“Did you—” I lower my voice, “—do this?”
He shrugs, way too casual. “Maybe.”
My mouth opens and my hand flies to my chest, looking at our table, not being able to find any words.
“Ryan,” is all that my lips manage.
Before I can say anything else, a waitress passes behind him and slips something into his hand. He doesn’t even look, just murmurs a quick, “Thanks,” like this is part of some big plan. With a smirk on his face, he pulls a bouquet out from behind his back.
Big. Soft. White lilies.
My brain fully stops working.
“Oh,” I breathe, because that’s apparently all that comes out.
I take them automatically, fingers curling around the stems. I lift them closer to my face and inhale the sweet smell. Nostalgia hitting so hard, my eyes close for a moment. How did he know lilies are my favourite?
“They’re beautiful.” I finally get out and around us, I hear actualaawwsand I feel my face heat instantly.
Ryan leans in close to my ear, his voice low. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to see you blush.”
That does not help. I place the entire bouquet in front of my face to cover up my, apparently, red cheeks.
He grins and the attention around us fades. People turn back to their tables. The waitstaff disappears behind the bar so the moment settles and Ryan steps back, nodding toward the table. “Shall we, babe?”
I nod and give him a smile. He walks over to my side, shoving my chair as I sit down, before sitting down himself into the seat across from me.
I place the bouquet into the vase that is already sitting on the table and fix my dress slightly. Then the waitress appears again, placing two menus in front of us. We both order a white wine before she disappears again.
The second she’s gone, I lean in a little, lowering my voice. “Okay. Be honest. How did you pull all of this off?”
“I have my sources.” He shrugs his shoulders and my eyes drift back to the bouquet sitting between us. “How did you know these are my favourites?”
Ryan glances at them, then back at me. “They were always at your house,” he says. “When we were kids. Your place always smelled like lilies.”
My chest tightens. Lily-scented mornings. My dad bringing them home, and my mom pretending not to expect them, even though she always did. He’d replace them the moment the last ones started to wilt. They were always somewhere—on the windowsill, the kitchen island, the living room table. And every time, there’d be a note tucked in beside them.I love you more every day.
I blink it away before I start bawling my freaking eyes out in the middle of the restaurant.
“And you remembered that?” I ask instead and he shrugs, like it’s obvious. “Yeah.”
I smile at him. “Well… thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He dips his head slightly, a small smile tugging at his mouth. “I mean, if I’m gonna be a convincing boyfriend, I have to buy you your favourite flowers, right?”
Right. I almost forgot.
“Yeah,” I say lightly, nodding once. “You’re ridiculously dedicated to this whole thing.”
After the waitress brings us our drinks, and we order a fancy dish we both can't pronounce, Ryan rests his elbows on the table.
“So,” he says. “Should we start asking each other proper date questions?”
“Oh, absolutely.”
“Hobbies. Pet names. Where you see yourself in five years. Or my personal favourite—if you were an animal, what animal would you be?”
“You’d be a German shepherd.”
