them on a cookie sheet, planning to pop them in the oven as soon as Colin arrived. Already sitting in the refrigerator was a decadent chocolate torte Camille had prepared for them, as a surprise, garnished with a swirl of whipped cream and a handful of fresh raspberries. Camille had presented it to Emily when she stopped by to nab the twinkle lights.
She set the round patio table with a crisp white-linen table cloth and her best dishes. In the center was an array of tapered candles of various lengths, which were seated in a mixture of different styles of crystal candle holders set among fresh greenery, waiting until the last minute to be lit. The sky on that early September evening was clear with a few wispy pink and gold clouds, compliments of the warm glow of the setting sun.
“Perfect,” she sighed.
She kicked off her flip flops by the back door and padded down the hall to her bedroom to change. A shiver of excitement feathered up her back.
On her shopping trip with Molly the other day, Emily had picked up a new dress to wear for this evening—a short, off-one-shoulder number in a beautiful shade of aubergine. Molly had told her she looked fabulous in it and she had to agree as she studied her reflection in the full-length mirror. She pulled her soft golden curls up into a twist, held it in place with a pearl-studded comb, stuck her dangly silver earrings in her ears, and took a moment to admire her handiwork.
The sun was going down and the house was beginning to get dark. Emily flipped the front porch light on, then turned on lamps in the living room, which cast a warm glow out to the wide front porch. She peeked out the big living room window to see if Colin was coming yet and noticed a black BMW across the street pull away from the curb as soon as she spotted it.
Though it was close to dusk, the street lights had not come on yet. The dim lighting made it difficult to make out the driver of the car, but Emily had a good idea who it was.
Jethro’s back in town. She thought about checking the GPS monitor, but decided it could wait until later, being pretty certain she already knew what it would read. Emily traipsed through the house and out the back door to the deck to plug in the twinkle lights and light the candles. She was not going to let that man ruin her perfect evening with Colin.
She ambled back inside and stuck the potatoes in the oven to start baking. She turned her favorite instrumental music on low to fill the house with a romantic ambience, and she lit the sandalwood candle in the entry. The mood was set. Now all she needed was her man.
A light rap on the front door sent her heart racing. She flung the door open and there stood Colin smiling with a thick bouquet of chocolate roses in one hand. Pure joy spread across her face as he stepped in and drew her into his arms. In an instant, his soft warm lips covered hers in a long, slow kiss. She floated off to heaven. His arms held her passionately against him and she melted into his embrace. She pushed the door shut with her foot and let his kisses close the emotional distance between them.
“I love you, Emily Parker,” he whispered in her ear as he let her take a breath. He tenderly kissed the curve of her neck as it flowed down to her bare shoulder. She was sure his lips could feel the fine layer of prickles that shimmered across her skin, responding to his words and his touch.
“I love you, too,” she answered. What more was there to say? They held each other for the longest time, or at least that’s how it felt. He kissed her again, then released his embrace.
“These are for you.” Colin held out the bouquet of chocolate roses he had brought for her. “I could have gotten red ones, but these will last a lot longer.” There were three dozen of them.
Emily grinned with delight at his thoughtful gift. He knew of her fondness for anything chocolate. She would smile and think of him each time she stuck one in her mouth and thoroughly enjoyed it. She took the bouquet from his hand and pushed up on her tiptoes to give him a quick