Her beautiful eyes fluttered open, and she threw her head back and laughed, exposing the soft skin on her neck I’d been dying to get my lips on.
“Ta da!”
She shrieked. “You bought a grill!”
“Oh yeah,”—I opened it up to show it off—“I’ve been practicing, too.”
“Are we having steak?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh! That soundsso good.” Her eyes were shining.
“Well, let me get this thing fired up. Potatoes are already in the oven.”
While I started the grill, her arms came around my waist, and she settled her head between my shoulder blades. I couldn’t stop the smile on my face. By now, I knew the way to her heart. A good meal. I suppressed a laugh. I couldn’t wait to tell her what I wanted for our future together.
“I’m so excited!” she said.
“Ah, don’t get too excited. Hopefully, everything I’ve learned from TheSteakGuru on YouTube won’t fail me now.”
Her laughter penetrated the quiet of the night once more. “TheSteakGuru? That’s hilarious.”
“Fray told me you can learn anything on YouTube.”
She giggled as I cracked jokes and acted stupid. I was giddy as a school girl. After a while, her arms tugged me around to face her. “You learned how to grill steak just for me?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She kissed me so passionately; I almost forgot to put the filets on.
Two down, two to go.
FORTY-SIX
Julia
TheSteakGuru hadn’t let Pat down. The steaks weredelicious.And he thought of everything. A1 sauce, buttery and cheesy baked potatoes, rolls, and a bagged caesar salad. Even had a candle lit in the center of the table. He was in the most hysterical mood too. He had me cracking up all through dinner. It was so much fun.
When we were done, I reached to grab plates and take them into the kitchen. He grabbed my hands. “Nope. I’ll do that.”
“You sure?”
“Yep. I have something for you.”
He led me to the living room. His whole house looked like it had come straight from the nineties. He had me sit on the very ugly flowery couch. “I’ll be right back.”
I sat, waiting. He had acted so mysterious off and on all night. It was amusing and adorable. Also overwhelming and scary. He was acting weird and it made my heart flutter.
He came back with a huge stack of catalogs, a paint sample fan, and flooring and counter top samples. They hit the coffee table with a thud. Pat’s eyes were dancing. “I have a proposition for you.”
“Uhm, okay.”
“Redecorate for me.”
“What?”
“Yeah,”—he ran his fingers through his hair, then waved at the features around the house—“I mean, I want the walls and floors redone, new furniture, everything.”
