by Mia Brown
I sighed. “When did you get so wise?”
She chuckled. “Oh, I’ve always been wise.”
* * *
I became more and more nervous as the day went on and more and more convinced that I was doing the wrong thing. But I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving Will sitting at the restaurant alone. Especially not after everything that he had done for me. I knew I had to go. Getting ready for the date wasn’t easy because I wasn’t sure whether to dress as I usually would on a date, or more casually considering it was with Will. I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression but figured it would also be rude for me to show up in jeans at such a nice place. Eventually, I settled on a pretty yellow sundress which was neither too smart or too casual. It was a pretty dress which I hadn’t had much opportunity to wear. I curled my hair at the edges and put a dash of makeup on. Then I inhaled deeply and made my way to the restaurant by cab. I decided not to bring my car because there was a very big chance that this was the sort of evening that was going to require a bit of alcohol. When I arrived I stood several minutes in front of the place, just willing myself to go in. Then I counted down from five and made my way inside.
Thirty-Eight
Blaze
Waiting for Dallas to arrive was torture and I wished I hadn’t gotten to the restaurant so early. It only made me nervous. I wasn’t even sure if she was going to come. My only hope was that she would come because he would assume Will would be here. Of course, that worried me too. What if she was disappointed when she discovered that she was meeting me, and not him? I was taking a huge risk but I knew that I had to take a chance on her. She was worth it. If things didn’t work out then at least I knew I had tried. Tonight was the night I would find out if she wanted to give things another go with me. I thought back to our previous conversation, when I had admitted to liking her. She’d said she liked me too but that she just needed time. Weeks had gone by already. I hoped she’d had enough time to know what she wanted. I hoped that this romantic gesture will be enough to finally convince her that I like her for more than just sex. Sure, there was a lot of passion between us, but there was more than that too.
I let out a sigh of relief when I saw her walk in. She looked around the room, clearly looking for Will, and frowned in surprise when she saw me. I waved her over.
“Uh, hi,” she said. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“And I really hoped to see you here,” I said.
“I don’t understand.”
“Sit down.”
“I can’t. I’m…well…I’m meeting someone for dinner tonight,” she said.
“Who?”
“Will. I…I think.”
I smiled. “No, Will isn’t coming. You’re meeting me for dinner.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Take a seat. I’ll explain,” I said. “But first, what can I get you to drink? I was thinking of ordering a bottle of wine if you’d like to share. Red?”
“Uh, sure,” she said. “That’s great.”
I called the waiter over and ordered us a bottle of wine and then smiled at Dallas again. She was still wearing a small frown and seemed completely unsure of what was going on.
“You look beautiful, by the way. I love your dress.”
“Thank you,” she said. “But… what’s going on? Where’s Will?”
“Will isn’t coming. Although, I owe him the world. Getting him to agree to buy your building was one of the best ideas I’ve ever had.”
She frowned again. “Wait, what do you mean? That was your idea? But…”
“It was my idea. Will and I actually had a very good chat the other night. You were right all along. He’s a great guy. I’m the one who was always an idiot to him and refused to give him the time of day. I only did that because I was jealous of him. That’s all. I can admit that. Anyway, we got onto the topic you and how unfair this whole business was with Steve, and he was saying he wished there was something he could do. So I suggested he buy the building. We knew Steve was getting desperate. His projects had fallen through and he had lost out on money. We knew this would work and we were right.”
“I…wow…I…” Dallas stumbled over her words. “I don’t know what to say.”
“I’m very grateful for Will. He’s a good guy and he was more than happy to come on board with all of this. I needed his help because I would never have been able to buy the building from Steve. Not when he was my ex-client. I offered to pay Will back but he said that he was actually quite happy for the investment. We spoke a lot about you, you know,” I said.
“You did? What about?”
“Will has always liked you but he said he knows you don’t feel the same way. He also said that you might be right because there is an element missing. A spark, he said. He said he didn’t want to admit it because he wanted to be with you so badly, but he said that he’s finally starting to understand why you’re not interested in him. He also said he just wants to see you happy and that he’d be happy if you fell in love, even if it was with another guy.”
“Wow, he said that?”
“He did. To be honest, I always thought the two of you were a terrible match,” I said.
Dallas chuckled. “So did I.”
“So, does that mean you’re not disappointed that I’m the one here tonight and not Will?” I asked. It was important for me to know that she was happy to be with me.
She shook her head. “I’m surprised, and I’m still a little confused, but I’m definitely not disappointed. No, I’m not disappointed at all, Blaze.” She gave me a little smile then and I knew that everything was going to be alright.
“That’s good to hear,” I said. “Very good to hear. Come on, let’s order and I’ll tell you more.”
“You know, you seem to be enjoying this,” she said.
I chuckled. “I’m just glad to have you here with me.”
Despite the extensive menu and the charming vibe we both ended up choosing pizza. It was an easy choice and one that didn’t require much thought. We were both far too busy talking to give the menu much thought. Then we sipped on our wine and I decided it was time to come clean. I had waited long enough for this moment and it finally felt like the right time to tell her. I inhaled deeply.
“I have something I need to tell you,” I said.
“Uh oh. Sounds serious. Go on, tell me.”
“I’ve been sending you the flowers,” I said. “It was me.”
Dallas gasped and almost knocked her glass of wine over. She steadied it and then stared at me. “You? All this time?”
I smiled. “All this time.”
“But…”
“Look, I’ve liked you for a while now and I decided it would be nice to do something romantic for you. You were the one I thought of on Valentine’s day and I wanted you to know that there was someone out there who you thought you were special. I had big plans on coming clean at the start and asking you out. I never planned on keeping it a secret for such a long time.”
“So what happened?” she asked.
“What happened was that I ended up taking on Steve as a client and you ended up hating my guts. After that, it was hard to tell you they were from me. I tried a few times but I knew you were only going to hate me more if I did. I thought I would rather wait until the right time.”
“But you kept sending them despite the way I felt about you,” she pointed out. “Why did you do that?”
“Yeah, I kept sending them,” I said. “Even when you said you wanted nothing to do with me. I liked that it gave me a connection with you, even when you didn’t like me all that much. I wanted you to know that I did actually have a romantic bone in my body and that I wasn’t just after you because of the sex. Which, by the way, was amazing.”
She blushed. “It was. Wow, I’m surprised. I’ll be honest, I was sure they were from Will. The one time when I went to his ranch I even snuck around his house looking for any receipts he might’ve left lying around.”
That made me laugh. “That’s a funny picture to have in my mind. So, uh, are you disappointed?”
“No. I’m…” she paused and considered her next word for a while. “Happy. I’m happy.”
Relief washed over me. I knew that this night could go one of two ways and I had been hoping for the better alternative. Of course, I knew I couldn’t be sure. Knowing that she was happy was the best thing I could’ve hoped for.
“I’m so glad. I really like you, Dallas. I’m sorry for everything I put you through. I want you to know that I have changed my ways. Working with Steve was one of the best things I could’ve ever done because it put so much into perspective for me. It made me realize that I had lost myself along the way.”
“So Steve was actually good for something,” she said. “That’s the thing, Blaze, you had me so confused. A part of me saw the man you really were, but I was so frustrated that you couldn’t seem to see it yourself. I knew you weren’t that person, but I couldn’t be with you until you figured that out.”
“I’m figuring it out, day by day.”
“Does that mean you’re going to give up being a lawyer?” she asked.
“Definitely not. That’s another thing I was confused about. My brother kept asking me to come back to the ranch and so did my parents. But I had a good chat to them about it. It was something I should’ve done a long time ago. I love the ranch and it will always be a part of my life. And who knows, maybe one day I will end up back there. For now, I want to carry on with my practice, but I want to be the sort of lawyer I had always wanted to be.”
Dallas smiled. “Good for you. It’s good to have dreams and it’s even better to chase them. I hope this doesn’t sound too condescending, Blaze, but I’m proud of you.”
I grinned. “It sounds wonderful. Thank you.”
“So your parents and your brother were fine with it?”
“They were. I think they’re proud of me too. Oh, and my brother has fallen madly in love. I’m not sure if you’ve heard?” I said.
“Tyler’s in love? With who?”
“Veronica. She’s new in town and from Austria, and the two of them are just perfect for each other. It’s all a little sickening to be honest.”
Dallas chuckled. “Oh, I bet you’re happy for him.”
“I am. She’s a great girl. Much better with some of the horrors he’s dated in the past. He’s young, and this is all very new, but I honestly think this girl might be the one. He said when he sees her his heart beats a little faster.”
“He said that?” Dallas asked in shock.
“Yes. Why?”
She shook her head. “No reason.” She smiled at me then. “I guess when you know you know.”
I was about to say something when we noticed a man sitting alone in the corner of the restaurant. Dallas started giggling and I realized it was Steve. Once again he was wearing the most ridiculous outfit I had ever seen. Clearly he hadn’t listened to a word I had said to him. Unfortunately our laughter must’ve caught his attention because he turned to look straight at us. He frowned and we quickly looked away.
“Oh shit, he’s coming this way,” Dallas said. “There’s nowhere to hide. Uh, hi Steve,” she said in her sweetest voice.
“Hi Steve,” I said.
He nodded. “Well, this isn’t a surprise. I always knew you liked her,” he said to me. “Guess that’s why you didn’t want to work with me. So, what does this mean?”
“What does what mean?” I asked.
“Are the two of you a couple or something?” he asked and practically sneered as he said it.
I looked at Dallas because I didn’t know what to answer.
She smiled at me. “Yes, yes I think we are.”
Thirty-Nine
Dallas
When Steve walked away I smiled at Blaze. We were a couple? I didn’t know, but I certainly wanted Steve to think so. I was still having a hard time figuring out what Blaze and I were to each other or what I felt about him now that I knew the flowers were from him. I’d come to the restaurant so sure that I was going to meet Will that I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the fact that it wasn’t him. I still couldn’t believe that it was Blaze who had sent me those flowers. Blaze. The very man who I was so sure was not the least bit romantic. Had I gotten him wrong all along?
“You’re so good looking,” I said to him. Then I blushed. “I really should lay off the wine. It makes me say things that were supposed to stay in my head.”
“You think I’m good looking?”
“Of course I do. It’s annoyed me ever since I started hanging out with you. I mean, I always knew you were good looking, but when we started really getting to know each other it was all I could think about.”
“And what was that a bad thing?” he said.
“It was bad because I desperately wanted to hate you.”
“Does that mean you don’t hate me anymore?” he asked.
“How can I hate the mystery man who has been sending me flowers for all these months? Thank you for doing that by the way. You made Valentine’s day very special for me even though I pretended to be annoyed by it. Secretly, I was very happy. And when the flowers kept coming I really started to believe that someone out there liked me. It was a nice feeling. Nobody has ever done that for me before.”
“That surprises me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t imagine nobody buying you flowers like that,” he said. “You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever met.”
It was a cheesy line but he said it with a straight face and I could tell he wasn’t just trying to charm me. My body tingled. I needed to be with him again.
“You know, I’ve never been to your house before,” I said.
“You haven’t?”
“No. You’ve come to mine a few times and I’ve been to your family ranch, but I’ve never been to your house.”
“That’s because my house is nowhere near as nice as yours,” he said.
“I’d like to see it.”
“Now?” he asked.
I nodded. “Now.”
Finally he caught what I was trying to say. I saw him gulp and quickly call the waiter to ask if we could pay. Once paid, we hurried out to his car and made our way back to his house. We barely said a word to each other on the way there. Both of us were just excited to finally be with each other again. The moment we got into his house we to kiss. As my lips touched his I knew that it was what I had been waiting for all along. My heart was beating faster, as it always did when I was with him. Blaze was the one I wanted to be with. Not Will. Not anybody else. He kissed me passionately while he led me to the bedroom. On our way there we took each other’s clothes off one by one, and by the time we got to the bedroom we were naked. He picked me up and placed me onto the bed.
“I’ve missed this,” he said. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too,” I told him.
We’d only had sex a handful of times and other than the one time it had always been quite rough and passionate, with me dominating it most of the time. It had been fun, but this was different. This was special. This time we were making love, no matter how cheesy that might seem. I could sense the difference. It was sensual. He took his time with me, as I did with him, and we drank each other’s bodies in to make up for the last time. When he finally pushed himself inside me it felt as if I had come home and everything felt right with the world again. It was if I had been living in an upside world until this moment. He kissed my neck and I groaned.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered to me and then his mouth found mine again. While we kissed he moved against me, pushing further and further inside me until I felt as if I was going to explode. I wanted to come but I also didn’t want this moment to end. The only consolation I had was that we were going to do this again. I wanted us to do this over and over again and I never wanted us to stop. I came when I couldn’t hold it anymore, and the moment he felt me come he came in
side me too. It was beautiful and perfect and my heart was still running at a million miles per hour.
When it was over we lay in each other’s arms to catch our breaths.
“Your house is beautiful,” I said to him after some time had passed.
He chuckled. “You haven’t even seen it.”
I laughed. “I’ve seen all that I need.”
“It’s good to have you back, Dallas. I was worried that we might never be together again. It’s not just about the sex, as good as it is. I want you in my life. I want you to be my girlfriend and I want to get to know every part of you.”
I eased myself up onto my elbow to look at him. He really was the most handsome man I had ever met. I saw his cowboy hat on the bedside table and I reached out to put it on me. “I want to be a part of your life too. I’ll happily be your girlfriend.”
He grinned. “That’s good news. Damn, you’re cute in that hat. I know this might seem too soon but I can’t help the way I feel. I love you, Dallas.”
I gasped. He loved me? I thought about the way he made me feel and I knew I felt the same. I bent down to kiss him. “I love you too, Blaze.”
“Would you like a cup of coffee and a tour of the house?” he said.
I giggled. “I’d love that.”
Epilogue
A few years had passed since that day and Blaze no longer lived in the same house. After giving Dallas the tour he’d realized just how much he had never enjoying living there. He stayed on for a few more months while the two of them started their relationship but he spent more time at her house than he did at home. After eight months of seeing each other, he proposed. He had a delivery man send her flowers with a note. It seemed the most romantic thing to do, and by now they were all good friends with the florist and the delivery man. Thankfully, Dallas said yes, and the two of them got married a few months later. They got married at the ranch and had the most beautiful wedding any of them could’ve hoped for. There were surrounded by their closest friends and family, and of course their horses. It was a day that Dallas kept saying she wished she could do on repeat. Everything about it was perfect.
