“I guess she is,” Jake said.
Mr. Quinlan thrust out his hand and Jake shook it slowly. “Wanna grab a beer?” Mr. Quinlan asked.
“Sure.”
They started to walk toward the bar. “Hey,” Mr. Quinlan said. “Did you catch the Yankees game last week?”
“Oh, I’m a Mets fan, sir.”
He stopped dead in shock. “You are?”
Jake chuckled. “I sure am.”
“Well, we’d better change that by taking you to a Yankees game. What are you doing next weekend?”
Ivan and Samira watched them for a moment, then he turned and kissed her on the cheek. “Shall we get out of here?”
“Check on Quin?”
“Yeah, something like that. There’s someplace I want to take you.”
“Hmm…. I like the sound of that.”
****
Samira had no idea where Ivan was taking her, which was as exciting as a childhood Christmas morning. When they’d left the grand hall, she’d expected to go to the room to see Quin – and to perhaps ask the babysitter to give them some time alone. But instead, he led her out of the hotel and toward the back of the building, where earlier Adam and Amy had been posing for photos. It was lush and green out here, albeit very warm. The grounds were huge and sprawling, and Samira was intrigued as to what her gorgeous husband could possibly be up to.
As they strolled around the corner, Samira’s heart filled with joyful surprise and she halted. There was a beautiful white horse standing in the middle of the grass, waiting patiently with a smartly-dressed groom. The horse was eating hay. The groom was smiling kindly. Samira assumed this horse must be here for the happy couple, but her insides skipped with delight as Ivan strode over and took the reins. “Thanks, buddy. We’ll be a couple of hours.”
“Yes, sir.”
The groom wandered back toward the hotel, leaving them alone.
“Ivan, what’s going on?” Samira asked, unable to stifle her grin.
“I said I was taking you someplace, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, but I thought you meant…” She trailed off and laughed.
He held out his hand. “Come on, let’s go.”
Samira drifted over and patted the horse, who whinnied gently. Then – trying to be as ladylike as possible in her glamorous gown – she stuck her foot in the stirrup and climbed up into the luxurious saddle.
Ivan climbed up behind her, wrapping her in his arms and pressing his thighs against hers from behind. He took the reins, nibbling her ear and turning her on as he leaned close.
“I love you,” he said.
Samira could barely speak with happiness. “Ivan… this is amazing.”
He geed the horse on, and they started to walk across the lush grounds in the sunshine.
Samira leaned back against him, relishing the feel of his gorgeous muscles under his suit jacket. “Thank you so much for this. I love horses...”
“I know you do. And this is just the transportation to where we’re going.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see. Enjoying the ride?”