“You.” He’d already made sure the nanny would keep an eye on Seb for the rest of the evening.
“Me.” Her beautiful eyes widened. “For what?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“I... I don’t know if I’m up for it.”
“Sure you are. Come on. I promise you’ll like it.” At least he hoped she would.
He didn’t give her time to talk herself out of joining him. He took her hand in his, liking the way her skin felt next to his. He laced his fingers with hers as though it was something they’d been doing for years. And then he started for the grand staircase.
At the top of the stairs, Popi stopped. “Wait. I don’t even know where we’re going. Is it dressy?”
“Not unless you want it to be.”
It was then that she noticeably took in his attire. Her gaze skimmed down over one of his dressier shirts and down to his newest pair of jeans. When her gaze finally met his, there was a hint of pink in her cheeks. The color only enhanced her beauty.
“See anything you like?” He couldn’t help himself from teasing her.
“You...you’ve changed. Your hair is all cut off. You even shaved. And you’re dressed up. You look incredibly handsome. Did you do all of this for me?” When he nodded, her cheeks turned a deeper hue of pink. “Then I have to change. I can’t go anywhere like this. I have baby drool on my shirt.”
“I promise no one will notice.”
She frowned at him. “I’ll notice.”
She pulled her hand from his, turned and then headed back down the hallway.
Apollo sighed. He didn’t have the patience to wait around for her. Actually it was more than that. He was afraid the baby would wake up and then Popi would refuse to leave Seb until he was asleep again.
But Apollo knew his anxiety ran deeper than that. He was afraid he would come up with an excuse not to follow through with his plan. It felt like he was standing at the edge of a two-hundred-foot cliff and getting ready to step off with nothing but water to catch him.
Even though his gut was twisted up with nervous tension, he couldn’t walk away. He had to see if this thing growing between them was real or not. Because today marked six weeks since Seb’s birth, and Popi had just been to the doctor’s and gotten the all clear. Apollo no longer had to hold her at arm’s length or worry about things getting out of control between them. Tonight was a new beginning for them.
While Popi changed clothes, Apollo rushed to the kitchen just to check on things. Nothing could go wrong with this evening. He owed Popi a memorable night.
To his relief, the food was all on track. Now he just hoped Popi didn’t change her mind. However, when he returned to the foyer, he found Popi standing there in a sleeveless black-and-white high-low dress. With her hair pinned up, she looked like a runway model. She took his breath away.
“I hope this is all right,” she said. “I picked it up when I was in the city.”
“It’s better than all right. You look stunning.”
His compliment brought a smile to her kissable lips, and his heart thumped against his ribs. It was all he could do to hold himself back and not take her in his arms right then and there. But he assured himself there would be plenty of time for that later.
He stepped up to her and pulled a black silk handkerchief from his pocket. “Turn around.”
The smile fell from her face. A worried look reflected in her eyes. “What’s that for?”
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if you saw it.” When his words did nothing to ease the stress lines etching around her eyes, he said, “Trust me. You will like this.”
Her gaze moved from the blindfold to him. “Couldn’t I just close my eyes?”
He smiled and shook his head. “You’ll peek.”
“No, I won’t.”
“Liar.” He sent her a teasing smile.
Her mouth gaped in mock outrage.
“Don’t give me that look,” he said. “We’ve been living together for a while and I know that you’re terrible with surprises.”
“I am not.”
“Really?” He arched a challenging brow. “Then how come you told me that I couldn’t see the nursery before you’d finished with it, but then you showed me the paint and then the crib and then—”