Chapter Twenty-Five
Cade
I have spent weeks planning for this night, every meticulous detail of it, and if absolutely anything goes wrong, I will be beyond disappointed. It might be corny to some, but I want this Valentine’s Day to be perfect for Serena, so no detail is too small or too big to have been considered for this.
Ashley has agreed to watch Alan again, and I sent flowers to both her gallery and her home to say thank you. I also ordered dinner for her to be delivered at Serena’s so she wouldn’t have to cook. One of these days, I’m going to set her up with one of the guys I know, but not just yet. It can’t be just any guy...and I need her babysitting services right now.
I pick Serena up in my sleek black sports car instead of my pickup truck and ring the bell. Alan swings the door open.
“Cade!” he greets me with a wide smile and rushes at me.
I lift him up and push the front door closed and carry him toward the living room. “Where’s your mommy?”
“She still in her room with Aunt Ashley. You play cars with me?”
“Sure.” Alan sprawls out on the floor, and I sit down beside him, stretching my legs out. We’re zooming cars around, and I find myself laughing along with Alan just because of the sound of his laughter. A few minutes later, Ashley walks in.
“Hey, Cade. Serena will be out in a minute.”
“No worries. Alan and I are having fun.”
“Thank you for the flowers,” she says.
“You’re welcome. Serena told me that you’re anti-Valentine’s Day, but I still really appreciate you helping us out so much.”
“I’m happy to. It’s really nice to see my sister so happy; she deserves it more than anyone I know. I’m glad it's you.”
“Thanks, that means a lot.”
“Just keep spoiling her and making her happy,” she says in a jokingly threatening way.
“I can do that.”
“Hey,” Serena’s soft voice comes from behind us, and I stand, turning.
She takes my breath away. I’m no expert when it comes to women’s clothing, but I’ve seen a lot of it, and I’ve seen a lot of expensive things, but nothing I’ve ever seen has looked as elegant and sexy as the dress hugging Serena’s curves. The dress is semi-sheer, an oversized, floral lace pattern with a nude lining. It’s two-tone with white lace on the top half and black lace for the straight skirt, which hits Serena mid-calf. The thin straps give way to a dipping neckline and a simple diamond pendant rests in her cleavage. The bracelet I gave her hangs on her wrist and black heels that strap around her ankles bring it all together.
“Wow,” I finally breathe out as I drink her in. “You look incredible, Serena.”
She blushes and smooths a wrinkle that doesn't exist. “You look very handsome yourself.” I’ve opted for a dark, hunter green suit with a crisp white dress shirt, the top two buttons undone and no tie.
“Are you ready?”
She nods and brushes past me, leaning down to kiss Alan. “Be good for Aunt Ashley, okay, bud? Love you.”
“Okay, Mommy. I love you, too,” Alan responds without taking his eyes off his toys. I follow Serena into the front hall where she puts her phone into a small clutch shaped like an ice cream truck.
I hold the door for her to walk outside first. With a hand at the small of her back, I lead her to my car, and she whistles at the sight.
“Pulling out the big guns tonight, are we?”
“You like?”
“Sex on wheels,” she winks as I hold the door open for her. Damn, this woman is perfect.
We speed off for downtown Los Angeles and pull up to one of the fanciest restaurants in town thirty minutes later. A valet opens Serena’s door and offers his hand to assist her from the low-slung vehicle. I come around and take her hand, looping her arm through mine. We head inside and are greeted by the hostess, who leads us to our table. Serena is looking around the restaurant wide-eyed. After we sit and the hostess walks away, she leans across the table.
“There’s no one else here,” she whispers.
“I rented the place out. Didn’t want to share you with anybody.”
Her mouth gapes open. “That must have cost a small fortune, Cade. Are you nuts?”
I shrug. “Maybe, but it’s worth it.”
“And, all these flowers,” she muses. “They’re so beautiful.”
I don’t tell her, but I ordered these three weeks in advance. I wanted everything just right. We are surrounded by roses, daisies, lilies, everything. There are more at my house. A waiter appears to fill our wine glasses and a second waiter appears placing plates of appetizers before us.
“I called ahead, told them what we wanted,” I told her. “I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s perfect, Cade. No man has ever done anything like this for me before.”
“You’ve been with the wrong kind of men.”
“I’m seeing that now,” she laughs. “Seriously, though, while I do appreciate every bit of this, you don’t have to do all of this.”
“I want to. I’ve never wanted to for anyone before. I know it’s extravagant, but I like doing this for you.”
Just then, the string quartet I arranged begin to play and fill the room with beautiful music.
“I suppose there are certain charms to dating a former big shot football star,” she says, her eyes twinkling.
“Lots of charms,” I wink in reply.
We sip our wine and enjoy the appetizers as Serena tells me about some of her recent research. I listen, hanging on her every word as she details a new planetary system her research team has come across.
As our plates are cleared for the next course and our glasses refilled, Serena looks around expectantly. “I’ve never been to a restaurant like this before,” she admits. “Do they have one of those tasting menu things? I’ve never done one of those before.”
I nod. “They do. One of the best in town, actually.”
Her eyes light up with excitement as the waiters reappear, each carrying a covered silver tray. They set them down next to us, and I nod at them. They whip the covers off and exit just as Serena starts to giggle and then bursts out laughing.
“Fried chicken? Is this for real, Cade?”
“This is for real, Serena. Only the best for you, and I happen to have it on good authority that the chef here is from the south and has the best family recipe for fried chicken, passed down generation to generation. And, you once told me that your last meal on earth would be fried chicken.”
“You remember that?”
“Of course. I pay attention to everything you say and do.”
She stands and comes around to me, placing her hands on my shoulders and leaning down to kiss me, a soft brush of her lips against mine. “Thank you, Cade.”
“For what?” I ask as she sits back down.
“For being you,” she smiles. “Now, should we eat?”
“Dig in.”
***
We go straight to my place after dinner and I lead Serena to the kitchen. She sits at the table as I take off my suit jacket, laying it across the back of a chair. I pull a slice of cheesecake from the fridge and bring it over to her and sit down. I spear a piece of the dessert on a fork and lift it to her lips. She smiles and lets me feed it to her. We trade bites until it is gone.
“Cade?”
“Yes?”
“Where have you been all my life?”
I chuckle. “Hey, you’re the one who snuck out on me three years ago.”
“Way to rub it in, Thomas.”
“You’re here now, though.”
“I am. And, you will never know how much I wish I could go back and change that decision. I’m so happy to be here with you, Cade.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Serena,” I tell her softly, reaching out to push a piece of hair behind her ear. She stands and moves toward me, sitting in my lap. Her face lowers to mine and our lips meet. It starts out gentle, but soon her hands are unbuttoning my shirt and our tongues are dancing together.
“I have a gift for you,” she whispers in my ear. “And, I think we’ll both really enjoy it.”