We spent the rest of the afternoon and into the early part of the evening in and out of boutiques in the surrounding cities. It took a minute, but after several reprimands, Malyah finally stopped looking at the price tags.
At the last boutique, she found three dresses she liked, but she wouldn’t tell me which one she chose because she wanted to keep an element of surprise.
“That was fun,” she said when we sat across from each other at a restaurant not too far from the hotel.
“I enjoyed watching you.”
I had no idea that watching her try on dresses would be so satisfying. Malyah was beautiful, and I doubt she knew how sexy she was. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who relied on her beauty to get what she wanted. If she did, she probably wouldn’t have found herself in the predicament she was in.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Your smile and excitement each time you stepped out of the fitting room were contagious. I can already tell you that making you smile will be one of my greatest joys.”
She looked at me for a long moment before looking at the menu, and I followed her lead and did the same. A few minutes later, the server arrived, and we placed our drink, appetizer, and dinner orders.
“Everything we’re doing is a tad unorthodox, and?—”
“A tad?”
I chuckled. “Extremely unorthodox, but people get married for convenience all the time.”
“Maybe in your world. In mine, people rarely get married at all.”
“If we’re intentional about this, we can make it work. It doesn’t have to be temporary.”
“I thought we were simply doing each other a favor.”
“We are, but that doesn’t mean we can’t treat this like it’s the real thing. You never know, you might enjoy being my wife.”
“Are you talking about having sex?” she asked with a raised brow.
“Oh, we’re definitely having sex. You can barely keep your hands off me now.”
“Boy! You lie all day. I haven’t touched you.”
“I can’t believe you lied with a straight face, because I recall waking up with your hands in my pants and wrapped around my?—”
“I was asleep, so that doesn’t count.”
“You know what did count? That nut!”
“Kenzo!”
“And I’m willing to bet you’ve been dreaming about touching me again since I exploded in your hand, and let’s not forget all that pouting you did when I said you weren’t ready for the dick. I dare you to tell me I’m lying.”
She smacked her lips and said, “Whatever. Ain’t nobody thinking about you, Kenzo.”
“We’ll see about that. Regardless of all that, I want to do everything normal married couples do, and it starts with you changing your mindset before we say I do.”
“Kenzo, we barely know each other. Usually, when people get married, they’re in love. That’s not us.”
“Not yet, but you know what’s just as important as loving and being in love with your partner?”
“What?”
“Liking them, and I’ve told you several times that I like you a lot, Malyah. I’ve never liked a woman so much that she appears in my dreams. I don’t want to sound crass or conceited, but I could’ve asked anyone to marry me, and honestly, they would’ve jumped at the chance. I chose you because my gut tells me you’re very special, your spirit is genuine, and your heart is pure.”
Our eyes locked, and I assumed her brief silence meant she was thinking about what I’d said.
