He’d never tried to give a woman her perfect date before. He hadn’t ever thought it was in his wheelhouse. But he really wanted to please her. Maybe he’d totally screwed up.SixteenMouth open, utterly gob-smacked, I just stared. My fingers moved through Austin’s soft inner coat, thick and luxurious, as I let my gaze travel from one side of the beautiful tableau to the other.
He’d set up my dream picnic.
I meant to pull my leg over his back and slide off, but instead I actually lay down for a moment, my chest on his back and my hands at his sides, seeking out his soft undercoat again.
We sat on a little shelf about midway up a mountain overlooking an absolutely gorgeous meadow awash with mostly blue flowers. It looked like a softly moving sea, the breeze rolling through and gently moving the flowers. The yellow buttercups were intermittently sprinkled amidst the blue, splashes of color only a true artist could render.
This was option C. He hadn’t been asking me which flowers I liked best—he’d been asking which meadow.
A wide cream blanket had been set out on the shelf of rock overlooking it, the back half covered in various pillows to lean against, and the front holding two TV trays, each set with a plate, utensils, a wine glass, and a water glass. A crystal carafe between the place settings contained what looked like sparkling water, and in front was a large array of cheeses, fresh fruits, nuts, and charcuterie items. A large box of wine bottles waited to the side, along with extra wine glasses, and behind that sat an additional tray with an array of chocolate items and a few cookies.
It was perfect. Utterly perfect.
I smiled, finally sitting up and throwing my leg over his back to get off. “The cookies are for you, I take it?”
The startling light and heat of his change radiated outward, and I turned my face away. The next thing I knew, Austin was standing next to me in human form with an adorable smile. “Yeah. I’m more of a cookie guy.”
“This is…” I stared out at the scene as he got dressed. “You nailed it. All of it. Are you sure you didn’t get this out of your ‘woo a woman’ playbook?”
After fastening his watch, he took my hand, his palm a little rough, which, thankfully, meant he wouldn’t notice that I had yet to adopt a stringent hand lotion routine.
“I’m making a new playbook: ‘Things that put Jess in a good mood.’ I’ll use it for the many times I piss you off in the future.”
I rolled my eyes as he paused before the blanket. “You haven’t pissed me off once in all the time we’ve known each other.”
“It’ll happen, don’t worry. One day, I will rub you the wrong way, and I’ll need to pull out all the stops to get you to forgive me. Or even just tolerate me again.”
“If I can handle Mr. Tom and Edgar, I can handle you.”
“This is true. The bar is set awfully low.” He bent and put his hand out for my foot. “Milady, may I have your foot? I must remove your glass slipper so that I can defile you while Prince Charming isn’t looking.”
I laughed, bracing my hand on his shoulder for balance. “I’d eat Prince Charming for breakfast.”
“Not before you stole all his crap, you wouldn’t. You’re smarter than that.”
I let him take off my boots, belatedly realizing he hadn’t put on his shoes a moment ago when he was changing. He lowered me to sitting and took his place beside me.
“You knew I’d choose the blue and yellow flowers?” I asked, looking over the beautiful picture. It was like a fairytale.
“No. I texted Earl ‘C’ as I was getting into the Jeep. He delivered everything and set it up. He is also loitering around the area, even though I told him you’d be safe with just me up here. I can smell him.”
I chuckled. “He trusts no one.”
“So.” Austin pulled out a bottle of wine from the box. “Shall we taste?”
“Oh my God, and it’s a wine tasting? You really pay attention.”
He grinned, opening the bottle and pouring a little for each of us. “I do have to rain on the parade a little bit.” He corked the bottle and put it back in the box. “These are actually samples from various winemakers. I’m obviously going to need a new one for the winery.”
I lifted my eyebrows, looking at the wine. “Oh, wow. How many samples did you bring?”
“Twelve. A case.”
“I’m not sure I’ll still taste the wine when we get to the twelfth bottle.”
He shrugged and swirled the wine in his glass. “We can always do a part two with your mom while we’re sitting in Ivy House, waiting to be attacked.”