I pressed my ear to the bathroom door to make sure Autumn was in the shower and not about to burst out on me. Satisfied by the sound of the gushing water, I snuck out of the hotel room and headed down the stairs to reception. I hoped my surprise had already arrived by now. I’d ordered it for express delivery, and I wanted it here by tonight to prove to Autumn that I had been paying attention to her wants and needs on this trip.

I had so nearly said those powerful words the night before, nearly let it slip out when I wasn’t ready for it. That was crazy because the last thing I needed right now was to come out with something as bold and big as I love you. It wasn’t the kind of thing I let slip out at random. When I said it to her, I was going to be sure she would say it back, and I was going to be dead-certain she knew I meant it. It wasn’t something to blurt out after a night on the town together when we’d spent the most of the day drinking and goofing off.

I had noticed her eyeing a dress when we walked to the hotel that evening—a red number in the window of a boutique down the street from the hotel as we were passing. I knew at once that she had to have it. I would have done anything to make it so she had everything she wanted, not to mention that I thought she would look incredible in the red dress. My mind drifted back to our very first unofficial date when she’d taken me shopping for a suit, and I grinned. How the tables had turned.

I arrived down at reception and waited patiently for the woman to turn her attention to me. I smiled when she did, unable to keep the grin from my face.

“Hi. I think there’s a package here for me?” I told her. “Holden?”

“Oh, right, sure.” The woman reached beneath the desk and handed me a small, slim, soft package. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” I nodded to her and headed back up the stairs to the hotel room. Autumn had been complaining about not knowing what to wear earlier, given that we were headed to one of the fanciest restaurants in the city, but I had the perfect solution to her problem. I couldn’t wait to see the look on her face.

I opened the door and found her sitting on the edge of the bed, wrapped in a towel, her arms wound around herself protectively. She looked nervous, and she gazed up at me as soon as I walked into the room.

“I thought you’d left.” She furrowed her brow. “Where did you go?”

“I was just picking this up for you,” I assured her, handing her the package.

She smiled at me and took it with a shake of her head. “What is it?”

“Open it, and you’ll see,” I told her with a grin. She did as she was told and then gasped and laughed when the red dress fell out into her hands.

“Is this the one I was looking at yesterday?” she asked, passing it back and forth in her hands. I nodded.

“I just wanted you to have it,” I told her.

She gave me a kiss on the cheek before heading into the bathroom with the dress. “Well, you’ve solved my problem of what to wear this evening. How long before we need to go?”

“Half an hour,” I called to her as she closed the door behind her. I went to grab something to change into myself. At least I’d grabbed a suit earlier in the day, so I had something presentable to take my lady out in. I wanted to show her a seriously good time tonight. Yesterday had been fun, but tonight was going to be incredible.

She emerged from the bathroom twenty minutes later, transformed in her red dress and a pair of black heels with her makeup dark and smoky. She twirled before me with a giggle.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“You look good enough to eat,” I replied, and she flushed a little.

“Well, save it for the restaurant, yeah?” she teased, taking my hand as we headed to the door. “I like the new suit.”

“I like the new dress,” I replied as we stepped into the elevator. She snuggled into me once more. She had been doing that a lot, as though she couldn’t keep her hands off me. It was a good feeling, one that I shared with her.

“Where is this place that you’re taking me again?” She furrowed her brow as we headed out of the hotel and climbed into a cab.

“I did some website work for them a good few years ago,” I said. “When I was done, I came down to take a look at the place, and I fell in love with it. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve wanted to take someone I was dating there ever since, so you earn the honors.”

She grinned. “Well, I’m touched. You saved this for me, and you hadn’t even met me yet.”

“Sure did,” I said as I watched the Vegas streets whip by outside.

We arrived outside the building the restaurant was in, and she frowned when we stepped out of the cab. I had to admit, from the outside, it didn’t look like much—but then, that was part of its charm.

“I know it doesn’t look like a lot from out here,” I assured her. “But when you see the inside…”

“All right, show me.” She waved her hand for me to lead on. “I’ve got to see this amazing place already.”

I headed into the building where a host was waiting by a sleek glass elevator. He glanced up when I walked in and offered us both a welcoming smile.

“Holden,” I said. “We have a reservation for seven.”

The host turned his gaze to the pad in front of him, his eyes scanning over it quickly, and then he pressed his finger into the paper and nodded.

“Please, take the elevator to the top floor.” He gestured to the elevator beside him. “You’ll be taken to your table from there. Enjoy your evening.”

“Thank you.” I nodded to him, and Autumn gave me a wide-eyed look of “what the hell is going on?” as we slipped into the elevator that whisked us up to the top floor. When we stepped out, her jaw dropped.

“Oh, you have to be kidding me,” she murmured as she looked around the place. Even I had to admit, the restaurant looked even better than I remembered it.

Huge windows looked out over the sparkling city of Vegas laid out below us. Shimmering glass chandeliers dripped from the ceiling and cast a cool, expensive glow over everything. There were only a handful of tables, and all of them were full except one, which we were swiftly led to. Autumn took her seat opposite me and turned to take in the view.

“How do I not know about this place already?” she asked, turning back to me. “Why doesn’t everyone come here? It’s amazing.”

“It’s the sort of place you have to know about already,” I explained. “They don’t advertise a lot. I think they like to keep the clientele small and exclusive.”

“It’s incredible,” she dragged her eyes away from the view to look at me. “Thank you so much for bringing me here. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“You have no idea how much you mean to me.” I took her hand as the waiter approached with the wine list and a menu, and she beamed across the table in my direction. My heart swelled with love for her, and I almost dropped the words right then and there, but the waiter passed us our menus and let us know the specials, and the moment wasn’t quite right. Yet.

“Oh my God, all of this looks so good,” she said as she cast her gaze over the food on the menu. “What do you get when you’re here?”

“I try to get a mix of everything,” I replied. “They had some incredible chefs here. It’d be a shame to miss out on anything they’re cooking up.”

“Then let’s do that.” She nodded, closing her menu. “You choose what we have. I know you’ll make the right choice.”

“Bold,” I teased her. “What if I make the wrong one, and the entire night is ruined?”

“I guess I’ll just have to hold it against you,” she teased, leaning forward.

“As long as you’re not wearing that dress when you’re holding yourself against me.” I raised my eyebrows at her playfully, and she let out a burst of laughter that attracted the attention of the other patrons. She slapped her hand over her mouth and glanced around apologetically, but most of them seemed more amused by her outburst than anything.

“Stop it. We’re in a classy establishment,” she scolded me. “I don’t want to get booted out because you can’t keep it in your pants.”

“Hey, I’m just making the most of the fact that it’s only the two of us,” I pointed out. “We don’t often get this time to ourselves, what with Hunter and everything.”

“Speaking of Hunter,” She hesitated for a moment, “what’s going to happen when we get back? With… well, with everyone?”

“I don’t think we need to worry about that now,” I soothed her gently. “Let’s have a good time while we’re here, and we can figure out the details when we get home, all right?”

“All right,” she agreed, a weight seeming to lift from her face. The waiter approached with a pad in his hand.

“Ready to order?” he asked, and I nodded and picked up the menu.

The rest of the night was perfect. The food was great, the wine was delicious, and the view over the city was unforgettable. It felt so nice to be able to whisk my woman out on a real, bona fide date. I loved spending time with her and Hunter, but there was something luxurious and fun about the two of us kicking back as well. We talked about movies and books and work, gossiped about our friends, and I avoided the topic of Karla carefully to make sure I didn’t let my ex throw a wrench into the works of the best date I’d had in years.

I paid the bill when we were done, and we slipped into a taxi to head back to the hotel. Autumn was leaning her head back against the seat, eyes closed, hands resting in her lap.

“You okay?” I asked her gently, and she opened her eyes and looked at me.

“Yeah, I’m great,” she promised me. “Just don’t want to forget any of this, that’s all.”

“Me neither,” I agreed. I reached over and slipped my hand onto her bare thigh, just below the hem of her dress. I glanced over at her and found a small smile creeping across her face, and I knew the same thing on my mind was on her mind.

I paid the driver, and she led me to the hotel room, grabbing my hand and taking the elevator. She was a little shaky in her heels, and I wasn’t sure if it was the booze or the promise of what we were about to do.

As soon as we were through the door, she wound her arms around me and looked deeply into my eyes.

“It’s going to be okay, isn’t it?” she asked me. “When we get back?”

“Of course, it will be,” I promised her. “But we have a little time left here first, right?”

“Right,” she agreed with a smile. I leaned down to kiss her, and as soon as our lips met, I knew where this was going.