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5
When Tyler saidhe was taking me to dinner, I had no idea what to expect—or what to wear. He refused to tell me, and knowing him, it could be a corner table at the hottest place in town or something simple.
I walk downstairs and see him on his phone, pacing in the living room. I take a second to admire him in his navy shirt and dark pants.
He turns, and his entire expression warms as he takes in my gold cocktail dress and heels.
“Yeah. We’ll talk later.”
The phone disappears into his pocket, and a grin stretches across his face.
“You know the first time I realized how beautiful you are?” he murmurs as I take the final few steps. He rounds the couch to meet me, stopping a foot away. “Your dad and Haley’s wedding. I saw you walking down the aisle, and my chest cracked in two. Because I knew I could never be your friend the way I had been, the way I swore to myself and your dad that I would be.”
My throat is thick with emotion. “How do you know just what to say to wreck me?”
He brushes a thumb down my cheek. “I don’t want to make you weak. I only ever want to make you strong.”
As the limo takes us to the restaurant, we catch up on the past few weeks. I talk to him about handing off the show for the next month, how it feels exciting and scary at once. He tells me about his tour, the anticipation and awe of such a huge production and the reluctance of departing.
“I don’t like the idea of leaving you again,” he says quietly.
“You’ll visit me, and I’ll visit you. We decided together this time. It’s different.”
I thread my fingers through his, tilting my face up for a kiss he grants me without hesitation. As the limo pulls up outside the restaurant and we step out, I take in the vintage hotel with delight.
“When we came here before, it was packed,” I say as security inconspicuously walks us to the elevator, where we’re escorted by a bellman to the top floor. “I’m so glad you got a table.”
We step out and take a short hallway with contemporary art on the walls before it opens onto a breathtaking rooftop patio that looks as if it could hold a dozen tables with crisp white tablecloths. But tonight, it features only one.
“I did better than a table. It’s all ours,” Tyler says.
Awe fills me, stretching my chest like a balloon.
“I was thinking how we were apart on New Year’s. You wanted somewhere with a view of the stars.” Taking my hand, he leads me to the edge that overlooks the view below. He gestures to the sprawling acres of West Hollywood. “How’s this?”
I laugh. “Star-studded.”
His grin tells me he’s happy that I’m happy. There’s no better feeling than seeing this man happy, knowing I had a hand in it.
“It’s really beautiful,” I say, “but I can’t wait to head to the island. Where we can see real stars at night. I want to sit out under them with you.”
Our waitress comes over with a bottle of wine.
The label has memories lighting up my brain. “This is what we drank when you followed me to New York.”
When the waitress disappears, he lifts his glass. “To us. Then. Now. Always.”
The simple toast is perfect, and I clink my rim to his. “Always.”
I take a long sip, the red wine thrumming in my veins the second it hits my stomach.
“What’re you getting?” I ask him after we glance at the menus.
“Steak. You?”
“A salad. Haley and I are going to see my dress in the morning, and I need to fit into it.”
He leans in, his expression filling with blatant interest. “Tell me about this dress.”
