“I’m so fucking sorry.”
She stretched out her arm to rest her hand on me, like she used to do when I drove on our date nights. “I know.”
With how badly I’d messed up, I was the luckiest bastard alive to have Tessa sitting in my passenger seat, trying to comfort me. “If you ever decide you want to give surprises a chance again, just say the word, and I’ll come up with a great one.”
“I’ll definitely keep that in mind.” Her lips curved into a small smile. “But for now, how about you tell me where we’re going?”
“Whatever you want,” I murmured, setting my hand on top of hers and giving it a squeeze before explaining where we were headed.
Her reaction to our destination was everything I hoped for. She bounced in her seat and clapped. “Really?”
“Yes, and I have all the supplies we need to make your mother’s cinnamon rolls. I wasn’t sure about the measurements, but I’ve seen you make them often enough to know what youused.” When her eyes widened, I added, “Including a folding table, tablecloth, plates and silverware, small convection oven, portable charger to power it, and a cooler with ingredients.”
“If you keep coming up with ideas like this, I might be ready for you to surprise me sooner than I ever imagined,” she whispered.
The conversation between us was easy the rest of the way there. After parking, I got out of the car and circled the hood to open her door, then I shooed Tessa toward the bench. “Go ahead. I’ll bring the stuff over.”
“Are you sure?” She followed me to the back of the vehicle, her eyes widening at the amount of supplies I had packed. “That’s a lot to carry by yourself.”
“It’ll give me the chance to show off my muscles,” I teased.
“Go for it, big guy.” Her soft laughter drifted toward me as she made her way over to the bench under the weeping willow.
It took me two trips to haul everything over, but it was worth the effort. When I strung the battery-powered fairy lights on the branches and pulled out a thick wool blanket, Tessa grinned up at me. “I guess you surprised me after all.”
“I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.” I winked at her as I pulled out her favorite prosecco and a bottle of fresh-squeezed orange juice, along with a couple of wineglasses. “Like mimosas.”
“Another of my favorites.” She accepted the drink I poured for her with a smile. “You pulled out all the stops.”
“I wanted our second first date to be special.” That was an understatement since I was aiming for perfection.
“You’ve more than accomplished your goal, then.” She took a sip of her mimosa. “This is amazing.”
“And we’re just getting started.”
I set up the table in front of the bench, put the oven on top, and plugged it into the portable charger. Then we worked sideby side. She measured flour with the same precise movements I remembered from years ago, while I melted butter on the portable burner. She kneaded the dough, her sleeves pushed up, a light dusting of flour on her cheek.
“You’re not terrible at this,” she teased as she rolled the dough into a rectangle.
“I had a good teacher.” I bumped her shoulder lightly. “She’s a famous baker with celebrity clients.”
She laughed, and hearing something I thought I’d never get to experience again made the entire date a success.
“I have so many customers right now, I hardly know what to do with myself.” She pressed her hip against mine. “Those videos blew up beyond my wildest imagination. I had to limit my online orders and hire three new employees, all in one week.”
“I’m glad it all worked out in the end.” It was fitting that Tessa was the only one who’d benefited from Vanessa’s most recent machinations. She deserved all the best things in life. “If you need someone to pitch in in a pinch, give me a call.”
I was more than half serious, but she laughed again. “I need a little better than not terrible in my kitchen, sorry.”
“The offer stands.”
We spread cinnamon sugar, rolled the dough tightly, and sliced it into rounds. While they rose, we sat on the blanket and looked across the pond. I pulled out fresh fruit for us to nibble on while we waited.
When the rolls went into the small oven, she leaned back on her hands and glanced at the sky. “This is nice.”
That was a relief since I had been waiting for her to remember why she should hate me and demand that I take her home. “Yeah?”
“You picked the perfect spot for our date.” She smiled. “And I can’t believe you remembered the ingredients for my mom’scinnamon rolls and where this park was. I only brought you here once.”
