Chapter 21 #2
I could only hope the whole look was somewhere between a pretend date and a real date outfit. How was this my life?
After spritzing on my favorite perfume, which had strong vanilla notes, I was ready. It had been a long time since I’d felt this beautiful. I wasn’t sure what to expect for the evening, but there was no denying my desire to get a reaction from him.
When the knock came, I checked my phone, and sure enough, he was ten minutes early.
I walked barefoot to the door so he wouldn’t have to stand out there waiting, then opened it.
Niko was in a navy-blue suit that looked made for him.
His light-blue button-down shirt was open a few buttons from the top.
The butterflies took flight inside me, and suddenly I couldn’t care less about that other woman.
Niko’s eyes scanned me from head to toe, then held my gaze. “Wow, Leyla. You’ve rendered me speechless.”
Mission accomplished.
“That’s very sweet, Niko. Thank you. Come in. I just need to slip on my shoes, and I’m ready,” fighting back a girlie giggle.
He stepped in, handing me a bouquet of pink-and-white stargazer lilies I hadn’t even noticed when I opened the door.
“These are beautiful. I love lilies. Thank you.” Gesturing for him to follow me into the kitchen to get a vase, I turned away from him and reached for one in the cabinet.
“I had a feeling you might. My mom and sister had a garden when we were kids, and they grew them in all colors. My mom used to say lilies tend to leave an impression long after they are noticed. Just like some people.”
When I turned to look at him, he was smiling, and I fought hard not to hug him. Oh, the words he said. Was it getting hot in here?
I filled the vase with water and unraveled the bouquet from its brown wrapper.
Pulling them close, I closed my eyes as the sweet smell filled my senses.
“They’re just perfect.” With a quick arrangement, I set it in the middle of the counter, already knowing one of them would come into my room later that night.
“Can I get you something to drink before we go?”
“No, I’m fine, thanks. We can leave whenever you’re ready.”
“Shoes! Yes, one second.” When I returned to the living room, Niko gave an appreciative glance at me once more.
“Have I mentioned how lovely you look?” he asked, jamming his hands into his pockets.
My mouth twitched with recognition of his nervous tell. “You have, but I’m fine with hearing it again.”
He bent closer and said, “You look lovely tonight, Leyla. Your dress matches your eyes.”
When I blushed, he nodded and held the door for me as I grabbed my small purse. Once I locked my door, he led me to his car, his hand on the small of my back.
Oh, how I loved it when a man did that. It had been a long time. Every time I went to give him suggestions like that, he was already doing it.
He helped me into the car, then slipped into the driver’s seat. He gripped the steering wheel, then opened and closed his mouth twice, and glanced at me a few times. His nervousness was evident, so I started a conversation to help him out.
“Luke, Sofia, and I went surfing this morning. They teased me that you were the one who finally convinced me to go back. Thanks again for that. It meant a lot to me.”
He looked at me for a moment, then turned back to the road. “All I did was give the invitation. You made the decision to come. It was all you. Your bravery. You’re an amazing woman, Leyla.”
Grateful for the car’s dark interior, I blushed red. “There you go again,” I whispered.
“There I go again, what?” he asked, his hands twitching on the steering wheel.
It was a testament to how unhinged I’d gotten around him that his twitching fingers made me think of his forearms and biceps inches away from me when he backed the car up the other day. Oh, how I hoped he needed to do that again tonight.
“There you go again, saying things like that. You’re very charming, Mr. Demir,” I said demurely.
He didn’t answer for several minutes, and I was trying to decipher why when he spoke again.
“You seem to bring it out in me, Ms. Cooper.” His voice was teasing but deep and raspy. As thrilling as it was, it made me laugh so loud I covered my mouth, embarrassed.
“Why are you hiding?” He had pulled up to a traffic light and was looking at me curiously.
“Sorry, you just took me by surprise. I didn’t mean to laugh like that.”
“I thought we talked about that,” he answered, looking back toward the front as he drove. “You don’t have to change the way you laugh, the way you talk, any of it. Not with me.”
Hot tears threatened to break through my defenses, so I blinked until they stopped.
He had said that to me before, but there was something about being here in his car, dressed up and on our way to dinner, that made it feel different.
My emotions were all over the place. He had no idea that his words were healing some of my most hidden scars.
“Okay,” I whispered into the void, hoping he’d heard me.
Neither of us said anything for the rest of the short drive, and I was grateful, not trusting my voice if forced to speak.
With anyone else, the silence would’ve been awkward, but I didn’t feel that way at all with Niko.
I was starting to understand his quiet nature and how much it took for him to break out of it.
Knowing this made me appreciate the words he did say.
Niko pulled up in front of the restaurant and waited for the valet to come to the door. With that taken care of, he helped me out of the car and into the restaurant, his warm hand once more at the small of my back.
It was not surprising people looked at us as we walked by. Niko never noticed the attention he received, even back in school. A tall, dark, gorgeous man in a tailored suit was a sight to behold, let me tell you.
More importantly, beneath all that beat a heart of gold. One who had faced challenges that would’ve broken some people, yet still kept his beautiful soul. I felt grateful to be on his arm as we were escorted by the host to our table.
He pulled out my chair, handed us menus, and said our server would be with us soon.
Niko didn’t pick up the menu right away but instead looked at me from across the table. “You know I don’t catch body language all the time, but it didn’t take much to notice every man’s head swivel to look at you as we passed.”
Shaking my head with a wide smile, I said, “You’ve got that all wrong, I think.”
“So the men were all looking at me?” he teased, his eyebrows lifted in amusement.
I laughed at his joke. “You think you’re funny, don’t you? I’m sure that might have been the case for a few of them, but it was every woman straining their neck to get a look at you.”
He blushed and looked to the side. “Not possible. Not with you in that dress.”
I scoffed. “I’m starting to think I’m being hustled. I’m doubling down on my statement that you don’t seem to need any help in the flirting department.”
Niko licked his lips when he looked back at me. “And I keep saying it’s you who brings it out in me. But honestly, I do need your help. This is usually when I shut down on a date.”
Feeling brave and a bit brazen, I said, “Well, you got me here. What are you going to do with me now?”
He choked on air, apparently, and I snickered at his reaction. “Sorry, sorry,” I said, through laughter. “I did that on purpose for shock value.”
Still coughing behind his hand, he wheezed, “You were successful.”
I started laughing so hard at his still-wide eyes that I snorted, which made him start belly-laughing. We were just starting to get a hold of ourselves, ignoring the hard looks from the tables near us, when a familiar voice ruined the moment.
“Leyla? Is that you?”