Caden had forgotten about our first anniversary. I couldn’t believe it. Surely, it couldn’t be that hard to remember something as serious as when we had gotten married? Our story was so different, I thought it would be impossible to forget.
I had gone through so much effort to give us a wonderful start to the day, too. I never made breakfast in the morning—we usually grabbed cereal or fruit before we headed out to the restaurant. This time, I had made him a breakfast fit for a king. And he had decided to go out on his bike for the day.
What the fuck?
We’d had a good year together. When I thought back to how we’d started, I couldn’t believe we had ended up together. Looking back now, our original plan had been doomed to fail. It hadn’t been realistic to try to cheat the system the way we’d attempted. But in the process, I had fallen in love with Caden because he had been so different than other men. Because he had seen me for who I really was, for someone I hadn’t even known myself to be.
Caden had taught me how to love myself through the way he loved me.
And now? He’d forgotten that a year ago we had beaten the odds. What had started out as a fake engagement had become a real marriage, and to him, this was somehow just another day?
We didn’t even spend the day together, grateful for each other, relishing in what we had. He was out on that goddamned motorbike—a deathtrap on wheels—and I was here at home, sulking in my room like a child. All because I hadn’t gotten the romantic first anniversary I had wanted.
It wasn’t like I hadn’t dropped enough hints, either. Today, and throughout the past month for that matter. He had known it was coming. It was almost like he’d been ignoring it on purpose.
Well, I wasn’t going to give him any love tonight—that was for sure. Caden and I had a healthy sex life, but tonight? No way.
Caden was a good guy, though, and the moment I thought about punishing him, I felt bad. He was a good husband; caring and attentive, a man of the house, provider, and all that jazz. I was pissed off that he had forgotten about today, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a good husband, or that I wasn’t aware of how good I had it. Especially considering I hadn’t ever thought I would commit and settle down with anyone.
Still, the bottom line was that at this moment, I was beyond pissed.
I heard Caden finally come home just before sunset, but I didn’t go to the front door to greet him the way I would have if he had remembered. I always went to greet him, but today I wanted him to know I was upset. I wanted him to come to me and ask me what was wrong so that I knew he cared that I was being off with him. I wanted to be able to tell him that he had forgotten, then see the guilt and regret on his face. I wanted him to make up this most important day to me by fixing it.
The bedroom door was still closed. I heard Caden approach and he knocked. Usually, he just walked in. We had nothing to hide from each other. Maybe he’d already figured out he screwed up and was ready to grovel.
I wasn’t one of those women that expected my man to kiss my feet, but I was upset and I wanted something from Caden that told me I was right and he was wrong.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I need you to get ready,” Caden said.
“What?”
Caden opened the door and he was wearing a suit I’d never seen before. It had to be new. It fit him like it had been tailor-made, a deep black with silk in the weave so it shimmered lightly when he moved. Satin lapels and a black bow tie completed the look. Caden had good taste, but he often wore jeans and leather jackets unless there was a reason to dress up.
“Why are you dressed like that?” I asked.
“Because we’re going out,” he said. “I need you to get ready. How long will you need?”
“What should I wear?” I asked. I was curious, now. My anger was forgotten, his surprise had stunned me.
“Wear that black dress of yours, the one that makes you look so sexy.”
I blushed, even though I wanted to look calm and collected, and irritated. Caden closed the door and I was alone in the room again, wondering what the hell was going on. Caden had a knack for surprising me when I least expected it. He had done it on one of our very first big dates, and for our wedding ceremony. If I knew anything about my husband, it was that I would never be able to guess what was going on.
I walked to my closet and retrieved the dry cleaner bag I used to store my dresses. I took out the black one. It was a short lace dress with nude material behind the lace in all the right places. It was the one I wore on our romantic date in LA before when we were just fake engaged. I hung it on the door handle and took care of my makeup first. I pulled my hair back in a twist I had seen on YouTube, and I applied smoky eyeshadow and a deep red lipstick. I put on my go-to black heels, and when I turned to the mirror I looked as good as I had on that first big date. Butterflies erupted in my stomach. I was more in love now than I had been, even then. More than I had ever been.
My anger had faded, making way for my curiosity.
Caden waited for me by the door and handed me a bunch of red roses. He kissed me, sliding his hands over my body.
“You look fantastic,” he said. “Every time I see you in this dress you take my breath away.”
I blushed, not even trying to hide it this time. Caden smiled. I knew he liked it when he managed to make me blush.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“Let me put these in water,” I said, and walked with the roses to the kitchen where I filled a vase with water. I would arrange them properly, later.
“Ready,” I said, when I joined Caden and we left the apartment together.
We drove out of town and I had no idea where we were going. When I asked, Caden told me to wait and see. He didn’t tell me anything and I was so curious I could barely stand it. The night was starting to creep in and we drove on, the headlights cutting into the darkness.
Finally, we arrived at a property and Caden pulled into the driveway like he owned the place. He opened the car door like a real gentleman and offered me his arm. He led me down a flagstone path that wound through the sweetest garden, lit by torches with flames that chased away the darkness as we walked along.
Violin music started as we rounded a stunning rose bush. A beautiful barn stood before us with torches on either side of the tall barn doors. When we stepped into the barn, I gasped.
“This is amazing,” I said to Caden as I looked around. A string quartet was set up in the corner playing romantic music. The entire barn had been decorated with flowers and photos of us. Fairy lights were strung across the entire area in a way that made it look like a thousand stars.
In the far corner, a caterer was set up, complete with a waiter that would serve us for the evening.
Caden led me to a table that was set for two, with candles and more roses.
I didn’t know how to react. I had prepared myself for a fight all day long, stewing about what Caden had done wrong, getting more and more upset that he had forgotten about our anniversary. Everything I saw now showed me that he hadn’t forgotten at all. This wasn’t the kind of thing he could have put together last minute after he had suddenly remembered what day it was, or after putting two and two together after my bad mood this morning. This had taken days, maybe weeks, of careful planning.
Caden pulled out my chair for me and I sat down. The waiter brought us champagne and the hors-d'oeuvres. There were tiny bits of salmon and sour cream on a toasted piece of bread of some kind with an amazing spice over it. It tasted fantastic.
While we enjoyed the teasers, Caden reached across the table and took my hand.
“I want to apologize for letting you believe I forgot,” he said.
I shook my head. “Don’t. This is amazing. I understand, now.”
“You know I could never forget the best day of my life, right?”
I smiled, unable to hide how perfectly happy I was. Caden really was the perfect husband. He cared about me, and loved me like no one ever had and went out of his way to show me. Not only on days like this—which I was starting to realize was something he loved to do—but in the way he treated me every day.
We were an amazing team. Even at work, when I was managing and he was running around ordering and checking up on everyone, we worked side by side as one. I loved how in sync we were. When I had first taken the job as his hostess when the restaurant opened, I would never have imagined that Caden and I would end up getting married, that our finances would be secure for the rest of our lives, or that the restaurant would become our joint project. I had never believed that I could love and be loved this completely, or that I could be a part of something so much bigger. When Caden had found me, I had no direction in life, lacking the willingness to commit to anything. Not only had he taught me how to make something of myself, but he had shown me that there was so much worth loving and so much worth living for.
I had become the person I was always meant to be, thanks to him.
The appetizer course was cold cucumber and avocado soup, with cream and parsley and honestly, it tasted like heaven. I’d never tried cold soup before, but this was amazing.
“Maybe we should think about something like this for the restaurant,” I said.
Caden chuckled. “Look who’s thinking about work, now.”
I smiled, shaking my head. He was right, of course. But I couldn’t help it. I loved what I was eating and I could only imagine what a hit it would be if we offered our own version of this.
Once the appetizers were done, we moved onto the entrees. We had lamb on a bed of wild rice with mint peas and roasted vegetables. It was out of this world.
“This food is fantastic,” I said to Caden, halfway through our main course. “This is easily the biggest treat of all.”
Caden smiled and nodded. “When we work with food every day it has to stand out. You never used to be this interested in food.”
“You turned me into a foodie,” I agreed. I looked at food differently now. It wasn’t just a matter of survival. Food was an art. The combination of flavors needed attention and food evoked emotion. I was starting to see that.
Finally, dessert was a mango sorbet with dark chocolate and spun sugar. It was simple and elegant, and absolutely perfect.
“Thank you, for this,” I said to Caden when we finished the last of our champagne. “This is more than what I could have dreamed for our first anniversary.
Caden stood so he could lean over the table and kiss me. “I’m glad you’re happy, Princess. I wanted to show you how much you mean to me, but no matter how much I arrange or how much I pay for, nothing will ever come close to showing you.”
I smiled, fighting a blush.
“When you walked into my life I knew you were special, but I would never have guessed we would have ended up here. But I couldn’t be happier. Going to California with you to try and cheat our way into the inheritance money was the best mistake I ever made. The money is great, but what I really got out of it is priceless.”
Caden took my hand and lifted it to his mouth, kissing my knuckles.
“I love you more than you can ever know. You complete me in ways I didn’t think I needed, and you have given me a life full of things I hadn’t realized I’d been missing.” Caden lifted his champagne glass and I did the same.
“This is to us, to our future together, and to many more amazing anniversaries.”
We clinked our glasses together. After we took a sip, I looked around again and sighed.
“I have to say,” I said. “I don’t know how you’ll top this next year.”
Caden grinned at me, that devilish look in his eye that I loved so much.
“Watch me,” he said. He stood again to kiss me and I closed my eyes, getting lost in the feel of his lips against mine. Nothing would ever compare. Caden was my little slice of heaven and when he kissed me, I was home.
Our journey had started like any other, but we were on a wonderful adventure, and now that we were together, the adventure was continuing. I was with the man I loved, settled and happy the way Tina had always said I deserved. I had to agree, my best friend had been right.
We finished our meal. Caden stood and held out his hand, asking me to dance. I put my hand into his and he pulled me up. We walked to an open area that had been set up for dancing and Caden pulled me against him.
“I don’t know how to dance, not like this,” I said.
“Don’t worry, I got you.”
And he did.
The End
Thank you for reading and for your support. If you enjoyed this book, please If you would like to join my ARC team and receive free advance reading copies of books, please send a link or screenshot of your review to . Love, Eva.
Can’t get enough Caden and Harper?
Keep reading for some never-before-seen exclusive bonus books from up-and-coming Sizzling Hot Reads author, Cameron Collins!