I froze in the doorway, not believing my eyes. “How…” I shook my head, gaping at him.
“I strung the lights last night but set the table while you were in the bathroom.”
“Jed… it’s so beautiful.”
“You deserve beautiful things, Neely Kate. I plan to give ’em to you.”
A lump filled my throat. “Jed, all I need is you.”
He smiled, then reached for my hand, tugging me to a chair. “Have a seat and I’ll bring out the first course.”
I laughed. “There’s courses?”
“Yep. Wait here.”
He went inside, and I stared at the yard behind the house and realized the property was completely enveloped by trees. Jed walked out with two small plates of salad, and set them on the larger plates. Then he headed back into the kitchen and returned with an open bottle of wine. He sat down and filled our wine glasses, then picked up his glass and extended it toward me. “To the most beautiful woman I have ever known, both inside and out.”
I lifted my glass and touched it to his. “And to the most honorable, supportive man I’ve ever known. You’ve shown me the meaning of a real man. Thank you.”
He clinked his glass with mine and we took a sip, keeping our eyes on one other. I lowered the glass to the table and took a bite of the salad—spring greens covered in strawberries and blueberries, pecans, and feta cheese. I was in heaven.
“Where on earth did you get this food?” I asked as I took another bite.
“I’ll tell you later. First tell me about your week up until today, because we haven’t seen that much of each other.”
I told him about several clients and the designs I created and how I’d come up with them. After we finished the salads, he hauled the plates into the kitchen, then returned with two plates covered in steak, asparagus, and baked potatoes.
“Jed,” I practically moaned after I took a bite of the medium-well steak. “This is delicious. Who cooked this?”
“I’m pretty good at grillin’ steaks,” he said with a grin. “But I confess I let someone else cook them this time. A new catering service that opened a few weeks ago.” He took a bite of his potato and said, “The backyard is pretty bare. Maybe you could come up with a landscape design.”
I smiled. “I’d like that.”
We spent the main course talking about the garage. Jed explained that he’d approached Witt a few weeks ago about being a co-owner. Witt had exhausted all of his available financial resources, and Jed was looking for a legit business, so they agreed to become partners. Witt had already located the garage space and worked out a rental agreement, which was why they had been able to set it up so quickly.
“What about this house?” I asked as Jed poured more wine into each of our glasses.
“What about it? I already told you one of the reasons I got it was because it was so secluded.”
“But buyin’ property takes time. When did you start lookin’?”
He picked up a roll from a wicker basket. “The day after we came back from Ardmore.”
“What?”
“I knew, Neely Kate. I knew drivin’ home that you and I were meant to be, but I also knew I had to keep you safe. I wanted it to be a place you’d consider home too, so I had the real estate agent look for a decent house that was surrounded by trees and outside of town. She found this and I thought it was perfect, so I made an offer.”
“But you didn’t know that we’d work out,” I countered.
He held my gaze with a confidence in his eyes that stole my breath. “I knew.”
We finished our second course, then Jed collected the plates, pausing to ask, “Dessert? It’s cheesecake with strawberries.”
“I should say no, especially since I’m full…”
He grinned in the doorway. “How about we share?”
“Okay.”
A couple of minutes later, he returned carrying a single plate with a thin slice of cheesecake smothered in strawberries.
He scooted his chair closer to mine, then picked up his spoon and used it to scoop off the end piece of the cheesecake. He didn’t eat it himself, but instead held the spoon up to my mouth. Beaming, I took the bite.
With a smug smile, he dipped his spoon into the cheesecake again and took a quick bite for himself, then offered me another, moving slowly and deliberately as his gaze held mine.
I could feel the atmosphere changing. Electricity charged the air as I took the bite, his eyes watching my mouth. My breath turned shallow, and I picked up my own spoon and slid it through the cheesecake, then held it up to his lips. His mouth closed around it, his lips skimming the spoon while he watched me with an intense gaze.
I lowered the spoon to the table. “I’m not hungry for cheesecake anymore.”
His lust-filled eyes were locked on mine. “Neither am I.”
Standing, he gently gathered my hand in his, tugging me to my feet.
My heels made me taller, so I didn’t have to reach as high to kiss him.
His arms wrapped around my back, pulling me flush to his body as he took the lead with the kiss. He tasted like cheesecake and strawberries, and something offering so much more. So much more permanent.
Then he abruptly pulled back, out of my reach, and I gaped at him in confusion. “I know you want me, Jed,” I said, not bothering to keep the hurt out of my voice. “Why do you keep rejectin’ me?”
“Rejectin’ you?” he asked in disbelief. “Is that how you see it?” Then his gaze dropped to the floor and he released a soft curse. “Of course you would.” His eyes lifted to mine, full of understanding. “No, Neely Kate. Just trust me on this, okay?”
“Why can’t we just talk about it?” I asked. “So there’s no more misunderstandin’.”
He pushed out a breath. “Just wait here for a few minutes, and then I’ll explain it all to you, okay?”
My eyes narrowed in confusion. What was there to explain? “Are you deformed, Jed? Is it crooked? Because I don’t care if it is.”
His eyes grew wide. Then he burst out laughing. “No, it’s not crooked.” Then he pulled me hard against his chest, kissing me so thoroughly I forgot where I was standing. When he lifted his face, I could see how much effort it took to pull away. “You can see for yourself very soon, but just give me a few more minutes.”
“So you intend to sleep with me tonight?” I asked.
His grin turned sly. “We’ve slept together plenty of times.”
“Okay, then are we havin’ sex tonight?” I asked.
His smile fell, and his face turned serious. “No, we will not be having sex tonight. Now let me go upstairs for a few minutes, and I’ll explain it all, okay?”
“We’re not havin’ sex?” I asked, unable to hide my disappointment.
“Do you trust me, Neely Kate?” he asked in a serious tone.
“Well, yeah, but—”
“No. No but. Do you trust me or not?”
“Of course I trust you.”
His hand lifted to cup my face. “And have I ever done anything to purposely hurt you?”
“No, of course not.”
“I’ve done everything in my power to show you how much you mean to me. Has it been obvious to you or have I been too subtle?”
The man rebuilt a car for me to keep me safe and bought a house to hide me from his enemies and wanted to give me free rein to fix it up however I liked. If that didn’t scream a man who cared about me, I didn’t know what did. “No, Jed. Not subtle.”
“I want tonight to be perfect for you. Perfect for us. Just give me a few minutes. Then I promise you that I’ll take care of everything.”
His words were dripping with innuendo and I shivered. “Okay.”