Kaya

I wasn’t able to keep the goofy grin off of my face as I showered and got dressed for our dinner that night. Doing my makeup had never been easier. I’d applied a touch of eyeliner before coating my eyelashes with waterproof black mascara. I hadn’t needed to use blush since my color was high—likely because I was on fire inside—and since my lips were still kiss-swollen, I chose not to use lipstick, instead applying my very favorite cotton candy flavored lip balm.

I used my barrel curling iron to style my hair in loose waves and then braided six small portions of the front of my hair—three on each side—pulling the sections back and securing them loosely at the back of my head. I finished the look with a nice pair of medium sized gold hoops. The biggest difficulty I had came when I was trying to narrow down an outfit. I stood in front of the closet for countless minutes as I shifted on my feet and debated my options. In the end, I chose a black tee shirt dress with a wrap front detail at the side. I went back and forth on the shoes before settling on a pair of strappy teal colored wedges that gave me another four inches of height.

I’d just finished taking the obligatory mirror selfie and sending it to Emery in a Facebook message when I got a text from Alejandro telling me that he would be over to get me in five minutes. I hurried downstairs and grabbed the container of blueberries I’d washed earlier along with a piece of carefully cut up soft wheat bread before I headed outside to give Elvis his last snack of the day. I found him perched in his normal spot atop the wall fountain that ran along the back of the pool. Lifting the fruit and bread, I called his name as I stepped into the yard. He half flew, half hopped over to me, anxious to get to his nighttime snack. Nothing made Elvis happier than food, and the expression in his eyes as he looked at me was a lot like worship.

I set the food down in his normal spot and ran my finger across his back with a laugh. “You eat all this and then go to bed,” I instructed. He looked up and gave me a look that made me burst out laughing. The look said I’m an angel who will sit here and await your return with baited breath. I won’t even think of jumping the wall to sit with Rafe. Not at all.

I rolled my eyes. “If the opportunity comes up you’re totally going over there, aren’t you?”

The way he blinked up at me was my answer. We both know that’s happening his look said. Well, I thought, at least he was honest. Once I knew that he was safe over there—and that he didn’t have the desire to go anywhere else—I’d calmed down. Short of getting him a leash—something that would never happen—there was no keeping him away from his new human BFF. Scolding him wasn’t going to keep him away from going over the wall, and since Rafe had an affinity for Elvis, I let it go.

“Just remember that you sleep here,” I said dryly. “I like knowing you’re up there in your sycamore keeping an eye on things, little buddy.”

I swear he nodded. He knew his job, and he took it seriously. You might think a peacock security system sounds crazy but I’m here to tell you that people are seriously thrown off when they see one coming toward them. The police officer leaving Alejandro’s before Elvis could get too close was the perfect example of that.

Knowing that Alejandro would be arriving momentarily, I waved at Elvis and scurried into the house, locking the sliding door behind me. I had just enough time to stop in the kitchen, wash my hands and grab my purse before I heard Alejandro knock on the front door.

My pulse raced as I fluffed my hair and then smoothed my hands over my dress before I swung the door open. My eyes widened, and I wet my lips nervously as I looked him over. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a white button down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His light brown belt matched his shoes, which for some reason I found ridiculously sexy.

“Wow,” he said—at the exact moment, I said the very same thing.

We both laughed as he stepped in closer to me and I grinned up at him when he slid his arms around me and pulled me into him.

“God you’re beautiful,” he said. A shiver ran through me as he picked up a piece of my hair and lifted it to his nose. “You smell incredible, just like always. I fall asleep thinking of this scent.” He stared into my eyes as he said it and all I could think about was how his closeness in addition to the words he’d said made me weak in the knees. I watched, fascinated, as he leaned in close and kissed me softly.

My eyelids fluttered shut as he claimed my mouth, the heat of his lips against mine the perfect start to our night. Happy for the height-adding wedges I was wearing I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss. We were nothing but sensation, lips and teeth and tongue meeting in an age-old dance that we somehow knew the steps to without any training. I groaned when he finally lifted his head, sad that he’d stopped even though I understood why.

The expression on his face as he stared down at me made my sex throb. “I'm already addicted to the way you taste—like cotton candy and green apples," he rasped.

His eyes trailed my movements as I licked my lips and smiled. “I just finished eating a Jolly Rancher, and I just applied my favorite cotton candy lip balm.”

“It’s now my favorite, too,” he murmured.

I silently vowed to apply it liberally whenever I knew he’d be around. After another quick kiss, he let go of me and stepped back.

“Hungry?”

I nodded and laughed as we walked out the front door. “I can always eat,” I joked.

Dinner at Ocean and Vine was incredible. Midway through the meal, I realized something epic—it was my first ever honest to goodness date. My junior high boyfriends hadn’t been able to take me anywhere, and Paul and I had only ever gone to eat at real high-end places like Pizza Patty’s and Billy’s Burger Barn because even though he was rich, he didn't see the need to "waste money on dates". I’d never gotten dressed up to go out to a real sit-down dinner with a man before. Although I hadn’t put a lot of thought into wanting to do so previously, once I experienced what a real date felt like with Alejandro, I wanted a thousand more—and I wanted them all to be with him.

I’d also had no idea how sensual a dinner date could be. Instead of sitting across from me he sat directly next to me so that we were closer. When he held his fork out and fed me a piece of his braized beef short rib, I silently swooned. We shared our desserts—an order of the lemon verbena pana cotta and a peach crostata with vanilla ice cream—and he’d fed me a fair amount of those as well. In between courses we held hands and talked quietly about a variety of things. The feeling that we were in our own little bubble continued as we got back into his Range Rover and headed back up Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu. We talked about everything and nothing at all as Bruno Mars sang in the background. We’d already agreed to watch a movie after dinner so when we pulled back onto our street, he gestured between the two houses. “Your house or mine?”

I nibbled at my lip as I considered it. The bottom line was that I wanted to make out more and I wouldn’t be comfortable doing that in his living room where Rafael could walk in at any time. “How about we do mine? You can run home and get changed, and I’ll check on Elvis. He should be asleep by now, but I never know with him these days.”

He nodded as he guided the car past his house and pulled up to the gate at Emery’s. After pushing the code in for entry, he drove in and parked the car before running around and opening my door for me. “I’ll be back in ten, Belleza. Would you like me to bring anything back? We have a wine cellar just off the kitchen, and my father already had it stocked.”

“Wine sounds good,” I said as I slid my hand into his and got out of the car.

“Any preference?”

“Something sweet but not too sweet,” I answered. “And please, no red. I have to be in the mood for it.”

He chuckled as he walked alongside me to Emery’s front door. “And you’re never in the mood for it,” he teased. “I noticed that you declined all the reds when we did the winery tour the other day.”

I wrinkled my nose and laughed as I opened the door. “I don’t like super dry or super heavy wine.”

“There are good reds,” he laughed. “We will do dinner at my house this week. I’ll make steak and introduce you to red wine from the Catalonia region of Spain. It is the best I’ve ever tasted. I’m not always a fan of red either, but there is a certain wine—Clos Mogador—that I love. I bet you would enjoy it.”

The idea of him cooking for me made every part of me tingle. I absolutely loved how special he made me feel.

“I would love to try your Spanish red,” I answered.

He dropped a kiss on my nose and gestured with his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m going to go home, get changed and grab a white wine. You should get comfortable, too.”

With anyone else, I would’ve immediately jumped to the conclusion that they wanted me to be dressed in lingerie upon their return, but I knew that wasn’t what Alejandro was trying to say. I smiled and nodded as he walked out the door and then leaned on the door and watched as he walked out to his car. He looked over and waved at me after he started it and had it in drive, and I know I had a goofy smile on my face before I closed the door and ran up the stairs to my bedroom.

I stopped inside the door and took my shoes off before I headed into the bathroom. After I used the facilities, I washed my hands, took my earrings off and then whipped my dress over my head before tossing it into the hamper. I trailed back into my bedroom clad only in bra and underwear. I opened two drawers, pulled out a pair of white cotton sleep shorts and a buttery soft white tee and then quickly got dressed. I assessed myself in the mirror with a nod before I liberally reapplied my cotton candy lip balm. Knowing that Alejandro was a fan made me like it even more than I normally did.

Once I was good to go, I went to the window to take a peek out at Elvis. I smiled happily when I saw him resting in his normal roost in the sycamore closest to my room. He had another roost in the bigger sycamore a few feet over that he used when Emery was home, but any time I was taking care of him he chose to move closer to me. I was touched and took it as the compliment it was.