His mouth curled up at one end. “It’s not a surprise if I tell you.”
I scowled at him, but he just kept on with the half smile.
“Okay. Fine,” I said. “I’ll wear the gown. There’s no one on this planet who should be allowed to call it a dress. What else?”
“Casual for tomorrow.”
Wednesday was his free day. I narrowed my eyes at him as if I could pick the information from his brain simply by the force of my will.
What is he planning?
“A bathing suit.” He nodded toward the bathroom. “And I suppose you’ll need to bring your two hundred bottles of face cream.”
I laughed. “They aren’t all face cream, and there aren’t two hundred of them. I have only a cleanser, a toner, and a—”
“Yes, yes,” he said, clearly enjoying himself. “All of them. Bring them all.”
“You’re impossible.”
Again with the smile. “Not for you,” he said. “Never impossible for you.”
I huffed and crossed my arms in mock disgust. “How long do I have?”
He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “Two hours?”
Two hours later, I was dressed and packed. I’ll admit I felt a bit silly wearing the gown Elaina gave me for my birthday. I still didn’t quite understand why she’d felt the need to give me a gown, of all things. I supposed she knew I’d need several formal items, since Nathaniel attended various black tie events in any given year.
The gown was lovely: an elegant halter dress made of flowing chiffon and belted at the waist. The slate-gray color should have washed me out, but somehow Elaina had known how fabulous it’d look on me.
Still . . .
I’d be walking around a family resort in a formal gown, dragging an overnight bag behind me, for crying out loud. I was willing to bet everyone would look at me like I was two bricks short of a load.
I checked myself in the living room mirror to make sure I didn’t have lipstick on my teeth. Wouldn’t do to be all dressed up with someplace to go—someplace secret, I corrected myself—and to have lipstick on my teeth.
I gave my reflection a satisfied half nod. Not bad. Even for dragging around an overnight bag.
Then Nathaniel stepped out of the bathroom.
Now, I’d seen Nathaniel in a tux before, and it had always been enough to give me pause, but somehow he looked even more . . . more.
I looked him up and down. “Hello, handsome.”
“Hello, beautiful,” he said, planting a kiss on my forehead. “You look too perfect to touch.”
This from the man who packed spreader bars and a wooden paddle for vacation?
“Don’t be silly,” I said, patting his chest.
He jumped backward as if I’d punched him, his face freezing in horror, but almost before I could register what happened, his expression returned to normal.
I blinked.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Oh, yes,” he said. “Just thought I’d forgotten to pack a little something, something.”
I tilted my head. “Did you?”
“Did I what?”
“Forget to pack a little something, something?”
“No. The something, something is perfectly safe.”
I grabbed the handle to my bag. “Are we ready?”
He glanced at his watch. “Almost.” He held up a finger. “Just need . . .”
Someone knocked at the door.
“That,” he finished.
That?
“The bellboy to take our bags,” he said.
Of course. Why did I ever think Nathaniel would have me drag an overnight bag while dressed to the nines?
He opened the door, handed the waiting gentleman our bags, and held out his arm to me. “Ready?”
We walked through endless hallways and corridors on our way outside. I knew we turned a few heads as we passed. From the corner of my eye, I even saw one lady take a picture of us with her cell phone. I chuckled before remembering my name had been in People. Matter of fact, my picture had been as well, thanks to being Felicia’s maid of honor.
Still, that hardly warranted a hastily snapped picture.
I recalled Googling Nathaniel’s name after meeting him in his office for the first time and how I’d found the picture with Melanie at his side. I wondered if that image was still the first to pop up, or if it had been replaced by one with me. I made a mental note to check on my laptop once we made it back to the room.
As we wove our way through the lobby, something interesting happened.
I walked straighter, my shoulders back and my head up. I realized on that walk that I was not merely Nathaniel’s date, his submissive, or even his live-in girlfriend.
I was Nathaniel’s equal.
In everything.
In the bedroom, out of the bedroom. In the playroom, out of the playroom. In the business world, out of the business world.
He was no better or worse than me, and I was no better or worse than him.
I was so caught up in that realization, we made it to the end of a dock before I comprehended where we were.
I looked in front of us.
“You’re taking me on a boat?” I asked.
He leaned down and whispered to me, “Technically, it’s a yacht, but yes, I am.”
It was long and sleek, and looked like it should be gracing the cover of a boating magazine instead of being docked in south central Florida. Not that I was complaining about it being docked in south central Florida.
“I’ve never been on a boat before,” I said, then hastily added, “Or a yacht.”
“You haven’t?”
“No,” I said. “I never had much interest in fishing.”
“Do you not want to sail?”
“Oh, no. I’ve always wanted to be on a boat, just not a fishing one.”
“Yacht,” he said, nodding toward the uniformed man approaching us. “He might take offense if you keep calling his baby a boat.”
“Yacht,” I said. “Always wanted to sail on one of those, too.”
The captain welcomed us aboard and then left us alone to explore. There was a bedroom, a sitting room, and a well-appointed bathroom. I noted our bags had been stowed away in the bedroom closet.
Dusk was falling when we stepped back out on deck. I looked around. The yacht had pulled away from the dock and resort and was making its way to the middle of the lake.
I watched the water for a few minutes, enjoying the soft breeze and the hum of the yacht’s motor. Once we’d pulled away from the majority of the resort water traffic, we stopped.
“Dinner’s ready,” Nathaniel whispered, coming up behind me and taking my hand.
I nodded and turned. Someone had been busy. A candlelit table had been set up on deck with crisp white linens and delicate china.
“It’s beautiful,” I said.
He smiled. “I suppose beauty’s relative. Come with me,” he said. “I ordered your favorites.”
He pulled a chair out for me and, once he took his own seat, poured us both some red wine. I took the glass he offered and looked up as I sipped. A thousand sparkling stars were visible, joining in to perfect the scene further.
A waiter appeared and set a bowl of soup in front of each of us.
“You know,” I said, after I enjoyed a few spoonfuls of the delectable soup. “One of these days, I’m going to surprise you.”
“You are?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “First of all, I’ll blindfold you.”
“I like the sound of this.”
I took another sip of soup. Butternut squash. The taste was a delicious combination of oaky sweetness. “Then I’ll force you into the car and drive.”
“Where will you take me?”
“Somewhere completely unexpected.” His expression practically begged me to continue, so I did. “The grocery store.”