Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Theo I had borrowed a pair of slacks and a button-up shirt from Dad’s closet. It was probably the longest I had spent in front of the mirror in a long time. I wanted everything to go perfectly but would settle for just making Ayla happy. I prayed Ayla wouldn’t see how nervous I was. I took a few deep breaths before knocking on the guest house door. When it opened, my jaw dropped.

Ayla looked incredible.

She smiled, straightening her dress timidly. “Is it okay?”

There was no controlling it. I closed the distance and kissed her deeply, her scent hitting me like a drug I was quickly becoming addicted to.

“You’re perfect,” I said. Grabbing Ayla’s hands, I stepped back and looked her up and down again. “As sta*****ngly se*y as they are, you may want to ditch the heels.”

She looked at me suspiciously.

“Just trust me?” I requested.

She rolled her eyes with a half-grin and slid out of the shoes, kicking them off to the side. Still holding her hands, I pulled her down the porch. I pulled a length of cloth out of my pocket.

“May I?” I indicated using it as a blindfold.

“Do you blind all your dates?” she teased as she turned for me to secure the fabric.

Vouchers “Nope,” I said. “Only the most important.

Taking her hands, I began to lead her across the yard. We traversed the soft grass until we came to the wooden path leading down to the lake. I guided her every step of the way, letting her know when to step down.

“It would probably be more of a mystery if I didn’t already know this path,” she chuckled.

“The where isn’t the surprise,” I stated.

It was nearly dark. Only the last dim rays of light could be seen along the h****on. The dock was in the shade of the trees, making the effects of the setting as nice as I had hoped. I added some poles along the edge and strung lights along them. I brought down the iron table and chairs that used to be on the patio until my parents got a larger set. It was set with candles and flowers. There were larger flower arrangements set around the dock as well. All made up of Ayla’s favorite flowers.

I stopped her before the dock. I grabbed a single dahlia I had pulled from a vase and moved behind her.

“Are you ready?” I whispered in her ear.

“That depends,” she replied softly, “are you about to push me into the lake?”

I chuckled. “I think this will be better.” I tugged the blindfold loose.

Ayla gasped as she opened her eyes, taking in the romantic setting.

“Theo... It’s beautiful.”

I turned a small stereo on with a remote and presented her with the fiery dahlia I had selected.

“How did you know?” she asked.

288 Vouchers “Lucky guess?” I tried as I guided her to the table. She didn’t buy it. “Or I may have called Mina.”

I pulled her chair out for her and let her settle. There was a tray table next to ours that held our dinner. Also Ayla’s favorites. It was lucky that not only did Mom have the ingredients on hand but also that I could make a mean lasagne.

“How in the world did you do all this in four hours?” Ayla asked as I poured her a glass of champagne.

“Determination,” I replied, giving her a wink. And I had Briggs bring the flowers and help set everything up. I made him park down the road so she didn’t hear his truck. But I would keep that information to myself if I could.

“Determination does get things done,” she conceded.

After filling our plates, I settled in across from my mate. Praying to the moon goddess that I didn’t screw this up again.

“So, you got to learn a lot about me today,” I noted, starting the conversation. “But I haven’t had the opportunity to learn more about you.”

“Our surroundings say otherwise,” she chided with a bright smile that had my heart racing.

“This stuff is easy to find out,” I replied.

“Okay, what do you want to know?” She took her first bite and almost melted in her chair. “This is fantastic. Did you actually make this?”

I laughed. “Is that so surprising?”

“Knowing your mother, not really,” she said.

“Yes, she thought it was important I learn every life skill. I even do my own laundry,” I stated. “What about you? I recall you’re a pretty good cook yourself. I’m assuming you were the one who actually cooked that day we met.”

“I did,” she said. “Ma taught me some, actually. She was pretty involved with us before Dad died. She helped teach me to enjoy the task. But I guess I honed my skills out of necessity.”

“What about writing?” I asked. “Who taught you to love that?”

“Loss,” she stated. “Well, loss and my high school principal. He’s the one who suggested journalling as an outlet. It helped a lot those first couple years.”

“Speaking of high school, graduating as young as you did is quite impressive,” I commented. “I know you did it so you could work more, but why didn’t you go to college once you got financially settled?”

“I didn’t start getting stable royalties until after my second book was published,” Ayla explained. “By then, Kylee was about to graduate and start college herself, and someone needed to take care of Ma. It just never felt like something I could make work.”

“What if you could?” I asked. She tried to make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal, but I could see it was. I doubted she would ever admit it, but she felt like she missed out. “You don’t have to care for Kylee and Marie anymore, Ayla. Why not go now?”

She shrugged. “I don’t even know what I would study at this point.”

“You had to have something in mind before life got in the way,” I pointed out.

She smiled. “My dad studied sociology. I always thought I follow in his footsteps. Become a social worker. Or maybe psychology.

Maybe Chapter Theo 288 vouchers both.”

“You should consider it,” I said. “You won’t have any problems getting accepted anywhere you want.”

“I just might,” Ayla replied.