Angel moves beside me to watch Haley leave with Alec and Hazel. When their SUV is only two small taillights in the distance, she says, “Well. I guess it’s just us now.”
I lean down to kiss her, tasting the hot chocolate we all shared before Hazel and Alec arrived. “It is.” As I lead her inside, I glance at Murphy, who’s made himself comfortable on the couch. “And Murphy, too. But I don’t think he’ll be much of a distraction.”
Angel smiles at Murphy. “I made him special dog biscuits as a treat. They have peanut butter and oats and bits of carrot. I got the recipe from Ophelia at Decadent Delights.”
“He’ll love that,” I reply. As I close and lock the door behind us, I add, “Speaking of food, I was thinking we could order from Mariano’s. How does that sound?”
“It sounds great.” Angel catches my hand and tugs me further into the living room. “You know I love Mariano’s.”
“I do.” Pulling her into my arms, I kiss her again. “And I thought after dinner, we could watchThe Holiday. OrLove Actually. Whichever you’d prefer.”
Angel’s head jerks slightly in surprise. “Really? You know those are romances, right?”
“I know you wouldn’t watch them with Haley,” I explain. Then, in a lower tone, I add, “It was my fault we didn’t get to watch at least one of them before.”
Because I was acting like a jealous, insecure jerk; something I’m still trying to make up for.
“Ronan.”Her expression softens. It looks like she’s about to say something, then changes her mind. “I’d love to watch either of them with you. And have dinner from Mariano’s. Plus, I made a special dessert for after.”
“A special dessert?”
“Yeah. You said your mom used to make butterscotch blondies when you were a kid. So I found a recipe for them. We can have them warm with ice cream and caramel.”
My mouth waters at the thought. “That sounds amazing, cupcake.” Reaching into my back pocket, I pull out my phone. “Should I put in the order for dinner now?”
Angel takes my phone and sets it on the table beside the couch. “Actually, I was thinking we could do something else first.”
“Oh?” I glance around the room. “Do you need me to fix anything? Change a lightbulb? Check the smoke detectors?”
And now that I’m thinking about it,shit. How have I not checked her smoke detectors already? Are they new? Do they detect carbon monoxide, as well? And what about volatile compound detectors? Angel has a gas stove, so that really would be a good idea.
“None of those things,” she says with a smile. “I didn’t ask Hazel to take Haley so I could put you to work.”
“I don’t mind.”
“I know you don’t. But tonight isn’t for that. It’s for us to spend some private adult time together. Which leads me to…” She clasps her hand around mine and tugs me towards the stairs. “I have something to show you.”
“What is it?” I ask as I follow her upstairs.
“You’ll see.” Angel glances back at me with a mischievous smile. “Just a second…”
We arrive at her closed bedroom door, and she pulls a key from her pocket and unlocks the door. Before she opens it, she says, “One of the benefits of an old house. I almost never use the master key, except on Christmas Eve, when I have all the presents set out to be wrapped. But for this… I didn’t want Haley to come in and see.”
Then she pushes open the door and steps into the room. “I wanted to do something special. For you. Well, for both of us, really. Something nice after all the stress we’ve been through.”
As I follow her inside, my gaze sweeps around the room.
Only the lamp on the dresser is on, casting a semi-circle of light on the wall above it. Lighting the rest of the room are dozens of small battery-operated candles, flickering with a soft, golden glow. On the bed, rose petals are scattered across it. And on the nightstand is a bottle of champagne and a bowl of strawberries.
Something deep inside my chest twists.
“You did all this?” I ask, turning to her.
Angel nods. Her cheeks go pink. “I wanted to do something romantic. Like something out of the movies.” As she pulls me over to the bed, she adds, “And you’ve done so much for me, Ronan. I know this is just a small thing, but?—”
I silence her with a kiss. When I pull away, I say, “Anything I do for you is because I want to. And it’s not just for you. It’s for me. Making you happy makes me happy. Keeping you safe makes me feel better. Seeing Haley smile makes me feel… I can’t describe it. So, really, it’s selfish.”
“No.” She strokes my cheek. “You arenotselfish, Ronan Davies. Not even close.”
