“Love you too.”

—

Excitement curled inside Lovey as she waited in her apartment for Marc to arrive for their date. Not only was she excited about going out with him on an actual date, she was excited about the news she had to tell him.

She’d called Jillian and told her she knew about the date now. Jillian had a million questions she was bursting to ask, but hadn’t been able to since Marc had sworn her to secrecy. When Lovey told her what had happened, she was beside herself with excitement.

Lovey didn’t know where they were going, but he’d told her to dress warmly.

Warmly? Did that mean something outside? It was December and colder than Mars. What could they do outside? Plus, she wanted to look nice for their first ever date. So selecting her outfit had been a challenge.

She’d gone with black leggings, knee-high, flat-heeled black boots, and a long, lean sweater in an ochre-gold color. She looped a thick infinity scarf in shades of gold, yellow, and green around her throat, and since he’d said warm, she added her olive green wool pea jacket, with a pair of gloves tucked in her purse.

When Marc buzzed, she hurried down to meet him at the front door of the building. He wore his black leather thigh-length jacket, a black crew-necked sweater beneath it, and black jeans.

“Man in black,” she said. “I like it.”

He grinned and handed her a rose from behind his back, not the expected red but a gorgeous orange-shading into peach-shading into yellow at the center.

“Oh…that is so nice. It’s beautiful.”

“It reminds me of your hair.”

She blinked and lowered her chin. Her hair was not orange. But yeah, she knew what he meant. And it was sweet.

He set his hand on the small of her back and directed her to the car parked at the curb. A freakin’ stretch limo. Her eyes widened. “Whoa.”

The driver held the door open for her and she smiled as she thanked him and stepped inside. She gazed around in wonder. “I’ve only been in a limo once before. When Duncan started playing with the Aces, Mom and Dad and I came to see one of his games and he rented a limo to take us out for dinner.”

“It’s a good way to get around.” Marc slid an arm along the back of the seat behind her. “No worries about parking or trying to find a taxi when you want to go home.”

“Do I get to know where we’re going?”

“Not yet. How about a glass of champagne?”

She eyed the bottle in the ice bucket and the fluted glasses. “That would be lovely.”

Marc poured them both a glass, then touched his to hers in a gentle toast. “To us.”

“Marc. This is…” Her throat closed up. She sipped her champagne, letting the bubbles sting their way down. “Delicious.” She paused. “The champagne is nice because I have something to celebrate tonight.”

“Oh yeah?”

She nodded. “I heard from Panache Clothing today. I got the contract with them.”

His eyes widened. “Seriously? That’s fantastic! I know how much you wanted that job.”

“Yes.” Excitement sparkled through her veins like the champagne. “It’s my biggest client yet. When I tell other potential clients that I work with them, it will be so impressive. And it’s big money.” She bit her lip.

“Congratulations.” He leaned in and touched his mouth to hers. “So proud of you.”

“Thank you. I have something else in the works too.”

“Yeah?”

She hesitated to tell him. “Yes. It’s super cool, but I want it to be a done deal before I tell anyone.”

“What? You’re just going to torture me?” He smiled. “You can’t do that.”

“Yes I can.”

He gave an exaggerated sigh. “But you’ll tell me first, right?”

She laughed. “Of course.”

They drank champagne and talked and shared a few hot but restrained kisses on the short drive. The limo stopped, the driver jumped out to open the door for them, and they emerged onto Navy Pier.

She looked at Marc with a raised eyebrow, and he just smiled.

This was cool. Whatever they were going to do. Dinner? Whatever. It was cool.

They strolled down the pier. Here on the water, the breeze was definitely chillier. No wonder he’d said to dress warmly. Marc led her to the boats docked at the side, to one boat in particular, a large, elegant vessel with an upper and lower deck. A man in a uniform waited for them and greeted Marc. “Good evening, Mr. Dupuis. Welcome aboard.”

Wide-eyed, Lovey followed them up the ramp that led to the boat. Inside it was warmer. A table had been set with a white cloth, sparkling glasses, and silver, and a vase with three more of the golden-orange roses. Soft jazz music played over a sound system.

“We’re going on a boat cruise?” she asked Marc.

“Yeah. A river cruise. We’ll have dinner. Some more champagne. Maybe dance a little.”

“Just us?”

“Yeah.”

“On this whole boat?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh wow.”

He grinned. “They’re going to be calling me Captain Romance after this.”

“Oh, Marc.” She floated over to him and set her hands on his chest. “You are romantic. I mean, this…this is amazing. Definitely romantic. But I think it’s romantic when you put your hand on my ass when we’re lying in bed half-asleep. Or when you do the dishes for me after I cook supper.”

His eyes crinkled up at the corners. “Good to know.”

“This is way cool for a first date.”

“It doesn’t really feel like our first date.”

“I know. Maybe we did do things backwards.”

They shared a long, warm smile.

The food was amazing, the views of the night skyline spectacular. They slow danced to some sexy music. They got a little buzzed on expensive champagne.

She had no idea how much something like this cost, but the effort Marc had gone to, to make this special, meant much more to her than the money he’d spent.

“Best date ever,” she told him as they strolled arm in arm back along the pier to their limo.

“Not over yet.”

“Ooookay.”

The limo’s next stop was the Waldorf Astoria hotel. Lovey gazed around the incredible lobby. Marc headed straight to the elevators, pulling a key card from his pocket. “Checked in earlier.”

In their room, she was speechless.

“We’ll have lots of room tonight.” He grinned and nodded at the huge bed. She took in the bright white bed linens, the sleek furniture and lamps, the sitting area with plush dark gray furniture arranged in front of a fireplace, a fire already burning there. More orange-gold roses filled big white vases on the dresser and desk.

“Holy crap.”

Chapter 25

“Are we staying here all night?” Lovey turned big eyes on him.

“Yep.” Marc smiled and moved toward her.

“I didn’t bring anything with me.”

“I picked up a few things. Hopefully enough. And much as I liked that little peach nightie, you don’t need anything to sleep in.”

“I am never letting you go.” She threw herself into his arms.

“Excellent.” He kissed her hair. “We’re stuck with each other. Now let’s get these clothes off.”

They stepped apart to get rid of coats and scarves, tossing them into one of the armchairs, removing boots and setting them aside also.

“More champagne?” She eyed the bucket on the coffee table. Two fluted glasses sat next to it.

“Yep.”

“Are you trying to get me drunk?”

He laughed and pulled the dripping bottle out of the ice bucket. “Is it working?”

“I may be a little tipsy. Or maybe I’m just deliriously happy.” She smiled and moved to the fireplace, stretching her hands out toward it. “Oh, that’s nice and warm.”

She looked so beautiful, with the flames illuminating her bright hair and her slender curves silhouetted. For a few seconds he just stared at her, emotion fizzing in his chest like the champagne.