Page 59 of Honey Bun
Maddie
The ride was thrilling, and the meal made my mouth water. Honestly, the salad alone was more than I usually ate for dinner. For ten years of my life, I’d watched everything I ate because Bob refused to allow me to get fat. Since I’d been with Arman, all he’d done was ensure that I had food, water, shelter, and clothes—and a job so I could get all those things for myself. He treated me like I was important.
If life was a fairy tale, he qualified as a prince amongst men.
The steak arrived, and it was easy to cut. My mouth watered. I ate a small piece. It went down smoothly. “This is delicious.”
He put his napkin on the table. “We’ll tell the staff to compliment the chef.”
I laughed. We ate in easy silence. In the air, I could believe romance might be in my life forever, and if I married Arman, my life would never be the same. We could soar, fly, or sail off into the sunset like little girls were told was possible. I could half imagine we’d fly off to Tahiti if I gave him a clue that was what I wanted.
I laughed to myself as I finished my meal and then sat back. “Is everyone in your family as romantic as you are?”
His face turned a little pink, and he shook his head. “I didn’t do anything today. I thought we’d keep it low-key like when we went out to dinner in Virgin Cove.”
If he’d told me we were going out like this, I would have said no. We both knew it. I shrugged. “That would have been nice too.”
Then I sipped my wine. Like him, his family was amazing. They weren’t just rich and entitled. They were down-to-earth and the best people I’d ever met. Roxanne treated me better than my own mom did. And Arman was from the same stock.
My heart raced. This wasn’t who I was. This wasn’t my life. I put the glass down and tried to ignore the tension building in my gut.
He laughed. “If I’d thought you’d accept all this planning, I’d have pulled out all the stops.”
Right. Maybe this is the weekly standby date the Norouzi men know how to do to impress women.
That thought grounded me, though I sipped my wine and then confidently said, “And here I thought I was the creative one when it came to planning activities.”
He winked. “Very true. I hire the best people to handle details.”
Perhaps they even owned stock at the hotel. Everything clicked in my mind as I thought of reasons not to get carried away. But Arman was the real deal, so I said, “You’re patient, kind, smart, and romantic. It was your idea to go out, and you’ve been eying a horse-drawn carriage ride in the park.”
His eyes narrowed, and I could have sworn he winced. “I have?”
Perhaps I was being hard on him. It wasn’t his fault that I was a mess. I put down my full cup and stared at the liquid. “Yeah. When you asked me out the other day.”
He massaged the back of his head. “I didn’t say a word.”
I moved to sit beside him and patted his arm. “I know you better than you think I do.”
He gently bumped into me. “That’s nice to hear.”
It was time to stop believing in fairy tales. I sucked in my lips and took a minute to gather my strength. The helicopter started its descent.It’s now or never.“So, tell me about your dating past.”
His eyes widened in shock, and he sat stiffer. My stomach had butterflies. I shouldn’t have asked. I’d found to way to screw the night up.
“Why drag that up?”
Because happiness isn’t a state of mind that blooms quickly.I ignored the trembling in my gut and quickly said in a low, shaky voice, “I wondered if there was a string of women waiting for a night like this with you, but I shouldn’t have let that out. I’m scared and out of my element.”
“I’d never hurt you.” His shoulders tightened. It was clear I’d offended him. “I don’t tend to give my heart out to just anyone.”
I wasn’t enough for him, yet hope kept popping up inside me. I glanced up at him. “You wouldn’t on purpose. You’re the best man I ever met. But there is nothing I can offer you that you don’t have already.”
He closed his eyes and for a second as if thinking this through. Then he said, “You don’t see yourself in the mirror the way I see you.”
I shook my head. Impossible dreams were bad for me, as they created unrealistic expectations. But this wasn’t a judgment on him. “That’s sweet. It’s hard to believe in this life you’re presenting. It feels like a dream.”
He stared up at the stars that were appearing. “I’m not presenting anything to you. Since you arrived, I’ve been half-worried you were going to leave, and I never worry about anything.”
