Page 27 of Valentine's Day Daddy

“You look beautiful tonight, baby girl,” Ezra says.

“Thank you,” I reply. “But really, you need to stop buying me dresses. I’m going to need to buy a house just to keep them all.”

“Then I’ll buy you a house. I like seeing you in pretty clothing. I like seeing you happy, Ashton. And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you happy.”

I smile. As shallow as it is, pretty dresses do make me happy. Not that I bought rags or cheap clothing, but the dresses Ezra buys me are all very high quality, made by designers whose clothing you regularly see on red carpets.

“I just don’t want to take advantage of your generosity,” I say.

“You’re not taking advantage of anything. Except for me later, if I’m lucky.”

“Oh, I think you might be.”

A smile crosses my face and I feel my cheeks flare with warmth. Never in my life have I ever felt so bold and daring. Never have I felt like such a sexual being. But Ezra brings that out in me. He brings out a side of my personality I never knew existed and gives me a confidence I’ve never felt before. Not that I’ve ever been a wilting flower. I’ve always been outspoken about the things I’m most passionate about or in defense of those I care for.

But this is a different kind of confidence. And almost paradoxically, it’s a confidence born of the fact that I surrendered myself to him completely. That I submitted and gave myself over to him. It doesn’t make sense but in that surrender, I’ve found a freedom I never knew I could feel. A freedom I didn’t know existed. Ezra makes me feel good about myself.

The waitress comes by and takes our drink order—an Old Fashioned for him, a Cosmo for me. Soft jazz music plays from discretely hidden speakers, and the lighting in the lounge is dim. It’s a few days after our Valentine's Day boat ride and we have once again, fallen into a pattern of seeing each other every night. Neither of us seems able to get enough of the other. I know for me, that’s true. But this is all so new and strange to me, I sometimes have to pinch myself just to be sure this is all real.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked.

“Just how unreal this all seems to me,” I tell him. “This is like a fairy tale. And I grew up not believing in fairy tales.”

“Everybody deserves a happily ever after, baby girl.”

“Maybe. But I never thought I was the girl who’d get one.”

He shrugs as the waitress drops off our drinks then departs with a smile at me. Ezra’s cool blue eyes are on me and I get that unnerving feeling like I always do that he can see right through me. That he can read my thoughts as easily as he can read a book.

“You especially deserve one,” he says.

As amazing as everything has been—continues to be—I can’t say I’m not still plagued by bouts of self-consciousness. Bouts of insecurity. For the most part, I’d learned to master those negative feelings in my life. But I’d be lying if I said they didn’t still creep up on me from time to time. Especially in situations where I feel uncertain or on unsteady footing. And this situation, where I have an amazing man sweeping me off my feet, has me feeling more uncertain than anything ever has in my entire life.

“Why? I’m not special,” I whisper.

“You are special,” he tells me. “And I’m going to make sure you get the happily ever after you deserve.”

I cock my head and look at him. “But why? Why do you think I’m special?”

He looks down into his drink, a wistful look on his face. “The reason I’ve been alone so long is because I’ve had a checklist of things in my mind. Things I wanted somebody to have or be before I’d feel comfortable being with them,” he says. “But what I see now—what you’ve helped me to see, that is—is that I used that checklist as a way of walling myself off from everybody. A way of protecting myself from putting myself out there and risk getting hurt.”

“How have I made you see those things?”

“Because you’ve helped open that door inside of me and get in touch with those feelings I’ve been keeping at an arm’s length,” he says. “You’ve helped me see that I can… that I can care for somebody and let myself be cared for. That I want to care for somebody. Nobody else has ever been able to open that door inside of me. But you did it so effortlessly. And of course, being with you, it feels so natural. It feels so right.”

My heart beats so hard, I’m afraid it’s going to burst right out of my chest and flop onto the table between us. My eyes sting as they well with tears and I shake my head, quickly wiping them away. Ezra cups my chin and turns my face to him then gently wipes away my tears with his thumb as a gentle smile touches his lips.

“Ashton.”

The voice startles me and when I turn, I see Tyler standing beside our table. The expression on Ezra’s face darkens and he gets to his feet, his jaw clenched, his eyes narrowed.

“Tyler, this is inappropriate. I told you last time—”

He cuts his eyes to Ezra and licks his lips nervously. “I just wanted to say one thing. On our speed date, you told me you hated guys with a sense of entitlement and guys who break the rules to benefit themselves—”

“You need to walk away right now,” Ezra says, his voice tight.

Ezra's anger and his quicksilver temper bother me. It’s something I’m going to have to talk to him about. But it’s also curious—as is what Tyler’s trying to tell me. But I shake my head.

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