The Secret (Single in Seattle 1)

“How should I dress?” I ask as he walks down to his car.

“Nice,” he says. “Think fancy.”

I raise a brow. “Ooh la la.”

Vaughn laughs as he gets into his car, waves at me, and then drives away.

“Where are you going dressed like that?” Stella asks from my bedroom doorway, holding a mug of tea. “Did I miss something?”

“Vaughn’s picking me up soon for a date. He said to think fancy.”

“Well, you definitely did that,” Stella says as she takes in my long, teal, slip of a dress with its spaghetti straps. It’s velvet and feels amazing on my naked skin.

There’s no room in here for underwear.

“So, I take it things are better?”

I finish primping and then turn to my bestie and nod. “Yeah. Things are better. I’ll tell you all about it later.”

“Well, I’m jealous that you get to dress up and go somewhere fancy tonight,” she says with a smile. “I want to hear all about it later for sure. Have fun. Make good choices.”

I laugh and kiss her on the cheek, then rub the lipstick off her skin.

“Yes, ma’am. Don’t wait up.”

“I suspect I’d be up for a couple of days if I did,” she says, just as the doorbell rings. “There’s your prince charming. You wait here. I’ll answer the door so you can make a grand entrance.”

Before I can answer, Stella hurries down the stairs, and I hear her open the door.

“Wow, you clean up nice,” she says, and I grin. I wonder what he’s wearing. “Liv, your date’s here!”

I come out of the bedroom and make my way down the stairs.

Vaughn’s mouth gapes.

The red roses in his hand fall to his side when his hand drops.

I’ve never felt sexier in all my life when his eyes travel up and down my body with lust shining in them.

“Hi,” I say as I approach, taking in his black tux and the red rose on his lapel. God, he’s just beautiful. There’s no other word for him. “Are those flowers for me?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” He holds the bouquet back up. “These are for you. I have more for you, but you have to come with me to get it.”

“Gladly.” I bury my nose in the flowers and breathe deeply. “These smell so good.”

“I’ll put them in water for you,” Stella offers, taking the roses from me. “Have fun, kids.”

She winks and walks toward the kitchen.

“Shall we?” Vaughn asks, holding out his arm for me to take.

“We shall,” I confirm, and with my small clutch in one hand, I take his arm with the other, and we walk out to his car. “Where are we going?” I ask once we’re settled in and driving away from the house.

“To my place,” he says.

“We got dressed up to stay in?”

Vaughn laughs and pulls my hand up to his lips, nibbling on my knuckles. “You’ll see. I have a plan.”

I lean my head back and look over at him. Light dances over his face as the sun sets, sinking into the ocean. When he glances my way, his green eyes full of so much promise, I don’t think I could be in love any more than I am at this moment.

“What are you thinking?” he asks.

“That you’re hot.”

He laughs and shakes his head, then pulls into his long driveway. When we reach his house at the top of the hill, he puts the vehicle in park and turns to me.

“Stay put. I’ll open your door for you.”

“All right.”

He hurries around the hood of the car, opens my door, and holds out his hand for me.

“Welcome to my home,” he says and kisses my hand.

“Thank you.”

I can’t stop smiling.

When he leads me inside the house, and I see all the candles and hear the soft music playing through the surround sound, I get a little gooey.

“This is pretty romantic.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.” He leads me to the dining room, where he has the table set for two with more candles. And when someone walks around the corner from the kitchen, I jump.

“Oh, God.” I press my hand to my chest and laugh. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“I apologize,” the man says. “Dinner is ready when you are, sir.”

“Great, give me just five minutes,” Vaughn says and holds a chair out for me.

“You had dinner catered?”

“I don’t cook,” he says with a grin. “I’m good at a lot of things, but not in the kitchen. So, given that I want to keep you alive, yes, I had food brought in.”

Vaughn sits across from me and reaches for a red box wrapped with a bow. He passes it to me.

“This is for you.”

Chapter 19

~Vaughn~

I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous in my life. Not when I landed my first leading role. Not when I had to give my first speech.

Never.

Liv’s green eyes meet mine, and she smiles. “You didn’t have to buy me anything.”