Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
She was my woman, damnit.
“Mae, I’d like you to meet Dana. My girlfriend,” I added meaningfully as we approached the counter. Mae was a warm, comfortable lady with the sweetest face you ever saw. She wiped her hands and came out from behind the counter.
“Well, aren’t you just about the prettiest thing,” she said, welcoming Dana with both hands. She pulled her in and bussed her cheek. “I can see why he calls you ‘Sunshine,’” she teased.
Dana looked adorable as she smiled shyly at Mae.
“It is so nice to meet you, Mae.”
“You are just sweet as pie!” Mae exclaimed. “You go on up and enjoy your dinner,” Mae said with a wink. “First course is on the way.”
“Thank you, Mae,” I said. “I owe you one.”
“More than one,” she said with another wink and a slap to my fannie. “Now git.”
I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and took Dana’s arm, bringing her outside and around to the metal staircase that led up to the roof. I had wrapped string lights around the bannister, following Kaylee and Janet’s instructions to the letter. It looked pretty but it also made it a lot safer for my girl to walk up and down.
I held her arm the whole way up the stairs, then stepped back to see her reaction.
Dana’s eyes were wide as she looked around the roof deck. I’d strung up lights everywhere, and Janet had dropped off battery operated candles. It didn’t look like the rooftop to a humble diner. It looked like a fairyland.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed, utterly awestruck. My chest puffed out. Impressing her made me feel about ten feet tall. I wanted to impress her every damned day, if I could.
“Not as beautiful as you,” I said, staring at her face. I meant it, too. She was the most beautiful thing in the world.
“You did all of this for me?”
“Of course. I would wrap the whole damned building in twinkling lights.”
She giggled and bit her lip, clearly not sure what to say to that.
“Ready to eat?” I asked.
“Yes, please.”
I led her across the rooftop and seated her at our table, which overlooked the commercial section of town. In the soft evening light, it looked a hell of a lot prettier than usual. I leaned forward to smell her hair as I pushed her seat back in.
“Would the lady care for some wine?” I asked, holding up a bottle like a waiter in a fancy restaurant.
She giggled again and nodded gratefully. She thought I was funny and I thanked God for it. I loved making her laugh. It was the sweetest, most angelic twinkling sound I had heard in my entire life.
I poured us each a glass of wine and sat across from her. We talked a little bit but I could not have told you what we spoke about. I was in a daze, staring at the beauty sitting demurely across from me.
In a few minutes Mae appeared with one of the busboys and a whole bunch of food. I’d found out all of Dana’s favorites from Auntie and Mae was serving them up. Not regular diner food, either. This was a the real deal.
“I almost forgot,” I said as we started to eat, reaching into my pocket to turn on the music. I had a playlist all set up and a blue tooth speaker hidden across the deck. Dana’s eyes got wide as Sinatra started to sing an old ballad. One of the swoony ones, according to the girls.
“Are you impressed?” I asked her as we dug into our food, trying not to sound too hopeful.
“More than impressed, Drake. I am awestruck. No one has ever… done anything like this for me.”
“Give me a chance, Sunshine. You aint’ seen nothin’ yet.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Suzanna
Something wet slid against my ear. I moaned sleepily and half heartedly batted it away. It happened again. I rolled over and said a few salty words about the interruption to my slumber. A soft chuckle brought me the rest of the way out of sleep.
I cracked an eye and glared at my husband, who had apparently been kissing my ear.
“Must you?”
“I must,” he said with a smirk.
“What do you want, husband?”
“I want you, wife.”
I opened both eyes a bit wider as he slowly pulled off his shirt. Reality set in. It was not early morning. It was early evening. I had fallen asleep right after dinner. The baby did that to me.
I was excited to be pregnant, but it hadn’t been easy so far. I had been constantly nauseous during the first trimester. Now I felt overstuffed and exhausted, even though I was barely past six months. I had three whole months to go and no idea how I was going to get there and function as a human adult.
Everything felt exhausting and difficult. I wasn’t normally a cranky person, but I was feeling especially moody. I worried now and then that my husband might be getting tired of it, but he seemed to enjoy my sass.