Page 44 of Blind Spot
“I just wanted to have a relaxing evening at home with you tonight. No racing, no clubs, nothing but the two of us,” I explained, handing her the bouquet of lilies as I pulled her into my arms.
She buried her nose in them and then looked back up at me with teary eyes. “Thank you. I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything. Just enjoy me spoiling you, baby,” I whispered against her jaw as I kissed her underneath there.
Charly’s head dropped back, and she moaned. “Your touch feels so good after the long day that I’ve had.”
Charly had three interviews today with two different media firms. She had texted me after each one, stating that she thought they went well, but she was extremely tired. After her interviews, she had lunch with her father, Leon Morr, and his girlfriend, Adrian Jasper. She had decided to tell them about her breakup with Ramon and about me in the same meeting.
I advised that I wanted to be there, but she thought it was best if she did it on her own. I respected her opinion, although I did not agree with it.
She pulled back and looked pointedly at the basket in my hand. “What’s in there?” she asked eagerly.
“Open it and find out.”
She took the basket from me and opened it. “You’re so sweet, baby.” She grabbed my hand and led me to her bedroom, where she unwrapped the basket.
I had it wrapped in several layers of cellophane paper and had more layers of tissue paper tucked around it so that she couldn’t be nosy and peek at what was inside before it was time to. I watched as she unpacked the basket and removed everything inside.
“This smells so good. How did you know this was my favorite scent?” she asked, sniffing the cotton-scented bath bubbles.
“You’ve got that one perfume that smells like this. I know that I love the scent on you, so it’s gotta be your favorite. Besides, you wear it the most. I just bought it last year, and you’re already on a new bottle.”
She giggled and replied, “It’s my favorite because it reminds me of you.” She kissed the tip of my nose before she returned to the other items. “You got me a self-care journal and workbook?”
“You’ve been through a lot in these last few years, baby. I haven’t always been here for you like I promised that I would, but I want to try to make things better now that I have the chance. You’ve got some stuff to work through. I’m not a therapist, and I know nobody’s gonna pay me to sit on my couch, but I figure you can work it out in there,” I explained, pointing to the journal.
The basket also had a ballpoint pen, a gel eye mask, a clay mask, a body brush, bath soak, bath salts, cotton bathrobe, slippers, taper candles, chocolate bar, a hand poured candle, a stemless wine glass, essential oil diffuser with the accompanying cotton, lavender, freesia, and eucalyptus scents, and lavender goat milk soap.
“This bath basket is everything. You were so thoughtful, Dom.”
“It doesn’t end there. Go wash your hands.” She ran into the bathroom to do what I asked.
“I’m ready.” She returned from the bathroom a couple of minutes later with an excited and anticipatory grin on her face.
“Come on,” I stated, reaching for her hand. She took my hand, and I led her back to the front of the house. We walked to the dining room, and she gasped again.
A bouquet of tulips sat in the middle of the table beside a single lit candle. Two dome-covered plates and silverware wereplaced opposite each other, and two wineglasses stood empty, waiting for the champagne that was on the table chilling in a bucket of ice.
Charlyse’s bottom lip poked out and trembled as her eyes watered again. I pulled her to me and kissed the top of her head. “You gotta stop all that damn crying. I swear I ain’t ever known your ass to be so sensitive.”
“I’m sorry, Dom. But nobody’s ever done anything this sweet before.”
I kissed her neck. “What did I tell you? Told you no nigga was good enough for you.”
“You did,” she murmured sweetly before I released her and pulled out her chair. I removed the lid from her plate to showcase the filet mignon, lobster tail, garlic mashed potatoes, and broccolini. “Did you cook this?” she asked, looking at me with wide eyes.
I walked around to the other side of the table and sat. “Yeah. I hope it’s good.”
“I mean, you can cook a little, but I’ve never known you to cook steaks and lobster before.”
“Your ass has been gone all day long. I had the entire day to play in this kitchen while attending MixTube University, calling my mama, and sending up several prayers. I ordered the ingredients yesterday to be delivered this morning. Trust me when I tell you that I’m glad I ordered double.”
She giggled. “Did you burn, Dom?”
“I burned, baby, and not like our grandmothers burn either. Thought they were gonna call the fire department on my ass after a while and report an arson attempt.”
She looked around and sniffed the air. “I can’t tell.”
