She straightened up at the sound of Duke’s voice. He’d come to pick her up. Viv hurried over to the door. “Be right there.” She stopped midway, took a detour over to the mirror, and gave her cheeks a quick pinch. If she’d had flutters in her tummy moments ago, it was a full-on flurry now. A renewed rush of nervous energy shifting through her in a relentless whirl.
Viv gripped the handle, prepping herself for what she’d see on the other side of the door. Yet even as she swung it open, the handsome sight of him caused her breath to hitch.
He stood there, poised to perfection. One shoulder leaning against the adjacent wall, arms folded over his broad chest.
He gavesemi casualthe look every man wanted to capture. His crisp white work shirt had been replaced with a bright white tee. His navy pants were caught between formal and casual, and accented the overcoat he’d rolled up to his forearms.
Hints of heat flared in her cheeks. Viv would be lying if she said she didn’t appreciate the way he dressed. She always had.
Duke performed a long, slow whistle and broke into a wide grin. “Hi.”
Viv bit her lip over a nervous laugh. “Hi.”
“You look gorgeous, Vivi.”
“Thank you.” She closed the door behind her and joined him in the hall. “You’re looking pretty good yourself.” Viv fought off a grimace;not only was her comment as trite as she could get, it was an absurd understatement.
Duke offered his elbow, answering once she tucked her hand into the nook.
“Thank you for joining me.” He walked her down the central staircase—a series of wide, shallow steps—until they came to the main floor.
Now that the sun had gone down, the view out the windows had changed. From one angle, the glass simply reflected the massive, high vaulted view from within. But at other angles, she caught glimpses of the outside world around them, cloaked in the mysterious darkness of nightfall.
It added to the ambiance of the night.
“So,” Duke said as he led her, not to the dining area but to a set of french doors instead, “I said to think back on our second date for a reason. Do you remember what we did that night?”
Viv stepped onto the deck as Duke opened the door, enjoying the soft breeze on her skin. She looped her hand around the nook of his arm once more. “I think so. We made dinner together, right?”
“Right.” He led her around an angular turn of the deck, revealing the dining patio outside the kitchen. It overlooked part of the pool, something that became evident as she noticed fire dancing off the water.
More flames reached, twisted, and cracked from several torches spaced around the outdoor table. Something about it—the colorful flames, bright and warm against the darkness— created a gorgeous atmosphere.
“It’s beautiful out here,” she said.
Duke pulled out a chair for her. “Glad you like it.”
She dropped her gaze to look over the table. A glass covered fondue pot filled with melted cheese stood at the center, surrounded by covered trays. Two metal skewers rested nearby.
Viv lowered herself into the chair and grinned. “Fondue.”
Duke circled the table. “Exactly.”
He was right—it had been their second date. They’d gone back to LA for the holidays, and the two decided to make dinner together at his place.
“This looks delicious.”
“And here’s our selection…” Duke lifted the starchy white cloths off the trays to reveal an array of bread cubes, sliced meat, and baby red potatoes.
“This looks perfect.” She propped herself to look into the cheese pot too. “It looks like we’ve got smoother cheese this time,” she said with a laugh.
Duke motioned for her to reach for her skewer. Once she did, he reached for his. “Much smoother. Irene’s got some mad skills, I’ll tell you that much.”
He looked up, waiting until Viv pierced a chunk of crusty bread before doing the same. “But I still think we did pretty good that night.”
Viv shrugged, dunked the skewed bread into the cheese, and twirled it until it stopped dripping. “Me too. I loved that date.”
“So did I,” Duke said. “It’s when we had our first kiss.”
