Page 24 of Puck, Marry, Thrill

“Ceci est pour toi et felicitations pour ton mariage…”

Eh?

Jamie stepped back and allowed room service into the room with the rolling cart. He put an ice caddy on the bureau along with two glasses for the champagne – and each had a raspberry waiting in the bottom of the glass. A silver tray was there, and he set it beside the champagne before withdrawing something from underneath the roll cart that was covered with a linen cloth, and she caught her breath.

Roses.

A dozen long-stemmed red roses.

“What’d we get, Daddy?” Zachary asked, coming out of the bathroom.

“Jamie got a little something special…” Kenneth replied quietly behind her as the attendant put the roses on the counter. He leaned forward, handed him several bills, and thanked him. Minutes later, the door was closed, the bell-hop was gone, and she was alone with an excited child, a quiet man, and all the makings for a romantic evening.

“You didn’t have to do this…” she whispered nervously, looking at him. Instead of answering, he moved slightly and pulled the cork that had been already popped by room service. He poured the two glasses, handing her one, and looked at Zachary.

“Get into bed, buddy, and you can watch cartoons before bed. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

As Zachary climbed into the child’s bed, Kenneth took the remote and put it on the Disney Channel, before moving closer to her. He picked up his glass of champagne – and lifted the lid, giving her a soft yet nervous smile.

“Every bride should have cake on their wedding day… but I’m a little late.”

Her eyes flew to his.

He’d gotten her cake so she could feel like a bride? How incredibly sweet was that? She felt a burning in her nose as the image of him before her suddenly grew watery. Clearing her throat, she sniffed and looked at the cake. It was a chocolate-cheesecake-looking thing.

“It’s not a normal cake because we didn’t have a normal wedding, but…” he began softly, his voice trailing off as she continued to look at him in utter disbelief and joy.

“What is it? Is that a cheesecake?”

“Flourless Belgian chocolate cake – with chocolate sauce.”

“Forgiven,” Jamie replied easily, picking up a fork and hearing his soft chuckle beside her - and then she did a doubletake as he took the fork from her hand. “Hey, wait a second…” her voice trailed off as she saw him scoop up a bite of the chocolate cake and look at her.

“First bite,” he said softly, looking at her. “I’m supposed to give the bride the first bite, and then you feed me one.”

“It’schocolate,though… do I have to?”

“It can be a really small bite,” he chuckled softly, looking at her. “Open…”

And Jamie complied, waiting and bracing herself to end up wearing cake or something – and none of that happened. Instead, Kenneth gave her a bite of the cake and withdrew the fork, his eyes watching her, drinking her in as she experienced what could only be called ‘Chocolate Nirvana.’ Her eyes drifted shut as the flavors swirled in her mouth, overwhelming everything including the sound of him catching his breath.

“Jamie…”

She heard her name but there was an inflection that wasn’t there before – a yearning, a rawness, a husky tone that spoke to her. They say that when the right frequency hits glass it can break or shatter, and that singular word did it for her.

‘Hot’ or ‘Handsome’ just became ‘Need’ or ‘Want’ – and she wasn’t ready for the overwhelming sensation as it rolled over her when she opened her eyes and met his. His dark eyes were blazing with awareness and something else that caused her to hesitate.

He was… upset?

Was he upset with her? Himself? The situation?

“Kenneth…” she whispered, and he flinched. He flinched – and she flinched. Both were staring at each other with a new awareness that there was something between them, and he wasn’t happy about it.

What-in-the-actual-floppy-eared-bunnywas going on with him?

“Gimme the fork,” she muttered, scooped up a big bite of chocolate, and wielded it like a weapon. “Open.”

“Jamie…” – and she shoved the bite in his mouth, nearly gagging him.

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