Page 63 of What I Like About You

Chapter Twenty-One

Zara openedthe door to her hotel suite and found an incredibly dapper-looking Dalton on the other side. Dressed in a charcoal linen suit, complete with vest and bowtie, he looked like he had stepped off the pages of a fashion magazine. Zara could feel her insides swoon more than a little as he flashed her that megawatt smile.

“You are a vision,” he said, his eyes scanning up and down her body as he drank her in. Holding out a small corsage with a white lily, he took her left hand and slipped it over her wrist, making sure to not cover the bracelet. “Here, this is for you.”

“Oh, this old thing?” she said, playfully shrugging it off as if it were nothing. Dalton let out a deep belly laugh, still looking her up and down. In his defense, the dress did fit like a dream. The sweetheart neckline sat just perfectly on her cleavage, showing off the tops of her breasts in a way that was both sexy and demure. The A-line skirt hit right at her knees, and after a test spin, she discovered it did indeed twirl outward as perfectly as she had hoped. “Seriously, this is the second dress I have been given since I arrived at the Indigo Royal and both have actually fit.”

“One of Leona’s housekeepers does some side work as a seamstress, and she was a big help in securing this dress last-minute,” he told her. “Wait…second dress?”

“The blush-colored one I wore the other night on the beach came from Drea.”

“The night she gave you the blow job, as you put it.”

“I still can’t believe I said that! Please don’t tell her.”

“I thought it was cute,” he said, holding out his arm. She linked hers with his and let the door shut behind her. “And what happens between us, stays between us. But had I realized that Drea had stolen my ‘give the girl a dress’ move, I would have been a little more original tonight.”

“She also stole your ‘pamper the girl with salon treatments’ move. Unless you put her up to that the other night too.”

“I did not. But that makes sense why she was a little unsure you’d fall for it tonight.”

“Don’t worry, she sold it well. And I trust that whatever it is that you have up your sleeve is plenty original,” she said, eyeing him suspiciously. Based on his note, she had a good guess where this was all leading, but with Dalton, she couldn’t be sure.

Moments later, they were standing just inside the tent that she and Antwan had seen after they left the spa. There were rows and rows of string lights with what looked like Edison bulbs hanging from them illuminating the tent. A DJ table stood off to the side of what appeared to be a makeshift dance floor on the concrete pool deck, surrounded by some tables and chairs. Taking it all in, Zara noticed that every few feet, dangling from the light cords, there was a star, seemingly cut out of poster board, and each table’s centerpiece bouquet had a little kebob spike with a star attached to the end poking out of it. Her heart melted with each new little asymmetrical cutout she saw.

“It’s not quite as glamourous as the country club, but—” Dalton started to say.

“It’s perfect,” she choked out, cutting him off. She could feel the start of tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, and she blinked rapidly, trying to fight them off. She knew that if she started now, she’d spend the whole night tearing up over all sorts of little things.

Except this wasn’t a little thing, was it?

Dalton drew her into his body until her back was flush against his hard chest. His arms wrapped around her waist, and she couldn't help but snuggle into his warmth. His arms felt so good around her, like she was right where she was supposed to be. Is this what all those books had meant about feeling like you just fit in someone’s arms? Because that was exactly how she felt, like she fit perfectly in Dalton’s.

“I figured maybe we could use a mulligan,” he whispered into her ear. His breath tickled her neck while simultaneously sending a shiver down her spine. She couldn’t believe he’d gone to all this trouble for her. No, not for her. For them.

Zara spun around in Dalton’s arms, snaking her own up around his neck. His deep blue eyes mirrored all the emotions she was feeling and it only amplified all those feelings inside her. She took a deep breath in, inhaling his manly scent, trying to commit this moment to memory.

“I can’t believe you did all this,” she finally said, managing to hold back the tears. “I can’t believe you went to all this trouble.”

“It was no trouble at all. Because when you love someone,” he said, resting his forehead on hers.

“Nothing is ever trouble,” she finished, reciting his mother's words. She had repeated that phrase to them more times than Zara could count, and it was something she’d always held as some of the most important advice she’d ever received.

“And before you say it, yes, I know that love is not all grand gestures. It’s the little things,” he said, quoting his mother’s words again. He sighed, pausing for a moment. Zara’s heart skipped a beat, waiting for him to continue. “And it’s the little things I love about you. But tonight is about giving you the perfect night you were supposed to have ten years ago. We can do little things later.”

Zara felt her entire body light up as Dalton spoke. Every part of her craved him—physically, mentally, emotionally. She wanted nothing more than to just crawl into him and stay there forever. How was it even possible to feel this way about another person? It was suddenly like a piece of her that had been missing for so long had been returned. As if the puzzle of her life had a hole in it, waiting for the last piece to be clicked into place.

“So, if this is a redo…does that mean I can ask for the one thing I really wanted from that night?” she asked, her voice sounding breathier than she had intended.

“Of course. Whatever is going to make this perfect for you,” he answered.

“It’s going to sound silly, but I’d spent a good portion of that night hoping…” she trailed off. She felt like she was rambling again, and she had no idea why. This was Dalton. If there was anyone she could tell things to, it was him. Hadn’t the last few days proved that? So why did the idea of admitting that she had wanted him to kiss her at prom make her feel so skittish?

“What? Tell me. I promise I won’t think it’s silly,” he assured her.

“That night…I’d been hoping that…you’d…kiss me.”

His lips were on hers before she could even fully exhale from finally saying the words out loud. They were soft and strong, the feel of them sending sparks through her. Every time he kissed her it was like being transported to another world, one where it was just them. Zara had no idea that you could feel such things from just a kiss, but apparently it was possible. Each kiss was better than the last, and not for the first time, she thought she could just spend the rest of her life kissing this man. When his tongue found hers and he deepened the kiss, she let out a soft moan, letting him know just how into this she was. She could feel the kiss all the way through her body. It was a good thing he was holding on to her as tightly as he was, because she wasn’t sure that she would have been able to stand on her own right about now.