Page 51 of Finding Romance
“Y-you’re, like, wow. It’s so nice to meet you, Mr. Sullivan, I mean, Sully,” she stumbles over her words as she releases his hand.
“Have a seat. This is a lesson for two,” he says with a grin. He’s set up two canvases in front of one for him.
And just like that, one of the world’s most famous children's book illustrators gives us a private lesson on his farm. He praises and encourages Piper and I’m so grateful that Al offered to call his old friend.
“Thank you, Sully. This has been a dream come true,” Piper gushes as we wrap up our lesson.
“Happy to have met you, Piper. Here’s a card with my number and email, feel free to reach out anytime,” he says and then points toward the road we drove in on. “I think the guesthouse is all ready with dinner when you are.”
“Dinner?” Piper asks.
“Yeah, when my wife wanted to buy this place, I had no idea the plans she had for it. She and my daughters run the vineyard, and last year, they put two guesthouses out by the lake. But you’re the only ones out there tonight. We were going to close them for the season, but Al talked me into taking one last booking. My daughter Jessica is a great chef, she’s prepared your dinner on the veranda.”
“Thanks again, Sully,” I say as I shake his hand.
He waves at us. “I’ll have Martha drop these on the front steps of the cabin tomorrow before checkout.”
I nod and place my hand on the small of Piper’s back, ushering her back to the car. I drive us a mile down the road where it ends at a lake. There’s an A-frame building and another one a little further down the path.
I park in the nearest one where I can see a candlelit table on a deck overlooking the water.
“Holy shit, Kasen. This is amazing,” Piper says excitedly as she gets out of the car before I can open the door for her.
She’s already walking to the deck.
I jump out and take her hand, dragging her back against me. “Slow down there, illustrator. Let’s get our stuff and then we’ll change for dinner.” I had told her to pack a nice outfit.
She nods and I take our bags. We get settled in the house. Everything we need is there. The loft master suite looks out over the lake. It really is gorgeous.
“Go ahead and change. I’ll meet you on the deck,” I say. She nods and heads into the bathroom. I throw on a suit and walk downstairs, stopping in the kitchen to grab the ice bucket with the champagne inside and two champagne flutes.
I set them on the table outside and take a seat to wait.
A moment later, Piper walks out onto the deck, and I nearly stop breathing. She’s beyond beautiful. Her hair is pinned up on top of her head. Tendrils hang down her long neck. She’s wearing makeup and her lips are bright red. She has on a red dress that hugs every curve on her body.
Fuck me.
“I sort of was hoping that is what you would do to me,” she says with a smirk.
I realize I said those words out loud and I grin. “That’s the plan,” I reply.
I stand and hold out a hand. She takes it and I twirl her in a circle. She giggles.
“You’re stunning,” I manage.
“Thank you,” she says quietly.
I pull out her chair and she sits.
“Let’s eat and enjoy the evening,” I say, but I’m not sure I can, because all I want to do is take her up to that giant king-sized bed and make her mine. I want to ruin her for every other man forever. And that thought both makes me terrified and also exceedingly happy all at once.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Piper
Everything about the evening seems perfect. We eat delicious food and talk about everything and nothing all at the same time. I make Kasen tell me a story about growing up and fishing with his dad. He smiles as he tells the story. He becomes less and less mysterious over the course of the meal, and by the time he’s feeding me chocolate cake, I’m trying to tell myself I’m not falling for him.
I pat my stomach as I sit back in my chair and stare up at the night sky. We’re a good two hours from the city and you can see so many more stars here.
