I wouldn’t have thought to change a thing, but Jared insisted I add a feminine touch. I hung up self-portraits we’d taken of ourselves, bought a new floral comforter, and even picked out new china. Jared regarded the transformation with wholehearted gratitude. There were times that I thought Jared wanted me make the changes so that he had tangible proof that I was in fact living there.
A month after I had officially moved in, Jared wanted to celebrate with an evening out. I put on a strapless black dress with red pumps and Jared made the effort of putting on a tie. We walked out to the curb and Jared straddled his Vulcan. I raised an eyebrow, pointedly looked down at my short skirt and then back at him.
Jared laughed out loud and dismounted. “Just kidding.”
He walked over to the Escalade and opened the door.
“So, where are we going?” I asked.
“Somewhere new. You’ll like it,” he said before closing my door.
We pulled up to a dark, brick building. He helped me to the curb and held open a glass door, kissing my cheek as I passed. A small Asian woman greeted us, and Jared grabbed my hand, leading me to a table bearing a beautiful arrangement of pink and white tulips. We were the only patrons in the small eatery and I smiled at Jared as he sat in front of me. The woman walked half-way across the room to a waiter’s station to fill our water glasses, and I leaned against the table.
“Are they getting ready to close?” I whispered.
Jared chuckled. “No…I arranged for us to have the place to ourselves.”
“Oh,” I said, watching the woman bring our water and menus.
Jared uttered something in Japanese to the woman and she nodded, leaving us alone.
“Have I told you how exceptionally beautiful you look tonight?” Jared asked.
“Only four or five times,” I smiled. “Thank you.”
The woman returned, chattering something I didn’t understand. Jared looked to me and then back at her. “No, I think we’ll need a few more minutes.”
“Are we meeting your mother here or something?” I asked.
“No. Why?”
“I was just wondering…why all the effort? The tie, the flowers, the empty restaurant…the secrecy.”
Jared raised an eyebrow. “What secrecy?”
“You were sneaking around the loft earlier. I may be human, but I’m not blind.”
Jared’s laughter filled the room. “I can sneak past trained assassins, but I can’t get anything by you.”
“That’s because they’re not around you every second of the day,” I qualified.
Jared smiled, pressing his lips together. “We’re celebrating.”
“A month of cohabitation. You mentioned that.”
“Exactly,” he smiled, an edge of nervousness to his voice.
I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips at his evasive answer, but I let it go. He was obviously having fun keeping it from me.
I chose a dish from the menu that seemed close to my usual. When the waitress returned, Jared ordered in perfect Japanese.
I tapped my finger on the table.
Jared watched me fidget with an amused expression. “Do you have somewhere to be?”
“No, I’m just waiting for the explanation.”
He leaned forward. “You’re very impatient this evening.”
I sighed and leaned back against my chair. “I’m sorry. I just feel a surprise coming on.”
“Do you, now?” he teased. “And why is that?”
“C’mon, Jared. I know something’s up.”
He smiled at the waitress as she brought our plates of food, and I sighed.
Jared led us into conversation about other things as we ate. He had made plans for us to have dinner at Lillian’s that weekend. Ryan had returned to spend a few days with Josh, so Claire was in town. I discussed my fall schedule, and we talked about the changes living off-campus would pose. We also decided to call Beth and Chad and invite them to our place for dinner as soon as possible.
“I’ve always liked Beth,” Jared mused.
“Me, too!” I teased, feigning surprise.
“She’s always been a good friend to you, but I particularly appreciate the talks she gave you in my favor. She’s a smart girl, that Beth,” he said, nodding with a smug smile.
I spun the noodles around my fork as I spoke. “There were moments I thought you had her on the payroll. She was very persistent.”
“That’s why I like her,” he smiled. “She knows what’s good for you.”
“She knew better than I did that we would end up together.”
“You didn’t think we’d end up together?” Jared asked, looking a bit surprised.
“Well…I wanted to. But at the time I didn’t think we should,” I explained, stabbing my fork into some type of meat.
“I’m glad you got over that,” he said, deep in thought. “I don’t know what I’d do if…,” he looked at me with deep affection. “You make me so happy, Nina.”
“You make me happy, honey,” I cooed.
Jared raised his brow at my uncharacteristic use of an endearing term and smiled, but his expression changed as his thoughts did. “I know things have happened pretty fast between us,” he grimaced. “Most people would say too fast, but we’re not most people.”
“Definitely not,” I said. I rolled the broccoli to one side of my plate and noticed Jared’s expression twisting to chagrin.
“I should have ordered that without broccoli, I’m sorry.”