“Tristan, this is beautiful.” A table placed in a private spot near the famous allées of spring-blooming pink and white crabapple trees is waiting for us.

Placing my hand in the small of her back, I lean close enough to whisper in her ear. “I thought we could have a little picnic.”

“Your idea of a picnic is very different from mine.” She smiles at me and my heart beats faster.

“Come on, I have a surprise for you,” I say as we make our way toward the table.

“More surprises?” she questions.

“What can I say?” I smirk. “I might’ve gotten a little carried away.”

“Considering I wasn’t even aware that we would be having a date today, I assure you I’m already surprised.”

“I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to see you,” I confess.

Pulling a chair out, I gesture for her to sit. Sinking down into the seat next to her, I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She looks gorgeous and I can’t stop watching her, studying her every reaction to my touch. The pink in her cheeks is an indication that she’s not unaffected by it.

“Are you hungry?”

“I could eat,” she answers a little breathless.

“What are you in the mood for?”

“I don’t know.” She looks over at me. “What did you have in mind?”

“If it’s up to me, I’d like to jump straight to dessert.”

“And what’s for dessert?” The playful tone of her voice makes my dick goes hard. The fucker recognizes her voice. The possibility of having her, right here and now, is too tempting.

“Something I’m sure you’ll love. Are you ready?” I challenge, waiting for her to jump in at whatever it is I have planned.

“Ready.” She nods.

A waiter puts a drink in front of her and she eyes it, warily. “What’s this?”

“A raspberry chocolate martini.”

Her eyes sparkle mischievously, all traces of wariness gone. “Really? I’ve never had one.”

“Try it,” I encourage, hoping she likes the taste.

She’s quiet as she takes a small sip, I wait for her to tell me if she likes it, but she just takes another quick sip.

“Well? Do you like it?”

Hannah taps her lips with the tip of her index finger, as if considering my question and then takes another sip of the chocolaty drink.

“It’s super yummy.” She smiles at me. “Are you having one?”

I shake my head. “No, that’s all for you.”

“Wait, are you trying to get me drunk?” She arches an eyebrow.

“On chocolate, yes,” I wink. “Just wait to see what else is coming.” I signal the waiter to bring the rest of the surprise I have for her.

“Wow.” She studies the tray full of gold-coated chocolate concoctions.

“One of the things I know about you is that you love chocolate and since this was an impromptu date and I couldn’t take you to this place in Vegas where they have these delicious treats, I thought of bringing them to you.”

Grabbing a piece of one of the chocolate bars, I move closer to her.

“Open your mouth, Hannah,” I order and she obeys, her moan the sign of approval I was hoping for.

Grabbing another selection, I motion for her to open her mouth again.

She closes her eyes and I remind myself that even if we’re alone, we’re still in a public place.

“Is it good?”

“It’s delicious.” She takes a sip of her drink and smiles at me. “Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

“You haven’t tried them,” she accuses.

She feeds me a truffle but before she can pull her finger back, I close my mouth and let my tongue swirl around the tip. She blushes and I let go.

“Delicious,” I state.

Clearing her throat, she looks anywhere but at me. “It’s not fair. You know more about me than I know about you.”

“What do you want to know?” I regret the words as soon as they leave my mouth.

“Well, Tristan Reynolds, how about you start by telling me where you’re from?”

I cringe when I hear her call me that way.

“New York city, born and raised. You?”

“La Mesa. It’s a city in Southern California.”

“I’ve never been there, I’d like to visit and see the place where you grew up,” I admit.

“What about your family?”

“I have three brothers, each of us are three years apart, which is always a running joke in our family gatherings. Our grandfather used to say my father was a perfectionist and he even planned our births to be that way.”

“Did he really plan that?”

“Not according to our mother.”

“Are you close with your parents?”

“Yes, although we don’t see each other much,” I offer.

“They don’t live in New York?”

“No. They travel a lot.”

“That must be hard.”

“I won’t deny that I miss them, but I can’t say I’m too upset about it.”

“I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t see my family often. Being away from them has been hard,” Hannah admits. And I take the opportunity to ask more about her father’s condition.

“What happened to your father?”

Watching sadness shadow the spark of her deep brown eyes pains me more than it should, but if I want to help her, I need to know what’s wrong with him.

“He had a heart attack not long after my sister was in a bad car accident.” She inhales deeply and lets out a loud exhale. “It was one of the scariest moments of my life. First I feared I’d lose my sister and then my dad.”

“Is he better now?”

“He is. Holly, my sister, is recovering too. My dad’s still at the hospital but my sister is home. Leaving them to come here is one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make.”

“How long are you going to stay?” I ask, trying to maintain composure. It never crossed my mind that Hannah would leave the city I love. Would I go after her if she did? I already knew the answer to that, what I didn’t know was if she would want me to.

“A week? Maybe less. My dad had a complication, and my sister is home alone most of the day. Nat, one of my best friends and boss has been keeping an eye on them for me, taking my sister to her physical therapy appointments but she still has a business to run and I don’t like Hannah being alone. I’m sure she misses our dad terribly.”

Fuck, I didn’t realize my time with Hannah would be so short.

“What if I find a way to help with that? Would you stay a little longer then?”

“I don’t know. I miss my home.”

Deciding to change the topic, I ask, “You mentioned having a boss, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a baker. I work at my friend’s bakery.”

“That sounds so good. Would you ever bake something for me?”

“You mean besides the chocolate chip cookies?”

“Yeah. Cake, cupcakes. Whatever you make, I’ll gladly try.”

“What’s your favorite kind of cake?”

“Yellow with white frosting.”

“Really? I would’ve taken you for more of a chocolate cake kind of guy.”

“I like chocolate. Milk chocolate is my favorite, but we’re talking about cake here.”

“Noted.” She smiles and it seems my heart has learned how to increase its beating whenever she does.

“What made you want to become a baker?” I ask, eager to know more about her life.

“My mom. She loved baking and let me help her whenever she was making something. She taught me a lot as I grew older. When I told my parents I wanted to go to Culinary school to specialize in it, they didn’t hesitate to support me.”

Her left index finger touches and makes circular movements over her right ring finger as she says. “My dream was to open a bakery with my mom. We had it all planned. We would be in charge of the baking goods, my dad would administer it and Holly would be the official taste tester.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“My mom passed away.”

“I’m sorry, Hannah. I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“I’m okay. It was a good dream.”

“Maybe you can still have it,” I offer. “I bet your dad and sister would love that.”

“It wouldn’t be the same without mom, but who knows? Maybe someday?”