CHOCOLATES |
The man continued.
“Those with the little swirls on top have caramel. The dotted ones are
crunchy, and the striped ones have a cookie center. Try as many as you
like.” By now his
curiosity and his appetite had been whetted. Reaching out to the closest
box, he picked up a dark chocolate one and bit into it. It was like
nothing he’d ever put in his mouth. It made every candy bar he’d ever
eaten pale in comparison. Unaware that he was rolling his eyes, he caught
himself moaning from the taste. The salesman
grinned at him. “Try the crunchy ones.”
BUBBLE BATH Taking her purse, he gave her a gentle
push toward the hallway. “Go on, enjoy yourself. I’ll let you know when
dinner arrives.” She gave him
another quick kiss. “You’re too good to me. I don’t deserve you.” He answered her
with a playful swat on her rump. “Go,” he ordered her again, and watched
as she slowly made her way to the bedroom. After ordering
their food, he set the small dinette table, placing the small bouquet of
daisies in a tumbler in the center before double-checking the bottle of
vino chilling in the fridge. With everything in place, he walked into the
living room to watch a little TV while he waited for their meal to arrive. “Chet? Chet!” She
sounded…odd.
DICE He nodded in reply as she tore open the
dice he’d man-hazardly wrapped in some tissue paper he found left over
from Christmas and waited for her reaction. She turned the
package around. “Smooch.
Tonight. I certainly
hope so.” “I thought we could take a chance on a
roll of the dice,” he quipped, earning him a snicker. “You’ve been waiting all evening to say
that, haven’t you?”
ROMANTIC MOVIE “What have you heard about this movie?” he
questioned her. “You don’t know?” He shrugged with
one shoulder. “It looks like a chick flick to me. Not the kind I’d
normally see.” “You mean because
it doesn’t have lots of blood, and people getting shot up or stabbed or
ripped apart,” she drily quipped.
STRAWBERRIES
AND CHAMPAGNE “Years ago. Many
years ago. When Dad married my stepmom.” The incident was before she and
Lewis became a couple. “How come I’ve
never seen you drink alcohol?” “Because…” She
left the answer hanging. He nodded, knowing she’d eventually finish what
she was going to say and continued watching her as she took a tentative
slurp, swirling it all around together inside her mouth before swallowing.
She blinked at him. “Oh, wow.” “Did you order a specific room number?” he
inquired as he pulled into the parking lot. “I requested an upstairs room,” she told him.
“The guy even thanked me because he said most people ask for a room on the
bottom floor.” It didn’t take long to get their room number
and key card. When he returned to the car, he held the card out to her
with a snicker. “Room two twelve.” |
ROSES The man’s expression
never wavered. “What kind of flowers were you thinking about getting?” “She likes roses.
I know, I know.” Tony held up a hand to stop the man before he could say
anything. “I know roses are the most expensive.” “Not necessarily.
Any particular color?” Tony stared at the
man. Was it his imagination, or did the guy actually sound…interested? “Pink. Her
favorite color is pink.” The man glanced
inside the store, then looked back at Tony. “You willing to do a little
grunt work for that flower?” |
DINNER OUT “I’ll get your
coat,” he murmured, reluctantly detaching himself from her. She giggled
and fetched her purse. “How long will it
take for us to get there?” Cheyenne asked as they left the subdivision and
headed down the feeder road adjacent to the loop. “Twenty minutes
tops,” he assured her. “Our reservations are for eight o’clock, and it’s
just now…” He glanced at the display on the dashboard. “Seven ten. We have
plenty of time.” “That’s not what
I’m worried about at the moment,” his wife commented as they approached
the intersection. |
JEWELRY Curt returned to
the first set and hoped he had enough on his credit card to pay for them.
Noticing his hesitancy, the woman remarked, “We also have some very nice
lab grown diamonds and cubic zirconia, if you want to see them.” To him, lab grown
equaled not real. And cubic zirconia was the poor man’s diamond. Nothing
more than fancy, shiny glass, in his opinion. But these earrings were for
Carla. The woman he was determined to woo and eventually win by the end of
the year. If he presented her with anything other than the real thing… “I want the real thing,” he commented.
“That way, if anyone has any doubts, another jeweler could confirm they’re
actual diamonds.” |
BREAKFAST IN BED Callen remained adamant. “Just tell me
what you’re doing for Kiri.” “I fix her
breakfast in bed, just like I do every year.” “For real?” He
knew his brother and sister-in-law had just celebrated their seventh
wedding anniversary. “Every
year?” “It didn’t start
out that way,” Greeson admitted. “I did it our first year together. She
enjoyed it so much, I did it the next year, too. Before I knew it, it was
sort of…tradition, I guess you could call it.” “And you fix her
the same thing every year?” “Oh, no. One time
I did the usual fried eggs and bacon. Another time I fixed pancakes. Last
year I tried my hand at French toast. I try to do something different
every year.” The man chuckled. “I like to challenge myself that way. Oh,
and I also differ the little giftie I add to the tray.” “Giftie?” |
CARD
Grabbing a pen out of the junk drawer, he went over to the kitchen
table. He opened the card, and at the bottom wrote
All my love, Travis.
After placing it inside the envelope,
he put Lilah’s name on the front and was about get up when he stopped. “No. This isn’t
going to work. The card’s okay, but there has to be more.” Sighing, he
looked around the kitchen, not searching for anything in particular. Just
hoping to find some inspiration. When his eyes landed on the magnetic pad
attached to the refrigerator. And inspiration
exploded like a firecracker. |
NIGHTIE “Oh, yeah. This is
what I’m looking for,” Grady murmured to himself. He stepped up to the
mannequin dressed in the filmy, bright red two-piece nightie to examine it
more closely. He forgot about being self-conscious or worried that someone
he knew might see him inside the department store. For one thing, tomorrow
was Valentine’s Day. And for another, he wasn’t the only guy perusing the
goods. For that matter, he wasn’t the only man thinking about the results
when their woman opened their gift. The outfit was
diaphanous. Sheer and see-through, with velveteen patches in strategic
locations. On the dummy, the top barely grazed the hips, and the panties
were no more than a thong. But the red color… Grady shook his
head. “The red looks a bit…sluttish. Wonder if they have this in another
color?” |
PET Gazing at all the
bric-a-brac, Hale threw up his hands. None of it looked appealing, much
less something he’d want to give his wife of three years. Perching his hands
on his hips, he thought of what he’d bought her in the past—past
birthdays, Christmases, anniversaries, Valentine’s Days. He’d run the
entire gamut of gifts he thought she’d like. And she had. She’d worn the
clothes, the nighties, the perfume, the jewelry. She’d shown delight at
receiving them and used them accordingly, making sure he saw her when she
did. Somehow, though, he knew deep down she’d resigned herself to the fact
that she’d never get what her heart truly desired. And he cursed himself
for finding every excuse in the book to not fulfill it. |
GIFT CARD Kevin threw up
his hands. “I give up! I didn’t have the foggiest idea what to get you. To
me, all the chocolate and flowers and cutie pie nightgowns seemed… Well,
they didn’t look like anything you’d like. That’s why I got you the card.
I figured that way you could get what you wanted or had been wanting.” Going over to him,
she placed a soft kiss on his cheek. “Thank you. You had my happiness at
heart, and that means a lot to me. Okay, I’m keeping this and using it.
After all, your birthday’s next month.” “Better not get me
a damn Gazillion
gift card,” he growled good-naturedly. |