I’ve waited my whole life for you.
Shepherd’s text still has the power to make my eyes fill with tears even an hour later as I’m walking around the side of his cottage. And especially with the long-stemmed purple rose in my hand that I found next to a note and a small votive candle in a glass jar on his front porch, telling me where to go. I knew before I even got here that this date with Shepherd would be romantic and special just because it was with him, but I never expected the man to just reach inside my head and pull out everything I’ve ever imagined when the date hasn’t even started yet.
My feet come to a stop, and I let out a gasp when I see a trail of flickering votive candles in small jars that lead down his side yard and disappear around the corner of his back deck on the beach. There are at least fifty of them, the tiny dancing flames glowing in the grass as I bend down next to the first one when I see another note and another long-stemmed purple rose lying next to the candle in the grass. I grab the second flower and see from the glow of the candle that the note just says Follow the trail.
Standing back up with my heart fluttering wildly in my chest, I continue walking through the grass of Shepherd’s side yard next to his cottage. I follow the trail of flickering candles, pausing to bend down every few feet when I see another purple rose lying in the grass, until I get to the side of his deck. Another note and purple rose are lying right where the grass meets the sand. Bending down again, I grab the final rose to add to the bunch in my hand and read the note.
Put on the blindfold that’s under this note. I promise I won’t do anything weird or pervy.
With a smile, I grab the pink satin blindfold from the grass, laughing softly when I see it says The princess is sleeping in white lettering across the eyes. Knowing this is probably something Shepherd actually wears when he sleeps, I can’t keep the smile off my face as I stand back up and pull the blindfold over my head, careful not to damage the bunch of roses I’m still holding.
I smell Shepherd before I feel him, a fresh hint of soap and his intoxicating cologne invading my senses and making my heart beat even faster. Heat spreads through every inch of my body when I feel a hand on my hip, and it slowly slides around the front of me and across my stomach until Shepherd’s arm is curled around me, pulling my back snuggly against the front of him.
My breath shudders out of me with my eyes squeezed closed behind the satin mask when I feel his warm, wet lips press against the side of my neck. My head tilts to the side, and I rest my free hand on top of his arm as it tightens around me and he kisses his way up my neck. My skin breaks out in goose bumps, and I shiver against him when he pauses with his lips hovering right by the shell of my ear.
“Do you know why vanilla has always been my favorite taffy flavor?” Shepherd asks quietly, his warm breath skating over my ear as he nuzzles his nose against the side of my neck. “Because you always smell like vanilla. And I always imagined it’s what you taste like.”
His lips are back on the side my neck, but this time when he kisses me there, his teeth gently nip the sensitive skin and his tongue quickly follows, my knees almost giving out when he pulls his mouth away to speak close to my ear again.
“In case I forget to tell you at the end of the night, this was the best date I’ve ever had in my life,” Shepherd whispers.
I have to swallow past the lump in my throat when I finally say my first words to him.
“The date hasn’t even started yet. How do you know it will be the best?”
Shepherd presses his lips once more to the side of my neck before pulling away.
“I just know.”
I can hear the smile in his voice as his arm loosens it’s hold from around me, and his body brushes against the side of my arm when I feel him walk around to stand in front of me. The palm of his hand gently glides down my arm until his fingers are sliding across my palm and he’s wrapping his hand around mine, lifting it up toward him. His kisses the top of my hand, holding his lips there for a few seconds, making my heart try to beat its way out of my chest. Pulling his mouth away, Shepherd gives my hand a reassuring squeeze as he starts tugging me forward.