Page 78 of Grant’s Blaze

Holding the baby might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back of her nerves, but so far, Rio didn’t seem overly agitated or angry as we drove toward my secret destination. She lay across my lap in the back of the car as we lumbered through downtown Los Angeles traffic. She probably assumed we were returning to the condo, but I had another plan in mind. A special visit that I sensed we both needed.

“Tired, baby?” I asked as I draped her denim jacket over her as a makeshift blanket. “Close your eyes until we get there.”

“Get where? Are we going far? I thought we were just going…home…” Her voice drifted off, taken over by a long yawn. Already, she had me chuckling.

“No, not far at all, actually. But if you’re that tired, any little bit of rest will help.”

“I always get sleepy when I’ve been out in the sun. I think you were smart to not drink on top of everything else. There were a lot of emotions today. Some I expected. Others…well, those were surprises.”

“Seems like it always goes like that when family is involved, doesn’t it?” Not that I actually knew. It just seemed like the right thing to say.

“Where did you say we were going?” Rio asked again, changing the subject.

“Nice try.” I dug my fingers into her ribs and made her squeal. “It’s a surprise and you know it. But we are only blocks away. You’re in the perfect spot, though, on my lap like that. That way you will see part of the surprise all at once, so stay there. And, if you’re really quick and want to suck—”

“Grant Twombley, stop it right now.”

“No fun,” I whined, but I knew if this night ended the way I hoped it would, she’d be giving me more than a quick blow job in the back of a car.

My phone vibrated on the seat beside us, and I took a quick look without Rio seeing the screen. The message was the one word I was hoping to see.

Ready!

With perfect timing, the driver pulled over to the curb.

“Look at me,” I said to Rio as she sat up.

Her hair was sticking every which way from being in the pool, and still, she had never looked more beautiful to me. When she met my gaze, I put my palm alongside her jaw and cradled it when she leaned into my strength.

“I love you so much, Rio Gibson.”

She smiled with dreamy, creamy perfection. “As I love you, Grant Twombley.”

“Now come,” I bade gently. “I want to show you something.”

The driver opened the passenger-side door, and I sat and watched Rio’s reaction before I got out on my side. I asked the driver to park so when he opened the door, as much of the Bunker Hill staircase would be visible from the street level. It was a little difficult because it curved and went up between the buildings, but she would get the idea the moment she got that first visual.

“Oh. My. God.” She got out of the car in slow motion, gripping the door with one hand for balance and her other hand over her mouth in disbelief. “Grant.” She turned to look at me. “You did this?”

“Yes. Do you like it?”

“It’s beautiful. Does it go the whole way up?”

“Come on,” I said, tugging on her hand a little. “Let’s find out.”

The location had been the site of a friendly lunch for us, back when we were both lodged in each other’s friend zone. But even then, I was already smitten with her. Maybe more than smitten. I just couldn’t admit it to anyone, especially myself.

Holy shit, had life thrown us on a crazy roller coaster since that day. It only seemed right to bring her back here tonight.

I had some help making the place extra special for this date, though. White tea lights in lanterns lit the way up the steps, from the bottom to the very top. Rio gushed the entire time about how beautiful it was and how she couldn’t believe I had arranged this.

“Do you remember our lunch date here?” I stopped on one of the steps near the very top to ask her. Like that day, I went back down a few so she and I could be eye to eye.

“I do,” she said, and her smile was shy.

With a finger beneath her chin, I lifted her face back up so I could look into her expressive mocha gaze. “What? Why are you being bashful? I don’t think I’ve ever seen this look on you before.” I leaned in and kissed her pert little nose. “I kind of like it. I think this would be what our daughter would look like if she got caught being naughty.”

“Our daughter?” She gulped and then asked, “So…you do want to have children?”