Red really was my favorite color.
Lips painted to match her dress had parted as she’d eyed me. I didn’t wear tuxedos often, but when I did, I made them look damn good.
But she had looked beautiful, and as her mom had taken a thousand pictures of us, I couldn’t stop staring at her. I’d spent every moment of the dance staring at her, and when she’d said she was ready to go, I couldn’t get her out of there fast enough.
The moment we got inside my car, Kat stared at me expectedly, and I cast a long, knowing glance in her direction. “You’re dying to know, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” She nodded eagerly. “You should tell me.”
Kat really had no idea what I had planned for her tonight, and I wanted to keep it that way. Thank God the weather was nice. A little cool, but no rain. It made what I wanted to do perfect.
I managed to keep her in the dark on the drive back home. Parking the car in the driveway, I turned to her. “Stay in the car, okay?”
Looking entirely suspicious and excited, she nodded. I grinned as I stepped out of the car and hit record-breaking speeds as I raced down to the lake.
Covered with a canvas, the cooler was where I left in. On top of it were several thick blankets and pillows. Waving my hand, I spread them out around the branches piled inside a stone circle. The blankets spread out, along with the pillows, forming a comfortable nest.
Placing my hand on one of the branches, I summoned the Source. Sparks flew, igniting the dried-out branches. Flames swirled down their crooked lengths. Thin wisps of smoke billowed up.
Done, I headed back to where Kat waited in the car. I walked up to the passenger side and opened the door, extending my hand. “Ready?”
Kat gave me her hand. “So my surprise…?”
“You’ll see.”
Hand in hand, we started walking toward the lake, and when we crossed the street that had basically exposed what we were to Kat, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would’ve been like if Kat hadn’t walked out in front of that truck. She would definitely be safer, and my brother wouldn’t be here with us. So much stuff would be different, and I wasn’t sure if the pros outweighed the cons.
“Do you think you can walk in those heels?” I asked, realizing the wickedly sexy shoes she was wearing couldn’t be easy to walk in.
She squeezed my hand. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
I took it slow, and when we entered the heavy woods, I lifted my free hand and let white light crackle over my knuckles, lighting our path over the uneven ground. Man, I hoped she didn’t think this was corny and stupid. Okay. It was a little corny, but when we stepped out of the last of the trees and I could see the moonlight reflected off the still lake, the look on Kat’s face said I had made the right decision.
“Surprise,” I said, stepping ahead, my back to the fire. “I thought this would be better than a party or whatever. And you like the lake. So do I.”
Kat pressed her hand to her chest as she blinked rapidly. “It’s perfect, Daemon. Oh my God, it’s wonderful.” “Really?” I cleared my throat, relieved. “You really like it?”
“I love it.” She laughed, the sound lilting and heady. “I really love this.”
I smiled.
Kat launched herself at me, wrapping her arms and legs around me. She kissed my forehead and then each of my cheeks. “You really love it. I’m glad.”
I walked us over to the blankets and then placed her down. We kicked off our shoes and settled in. Kat tucked her legs under her. “What’s in the cooler?”
“Ah, the good stuff.” I moved to the cooler and knelt down, cracking it open. I pulled out two wineglasses. “Wine cooler—strawberry. Your favorite.”
The skin around her eyes crinkled as she laughed. “Oh my God.”
I poured each of us a glass and handed hers over.
“What else?” She leaned over, peering inside. She made a little squeak as I pulled out a canister and peeled the lid off, revealing chocolate-covered strawberries. “Did you make them?”
“Ha. No.”
“Uh…did Dee make them?” she asked.
I laughed, because Dee would’ve burned down the house if she had tried to melt chocolate without burning it. “I ordered them from the candy shop in time. Try one?”
Kat plucked one up. “They are so good.”
“There’s more.” I pulled out a plastic container full of sliced cheese and crackers. “Also premade from the store, because I am not a cook or whatever.”
Unveiling the cucumber sandwiches and veggie pizza next, we dug in as we sat on the blankets facing each other.
“When did you do all of this?” She asked for another slice of veggie pizza.
Picking up a strawberry, I thought it was kind of small. A wimpy strawberry. “I had the stuff in the cooler down here and the blankets wrapped in canvas. All I did when we got back was come down here real quick, spread the stuff out, and start the fire.”