“I only did that because I was nervous. You were watching me…”
His mouth fell open and he stared at me in disbelief. “You never told me that.”
I fluttered my eyelashes in an exaggerated fashion. “You never asked.”
“I remember everything about that day, but that was the one detail I didn’t know.”
“Seriously? What was I wearing then?”
“Cut-off shorts, a red checkered blouse, and fire engine red cowboy boots.”
I squeezed his hand as we moved up in line. “You have a good memory.”
“Couldn’t help it. You made quite the impression.”
“You made an impression as well. I thought you were a hunk the moment I laid eyes on you.”
He rewarded me with one of his lopsided grins—the kind that melted me on the spot. “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
When it was our turn to order, I opted to get the full-fat latte this time, partly because it sounded delicious and partly because I wanted to see Troy’s reaction. He seemed to think it was funny, and that was good enough for me. I loved making him laugh. Loved every moment we spent together. At the last second, he asked for two mini chocolate cakes to be added to our order. They were circular and about the size of a small coaster. Troy turned to me. “It’s our anniversary. We have to splurge a little.”
“You don’t have to twist my arm. It’s chocolate. I fully support your splurging idea.”
The guy at the register put the cakes on a tray and added two forks. Troy picked up the tray, and as we passed the counter to find seats, my eyes suddenly widened. My parents were sitting at a table in the far corner of the room, and they were talking to Troy’s parents. They were all drinking coffee and seemed immersed in a discussion. At our approach, they stopped conversing and turned to look at us with huge smiles as if they knew something we didn’t.
“Mr. and Mrs. Littman, it’s so good to see you!” I leaned down to give them both hugs. “I had no idea you were in town.” I glanced at Troy and playfully shoved his arm. “You never said anything.”
He had a secretive smile on his face. “Didn’t want to ruin the surprise.”
I glanced at Mom and Dad. “You guys didn’t say anything either.”
Mom nodded eagerly. “Troy arranged the whole thing. Said we should meet you both here so we could all celebrate your anniversary.”
“Well, that was nice.” I looked at him, feeling somewhat confused. What was he up to? I had thought we were going to spend this day alone, not that I was unhappy with his decision. It was great seeing his parents, and I always looked forward to spending time with Mom and Dad. I hugged my parents and then sat down. Troy set the tray on the table and it was then that I noticed the letter “K” on one cake and a “T” on the other.
“That’s so weird. How did they know our initials?”
“I called ahead of time and asked if they’d do it. Said it was our anniversary.”
“Aww… That is so sweet. I love special details like that. Thank you.” I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
“You’re welcome.”
The barista informed us that our coffees were ready, and Troy told me he’d get them. He returned a few moments later with our drinks as well as a few sugar packets for me.
I emptied one in my coffee and took a sip to check the sweetness. It was perfect. Next, I picked up my fork and cut off a large piece of the cake and gingerly lifted it to my mouth. I closed my eyes and chewed slowly. “This is so good.”
Troy watched me carefully and then bit into his own cake. “You’re right. It’s excellent.”
I turned my attention to his parents. “So, how long are you visiting for? I still can’t believe Troy didn’t say anything.”
“We’ll be out here a whole week,” his father said. “When Troy asked us to come out, we were thrilled at the idea.”
Troy nodded and smiled, and I had the distinct impression they all knew something I didn’t. I didn’t want to make assumptions, but… He was acting weird.
“Eat up,” Troy said, nodding towards my cake.
“I am.” I took another bite and then washed it down with a sip of my coffee.
We talked about his parents’ flight to LAX and then Mom and Dad told us about their new next-door neighbors who’d just moved in. I updated everyone on the latest regarding Country Star, and Troy shared a few details about managing the newest division of Bad Boy Bodyguards. He was still trying to get his friend, Shane, to come work for him, but that was proving quite the challenge. Shane loved to travel and wasn’t ready to settle down. I hadn’t met him yet, but Troy had told me plenty about him.
Bad Boy Bodyguards received a lot of media attention after I started hosting Country Star. I had a bodyguard now when I attended large events, and I got a sweet discount since I’d given the business exceptional PR, mentioning them multiple times on the show.
When the conversation came to a lull, Mom made us retell the story of how we met for the first time, and everyone got a good laugh at that.
“You were too nice to him,” Troy’s Mom said, grinning. “If he had taken that attitude with me, I would have dumped my coffee on his head.”
“I couldn’t reach that high up,” I said, laughing.
Troy just shrugged. “The perks to being tall.” He pointed at my half-eaten cake. “Aren’t you going to eat the rest?”
I wrapped the leftover portion in a napkin. “No, I don’t
