Page 28 of The Heart of a Capricorn
He followed his message up with a winky emoji.
I smiled at the phone again like he could see me, then put it away. I wasn’t sure where we were going, but since he loved those dresses I got, I would probably end up wearing another color.
“Sorry, ladies. I promise I was listening,” I told the group as I picked up my coffee mug.
The meeting continued, and we weren’t done until a few hours later. I had enough time to eat lunch in my room and relax until Chauncey reached out to let me know the plan.
“Don’t move,” Chauncey instructed as he came up behind me.
He removed the blindfold he insisted I wear. At first, I didn’t open my eyes until Chauncey whispered, “Open.”
“Chauncey.” I gasped as I covered my mouth with my hand.
Earlier, I relaxed in my room until Chauncey told me what time he would pick me up. He didn’t give me an idea as to what the night entailed. Since we were going on a date, I wore a dress with heels. Imagine my surprise when I got in the truck that Chauncey rented for the night, and there was a pair of sneakers waiting for me.
The only thing he said was that I would need them for where we were going.
I asked him multiple times to tell me where he was taking me, but he remained tight-lipped. About five minutes into the ride, he put a blindfold on me. I protested for a good minute, but he told me that he would reward me by the end of the night. I was anxious the whole way there. Nobody had surprised me, and this would be the second time Chauncey had done so in a short amount of time. We talked about our day as we drove to the undisclosed location.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
My eyes swept over the view. We had driven to the mountains, and somehow, Chauncey had the perfect setting for two when we got to the top.
“It’s breathtaking.” The sun had slowly gone down and painted the sky beautiful shades of red and orange.
I couldn’t get over how high up we were. One false move and we would plummet to our deaths. I shook that thought from my head.
“Come, have a seat.” Chauncey reached for my hand, then led me to the table.
The small round table was perfect, with one long candle in the middle. Two covered plates were on the table, as well as a bottle of wine and water. Near the candle was a breadbasket and a few condiments.
When I sat in the chair, Chauncey pushed my chair in, then walked around to the other side.
I gazed at the view again, just absorbing the landscape. The mountains seemed to expand for miles and miles. I wondered what was on the other side.
“Lift the cover so you can see what we are having for dinner,” Chauncey suggested once he’d gotten himself situated.
The aroma of the food hit me as soon as I lifted the lid, and my mouth watered. Everything looked so good, and I couldn’t wait to dig in. On the plate was honey-roasted duck, with braised red cabbage and wild rice.
“How did you even pull this off?” My eyes flashed to Chauncey’s, then back to my plate.
A simple picnic was one thing, but a romantic dinner at the top of a mountain was on a different level. This man had pulled out all the stops, and my feelings doubled because of his effort.
“I’m a man of many resources.”
He sat across from me in a cream shirt. The first two buttons were undone, partially exposing his broad, tattooed chest and his dog tag. His pants were a shade lighter than the shirt, and he had brown shoes on his feet.
“That you are,” I said as I draped the napkin over my lap, then picked up my silverware.
“There are three glazes here for you to try.” Chauncey pointed to the three small cups that were next to the breadbasket. “I figured I’d give you the option of seeing which one you liked best.”
I picked up each cup one by one and smelled them. All three smelled good, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong with either.
When Chauncey reached over the table and began cutting my lamb, I swore hearts floated in my eyes. I never, I mean ever, had a man cut my food for me.
Lord, is this my husband?
“I think you should start with this one,” Chauncey suggested as he passed me the first cup. “It’s an orange sauce. It’s not my favorite out of the three, but it’s still good.” He jabbed his fork into a small piece of meat, dipped it in the sauce, then held the fork to my mouth.
