now. Was I not supposed to?”
A feeling of dread curls up in my stomach; my past actions coming back to haunt me. Fuck. I need him to stay away from her.
“No,” I swallow thickly, “I just don’t like him near you, is all.”
It’s not a lie, but not the whole truth either. It’s not like Isaac knows what I did, just like Sidney, but the less tangled it gets, the easier it will be to manage.
It’s not even a big deal.
I tell myself that, but I also know that’s a lie too. It’s a betrayal of trust, and I’m not proud of myself.
“It was fine,” Sid shrugs, completely oblivious to my inner freak out, “He didn’t say much. Congratulated us.”
I don’t fucking like it.
“But she loved my idea!” Sidney goes on, watching the blurred lights of the city through the water on the windows. “Approved it all so I can start ordering in all the supplies for the wedding.”
“That’s good, Sid,” my thumb picks at some raw skin at the edge of my nail, “knew you could do it.”
“What’s wrong?” I feel her dark eyes on the side of my face.
“Nothing, baby,” I lie, “Are you ready for the best night of your life?”
“I absolutely just ate my weight in cheese,” Sidney presses her hand to her stomach, shaking her head. “That waiter looked horrified.”
“He just underestimated how much you enjoy cheese,” I laugh.
Dinner was perfect, just the two of us in a small, private booth.
I’d ordered ahead of time so she could have a little bit of everything on the menu, but that came with a whole cheese platter that she devoured.
Not going to lie, it was hot, but that’s a conversation for another time.
Guiding her from the restaurant, I find our car waiting beneath the covered carport, the rain still relentless with its downpour. Once inside the warmth of the vehicle, I take her hand, my thumb rubbing small, soft circles over her knuckles.
“That was nice,” she leans back into the seat, “Thank you.”
I haven’t forgotten about the earlier unease with Isaac. I think it’ll be present in the back of my mind forever, but I’ve pushed it away enough to be able to enjoy this with Sid. I’ve waited so long for it.
The drive to our next destination passes quickly, and when we roll to a stop outside, Sidney’s eyes go wide.
“The gardens?” She whips her head from me to the huge, dome-like building made of glass, golden lights from the inside spilling through the panes.
The place has been under maintenance for quite some time, but when we first moved to the city, she used to come here every other weekend to walk the gardens.
I always found it humid and wet inside, but I went with her anyway because watching her eyes light up with awe was worth the discomfort of a little humidity.
I know the management of the place have been trying their hardest to get the place back open to the public, but after a fire last year, it set their plans back, and Sidney lost hope of ever being able to come here again.
She was sure the plants inside had been destroyed by the fire, but I know better.
Especially when I’ve been pouring money into its restoration and get monthly updates about what’s going on inside.
She has no idea about that, of course, but that didn’t matter.
I only did it so that she has her special place back.
“I pulled a favor,” I grin at her, “It’s open for one night only and just for us. No one else will be here.”
“How did you do that?” She gasps, rushing to get the door open. “I thought it was empty!”
“The opposite,” I assure her. “Let’s go.”
Despite the heels on her feet, Sidney practically drags me to the large double glass doors of the indoor gardens, a single member of staff waiting to let us inside.
The north wing is still closed off, but the rest of the space is open for us to walk through, and the moment I step inside, the heat and humidity hit me.
The air is so thick, it’s almost hard to breathe; the path under our feet damp, despite being inside now.
Once we’re inside, they leave us to it, locking the doors behind them so no one can interrupt us. On a table is a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice with two flutes waiting for us.
“I can’t believe you did this,” Sidney tilts her head toward the golden string lights that fill the entire space above our heads, the light touching the glitter on her skin and making her twinkle.
“I promised you warmth,” I shrug, plucking the bottle from the ice and popping the cork before I pour us both a glass. “I couldn’t get the sun unfortunately, although I did consider putting us on a flight to the Caribbean.”
She laughs, “Of course you did.”
She accepts the glass I hand to her and then lets me link our fingers with the other, the clip of her heels echoing through the gardens.
Every surface is decked out in color, with flowers and plants of all shapes and sizes growing and thriving.
Vines crawl up the glass walls and over the beams, wrapping and coiling like serpents.
“I love this place,” Sidney mumbles dreamily, taking a sip of her champagne.
“I know you do,” We turn down a narrow walkway, her focus entirely on the plants around her.
She brushes her fingers over soft petals and waxy leaves, rubbing them between her fingers so she can get their scent on her skin.
It’s earthy and floral and though the humidity is pressing to the nape of my neck and my skin is damp, I love the way she stops and smells each flower, how she traces the shape of the petals with her eyes and memorizes the texture of each leaf.
It’s like she’s never been here before, never seen it, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Every time we come here, she’s the same.
We continue through the maze-like paths, moving further and further into what can only be described as a man-made jungle, the plants growing so large, they block the view all around us.