"I would expect nothing less."
I walk into the suite's living room, ready for the night. I'm wearing a black one-shouldered minidress and mile-high f**k-me pumps. Yep. They're definitely devil shoes but I'll gladly take the discomfort because I love the way Jack Henry looks at me when I wear them.
I'm also wearing my diamond star pendent because I never take it off and the diamond stud earrings he gave me the night we went to the opera. I reach up to touch them as I enter the room and I'm reminded of some fond memories at the Opera House.
"Baby, you look so f**king hot." See? Another example of how he adds f**king to a sentence and makes my panties want to melt away.
"Thank you."
"But you're missing something," he hints.
I've fallen for this trick in the past, but I know what it means when he says that. He has a gift for me—an expensive one—and I feel the little girl in me jumping up and down impatiently to see what her present is. "What do you have for me?"
He walks over to the coffee table and picks up a long skinny black box. "I had this made for you." He pops it open and inside is one of the most beautiful diamond bracelets I've ever seen. "It's beautiful."
It's a continuous pattern of diamond stars, identical to my pendant, alternating with infinity symbols. "It's beautiful."
"Do you want to guess the significance?" He does that—always giving me jewelry with significance.
"I understand the stars but I don't know what the infinity sign is about."
"It symbolizes two different things. First, you always use your finger to trace an imaginary infinity symbol when you're nervous about something."
I had no idea I did that. "I do?"
"Yes. And the second part symbolizes my love for you. It's infinite—limitless and impossible to measure." I run my finger over one of the infinity links.
He doesn't have a lot of competition but this is by far the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me. "My love for you is endless and you never cease to amaze me." I suddenly feel very guilty for denying him what I know he wants. "I'll get naked for you right now if that's what you want. I won't make you wait until later."
"I didn't take you for one to bend so easily to my will, Miss McLachlan," he laughs.
Hearing him call me that is the icing on my cake. "It makes it pretty hard to be tough when you say and do such sweet, romantic things."
"I didn't tell you those things or give you the bracelet so I could get laid."
As if it would take either. "We both know you don't have to say or give me anything to get me under you. With a fair amount of certainty, I think you can label me as your sure thing."
"As much as I love hearing that, I do mean it when I say I love you infinitely."
"I know you do. And I feel the same about you." I hold out my wrist. "Now, put my bracelet on me so I can show off your love."
He fastens the clasp around my wrist and brings my hand to his lips for a kiss. "I'll only be a few minutes getting ready."
"You never told me where we're going."
"I know," he says, grinning, but offers no further explanation.
As promised, he's ready in little to no time at all. He's in a suit, something I haven't seen him wear in a really long time. It's platinum with a white and silver pinstriped shirt and a brilliant blue tie that brings out the breathtaking beauty of his eyes. Seeing him in it reminds me of the night we met in that blues club in Wagga Wagga.
"Mmm…still hotter than the devil's ass."
"What's that, love?" He heard me. I know he did. He just wants to hear me say it again.
"I was just saying you still look hotter than the devil's ass when you wear a suit."
"Wow. If I'd known you felt that way, I'd have worn one more often."
"I like you just fine in your jeans and Indiana Jones hat." Especially the hat. I'll have to ask him to wear nothing but the hat one day since he asked me to wear nothing but my boots.
"You find the hat I wear to work sexy?"
"Yeah."
"I didn't bring it with me."
"That's okay." I catch myself before I blurt out that I can see him wear it when we get back to Australia.
It's such an automatic thought, the idea of going back with him. But is that what I need to do? The mystery isn't in whether I want him or not—it's if I can leave my career and family for a life with him nine thousand miles away.
And I still don't know the answer.
Chapter Twenty
I see the look on Laurelyn's face and I know she's worrying about where our relationship is going and how we'll make things work. But I don't want this getaway to be about stress or angst. I only want us to have fun. And sex. Lots of sex. "Don't go there."
She wrinkles her forehead. "Don't go where?"
She's being coy. She knows exactly what I mean. "Wherever it is you go in your head when you get that tense look on your face."
"Maybe I'm constipated."
That's my girl. Take a potentially painful subject and turn it into something funny. "Okay, Miss Comedienne. We'll pretend you're constipated instead of worried about our relationship." I hold out my hand for her. "Come on. Let's go."
We step off the elevator and I lead her toward the restaurant I've chosen. We're seated in a room where we'll be catered to by our own personal chef. "Are you hungry, babe?"
"Yes. I'm starving."
"Craving anything in particular?"
She grins mischievously. "I want meat."
"That can be arranged. In fact, you can have a little now and a lot later. I know you like your steak cooked medium but what you'll have later will be done well."
"I like things that are done well—especially when it's me."
I bring her hand to my lips for a kiss. "I intend on doing you quite well, love."
"You always do," she giggles as our server arrives at our table.
After enjoying a lovely meal with my beautiful girl, we leave the restaurant and I know her curiosity is piqued. "Are you ready to know what's next on the agenda?"
Her eyes are big with anticipation. "Of course."
"There aren't any good concerts tonight, so I booked a burlesque show." She breaks into a huge grin and I have to wonder what it's all about. "I thought you might like it since it's traditional Vegas stuff. We don't have to go if you don't want to."
"Oh, I definitely want to go."
I was afraid she might be pissed off at me for getting tickets to a show where women would be in skimpy costumes, but she clearly isn't. "You seem pretty excited about it. I was a little worried you might not want to see near-naked women dancing or that you might be mad at me because you'd think I wanted to see them."