“What?” He grins. “I promised you spoiling.”
I roll my eyes, and he takes my hand as we enter. The restaurant itself is beautiful and modern, with a series of huge windows overlooking the water. The waiter leads us up to the rooftop, where there’s a private area, separated from the rest of the restaurant by a series of sculpted plants. It looks like we’re in our own jungle, overlooking the lights of Kahului in one direction and the shine of the rising full moon over the ocean in the other.
On our table is a bouquet of passion flowers, clearly selected just for us. With a wink, Ankor picks one from the arrangement and tucks it behind my ear.
I laugh and he kisses me as the waiter leaves. I expect him to come back with a menu, but instead the chef himself stops by our table to introduce himself. Ankor asked him to give us a private tasting of his choice. There’s a sommelier too, who presents the wines she’s paired with the menu.
It’s more fun that I’d ever had at a restaurant before. The chef sits with us as we eat and explains the complexities of every dish. The inspiration, the local ingredients. By the end of the night, we’re all laughing together, fast friends, and the sommelier, Jessica, winds up joining us too, telling us about how she became a sommelier and bounced around the world until she met Enrique, the chef. They’re married now, and they run this restaurant—along with a whole chain of others, so famous even I recognize a few names—together.
They’re sweet. And I’m guessing, based on the number of glances they shoot at Ankor, that they know who he is too. But they’re both kind enough not to say anything, and I’m grateful to them for it.
By the time dinner ends, we all hug. Before we can leave, Enrique stops us. “There’s a party tonight… Private,” he adds, when Ankor looks concerned. “Just a few locals and some of the restaurant owners getting together down on the beach. If you two are interested, we’d love to have you. Drinks, dancing, more food, of course.”
I laugh. “I don’t know if I could eat another thing.” I eye Ankor, willing to take his lead.
He smiles back at me. “It could be fun, though, to dance a little of this meal off.”
“I’m up for it.” I grin.
Jessica actually claps her hands; she looks so excited. “Great. See you both there.” She kisses our cheeks before we go, and gives us the address.
We spend the couple of hours between dinner and the party wandering the little beachfront shops. Most are closed at this hour, but Ankor finds an open jewelry shop and practically drags me inside. “I’m just curious,” he says.
“You better not be trying to bribe me with shiny things,” I protest.
“No bribes.” He places his hand over his heart. “Just a gift, that’s all.”
My cheeks flush. “Ankor!”
“You can’t blame me for wanting to spoil you. Not when you’re so spoilable.” He tugs me closer and kisses me, and how can I say no to those lips of his, dammit?
Half an hour later, we leave the shop with a dainty white gold bracelet studded with sapphires on my arm. It was the least expensive thing I could let Ankor buy. He was eying a necklace that cost more than I paid last year in rent, for god’s sake. At least I managed to convince him it was too gaudy—and it was.
I like the bracelet, though. It sparkles in the streetlights as we walk through town. Ankor catches me eying it and smiles. “You like it?”
“Very much.” I tilt my head up. He reaches up to readjust the passion flower in my hair, before he cups my face gently in his fingertips and kisses me. Slow and soft, filled with heat.
It makes my breath hitch. It makes me wonder if maybe we should skip the party and just go back to our rooms at the resort instead. When we break apart, I watch him, a little crease of worry on my brow.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, reaching up to smooth that crease with a thumb.
I press my lips together for a moment, unsure how to explain. “I’m just…” I glance from the bracelet to him and back. “I hope you won’t start to think I’m using you the way your exes did, Ankor. First you pay for my rooms at the resort, now all this…” I gesture vaguely at the town around us.
“Sinclair.” He wraps his hands around my shoulders and holds me in place. Bends until his forehead touches mine, and we’re gazing into one another’s eyes. “I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought you were anything like my exes. I know you don’t care about how much money I have. But I want to treat you well. I want to treat you the way you deserve. Because trust me, you deserve everything in the world I can give you and then some.”