“Y’all ready?” the lead singer asked Lesley, who nodded.
The opening notes filled the space, and my heart stopped. It was “Finally”—the song I sang every morning in the shower, the one that always made me feel like everything was going to work out. I’d been humming it just that morning while getting dressed.
“How...?”
“Thin walls,” he said with a smile. “And I got good ears. This is your song, right?”
Khemistry was incredible, playing a stripped-down, intimate version that felt as if it were being performed just for us. The lead singer’s voice was smooth and rich, and when he started singing the lyrics I knew by heart, I felt tears prick my eyes.
“Lesley,” I breathed, overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness of it all.
“Dance with me.”
I let him pull me to my feet, and we swayed together under those fairy lights, his arms around my waist, my hands linked behind his neck. When he looked down at me, he was wide open.
“This is the most romantic thing anyone’s ever done for me,” I whispered against his chest.
“This is just the beginning,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “And how has a woman like you never been treated with this much care?”
I pulled back to look at him, considering the question. “Because I never let anyone close enough to try. I was always too busy building my life to let someone into it.”
“I get you a lot more than you think, Colecion.”
He spun me slowly, and I laughed as the lights blurred around us. When he pulled me back to him, his expression had grown more serious.
“You trust me to take you out of the country?”
The question caught me off guard, but standing there in his arms, swaying to music under a canopy of lights he’d arranged just for me, I finally understood what it felt like to be cherished. Not protected, not provided for, but truly valued for who I was.
“Yes,” I said without hesitation. “I trust you.”
He wasn’t sure if he could believe me, and I understood that.
“I do. And you know that. I don’t have a poker face with you.”
“Good. Turks and Caicos still cool?”
“No, but I’d love to be on any beach right now.”
“Cool, there’s something else,” he whispered, pulling me closer. “I’m thinking about scouting some property there. Maybe opening our first international location. I’ll be doing a little work.”
“How can I help?”
“Who says I need your help, baby?”
“I’m resourceful, Grim.” He pulled back to look at me. He hated it when I called him Grim. “That’s who’s talking to me right now, correct?”
He shook his head before dipping me backwards and bringing me up as I laughed loudly, the sound echoing across the empty lot.
“No, this is Lesley,” he said firmly, spinning me under the lights. “Tonight is just about us. Just about this.”
“Do you think people are watching us?” I asked, feeling warmth spreading through me.
“If they are, they’re seeing exactly what I want them to see,” he said, spinning me one more time. “A man completely in love with Coco.”
“That was cute.”
Whatever he needed to handle could wait. Right now, under these lights he’d strung just for me, I was exactly where I belonged.
