Read One Hot Summer Anthology for Free Online Page B

She took a seat at the table that offered up a spectacular view of the beach. As she sat she noticed the blindfold on the table. Her gaze jerked to his and he chuckled.
                  “If only I could get you to stop assuming all of my intentions are nefarious.”
                  “Tell you what, tell me what you plan to do with that and we’ll see if I’m wrong.”
                  “I’m going to blindfold you until I can get the rest of the surprise set up. It won’t take me but five minutes—ten minutes tops.”
                  “You sure are asking a lot of me.”
                  “For which you shall be greatly rewarded.”
                  She shook her head and closed her eyes. “Go ahead and blindfold me. You aren’t tying up my hands, so I can always remove it if necessary.”
                  “Exactly. Just promise you won’t peek too soon.”
                  “You have my word.”
                  “Okay. Go ahead.”
    Before she could draw her next breath, Carson whipped the blindfold off the table and covered her eyes.
    “Can you see anything?” he asked after he was done.
    “No.”
    “Wonderful. Now give me a few minutes to set everything up and then we can have dinner.”
    “I’m waiting.”
    She heard him reenter his home, then nothing but the sound of the beach filled her ears. This date was definitely off to an interesting start. She couldn’t wait to tell Naja about it. It’d probably help her younger sister get over being upset about not knowing about the date beforehand.
    The sound of the patio door opening pulled her from her thoughts. She turned her head in Carson’s direction.
    “I’m almost finished. Just a few more minutes.”
    “Take your time.”
    She was surprised at how much she meant the statement. The tension that’d coursed through her earlier had dissipated. She didn’t doubt his capability to take care of everything. He’d done a good job so far.
    A few moments later she heard his footsteps.
    “Everything is ready. I would make you keep the blindfold on, but I want you to make it safely down the steps. So are you ready for the big reveal?”
    “I am.” She stood still as he undid the ties of the cloth covering her eyes. It took a moment for her eyes to readjust. Once they had, she gasped.
    He’d gone through the painstaking task of setting up a romantic dinner for two on a blanket a few feet away.
    “Do you want to leave your tote up here on the patio or would you like for me to place it inside on the kitchen table?”
    “The kitchen table would be fine,” she murmured.
    He disappeared briefly. Once he returned he took her hand into his and led her down the steps. Once they reached the bottom, he paused, kneeling in front of her. She inhaled sharply when his hand brushed her ankle. Lifting her foot she allowed him to take one sandal off, then the other.
    He rose slowly, his gaze colliding with hers. She found it difficult to take a normal breath. Several heartbeats later he broke the intense stare off and took off his flip-flops. Situating their shoes into one of his hands, he placed the other on the small of her back and guided her down to the blanket.
    As they drew closer, she realized there was a huge covered container in the middle of the blanket. Next to it sat a bucket of ice with a bottle of white wine sticking out of it. Two wine glasses accompanied the set up. There were two more small containers, one sitting in ice, the other just on the edge of the blanket. A small covered basket rounded out the set up.
    He helped her ease down onto one side of the blanket. She crossed her legs at the ankles for comfort and decency. He sat down next to her with a huge grin on his face. She watched silently as he uncovered the basket, revealing paper plates and sliced lemon wedges. He placed the towel over the skirt of her dress then handed her a plate