with Amelia. Even if he did everything right, she could find fault in him. No one was perfect, not even her grandparents. It made him wonder how much of their idealistic marriage was truth and how much was fantasy built up in Amelia’s mind.
Tyler slowed the Audi and pulled to the curb outside the restaurant. He handed over the keys to the valet and rounded the car to escort Amelia inside.
The interior of the Watermark was dim, with pot lights illuminating the tables from the exposed beams overhead. The hostess escorted them to a white linen-draped table for two near the window. Amelia chose to sit on the side with the long white leather banquette, and Tyler sat opposite her. A server quickly took their drink orders and disappeared, leaving them to look over the menu and admire the view.
Tyler knew he should be looking at the impressive cityscape or deciding on his appetizer course, but he found himself distracted by the view directly in front of him. A square glass-and-chrome candleholder in the center of the table cast a mesmerizing glow across Amelia’s face. It highlighted the subtle cleft in her chin and soft apples of her cheeks. Her skin looked peaches-and-cream flawless, nearly glowing with radiance.
It took everything he had not to reach across the table and brush his thumb over her full, coral-painted lips. They looked soft and shiny with some sort of gloss that made them shimmer in an utterly kissable way. He wanted to kiss her again tonight, and keep doing it until every drop of that gloss was gone and her lips were bee-stung from it.
That was how she had woken up in his hotel room the morning after their wedding. Her red hair had been everywhere, her mascara had been smudged and her lips had been pink and swollen. She’d looked like a woman who had been well and truly loved the night before. Tyler’s whole body stiffened as he thought of being able to make love to her again. It was a masochistic thought, one that wasn’t likely to get him through dinner without discomfort, but he couldn’t shake it. Once they’d crossed the line in Vegas, he couldn’t force himself back.
“Have you ever eaten here before?” he asked to distract himself with conversation.
She shook her head, oblivious to his thoughts. “No, but I’ve been dying to get into their kitchen. The executive chef here is well-known for his amazing creations. I’m certain nothing we eat will be bad.”
“So I chose well?”
Amelia smiled. “You chose very well.”
“All this rich food won’t be too much on your stomach, will it?”
She shook her head, making the sleek auburn waves dance over her shoulders. “I hope not. But really, I’ve only had trouble early in the day. By midafternoon I’m starving. I’m anxious to try the duck. It is so hard to find well-prepared duck. What about you?”
“I’m thinking the cobia. Or the lamb.”
“Ooh...” Amelia’s dark brown eyes lit up with excitement. “Get the lamb and let me try some. You can try my duck, too, if you want.”
“Sounds good,” he said with a smile. Very few things got Amelia as excited as food. The old saying about the way to a man’s heart being through his stomach was just as true with her. Whenever they were together, he went out of his way to find someplace they could eat that would be new and exciting for her.
She was a fashionista at heart, but her first love was cooking. He hadn’t been at all surprised to see her go into a culinary program. She had been bringing him food all through high school, using him as a guinea pig when she wanted to try out a new recipe. It was almost always good. And beautiful to look at. Rarely was food both, and that was where her talent really came into play.
Tonight was where his talents came into play. He was a successful jeweler because he knew exactly what the client was looking for, even if they weren’t entirely sure. He had the ideal night planned for Amelia. After two hours of talking and dining, including a decadent chocolate soufflé to share, they strolled through the trendy downtown area known as the Gulch. They wandered together, hand in hand, looking in shop windows and listening to the live music streaming out of some of the bars. The conversation flowed easily, the way it always had with them, not stifled by the fact that this was a real date.
By the time they returned to her apartment, Tyler was confident they’d had a successful date. Amelia was smiling and laughing, relaxed for the first time since he’d arrived in Nashville. It was a good night. But it could be better.
He walked her to her door, hesitating as she unlocked it. He wanted to go in pretty badly, but he wouldn’t. Thirty days didn’t seem like long, but it was long enough not to rush.
“Dinner was great,” she said as she turned back to face him. “I had a nice time.”
“Me, too.” Moving closer, Tyler rested his hand on her waist.
Amelia didn’t pull away or stiffen at his touch. Instead she looked up at him with a soft, inviting smile. He accepted the invitation, leaning down to cup her face in his hands and capture her coral-painted lips with his own.
She melted into him, pressing her ample curves against the hard wall of his chest. As his tongue glided across her lips, she opened her mouth to him. Her own silky tongue met his, a soft moan muffled in the back of her throat.
The sound conjured memories of their wedding night. His body instantly stiffened, his palms tingling to touch her. He moved his hands back to her waist, letting them roam over the stretched fabric that clung to her every curve. Tyler boldly cupped the swell of her rear and pressed her hips against the hard ridge of his desire.
The growl deep in his throat made Amelia chuckle softly against his lips and pull away. Her hand caught his, moving it back to her waist. Her eyes were closed, her breath fast and shallow. He understood. That was enough for tonight. He withdrew his hand, placing one last soft goodbye kiss on her lips.
“I want to take you somewhere in the morning.”
“I suppose you aren’t going to tell me where.”
He smiled wide. “What’s the fun in that?”
She sighed and shook her head. Although she acted exasperated by him, he could see the glint of excitement in her eyes. When that was there—the way it had been on that sidewalk in Las Vegas—he knew he had her intrigued. That was key to getting her to go along with whatever harebrained idea he’d come up with.
“I’ll pick you up at nine.”
“So seriously, where are we going?”
Tyler shook his head. “Ames, I haven’t told you the past three times you’ve asked. What makes you think I’m suddenly going to change my mind?”
She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m your wife. It’s now my job to nag at you until I wear you down and you do what I want.”
He chuckled and slowed the SUV to turn off the main commercial thoroughfare and into a large, sprawling subdivision. “I thought we were trying to date. You’re not supposed to pull those tricks out of the bag until later.”
“Tricks?” she replied in mock outrage. “What about those tricks you pulled on me last night? Those flowers, that restaurant...”
