Page 143 of Certified To Handle You 2

I stood behind her chair and pulled it out before she sat. Then I leaned down, kissed the side of her face and let my lips stay there while I took in the smell of her perfume.

“You been starin’ at me since we left the villa,” Pluto said once I sat across from her.

“I’m gon’ keep starin’ too,” I replied while reachin’ across the table for her hand. “You got on that dress like you don’t know who you married.”

Pluto smiled and ran her thumb across my knuckles. “You picked it.”

“Yeah, and I did a damn good job.”

The first course came with small pieces of grilled meat, soft bread and vegetables covered in some sauce Pluto loved more than I did. She cut off a bite and held it toward me without askin’. I leaned across the table and ate it from her fork while keepin’ my eyes on hers.

“That’s good?” Pluto asked.

“It taste better ‘cause you fed it to me,” I told her.

She rolled her eyes, but I saw the smile she tried to hide.

I cut a piece of fish from my own plate, made sure it had enough of the sauce on it and lifted the fork toward her mouth. Pluto leaned in, wrapped her lips around it and held my eyes while she chewed. That look went straight through me.

“You like it?” I asked.

Pluto nodded. “It’s good.”

I fed her another bite before eatin’ one myself. After that, the plates might as well have belonged to both of us ‘cause we kept reachin’ across the table to give each other pieces of whatever tasted good. Pluto fed me fruit from her dessert, and I wiped a drop of juice from the corner of her mouth with my thumb before puttin’ it against my own lips. Her cheeks warmed while she watched me.

Dinner took almost two hours ‘cause neither one of us was in a rush. We talked about the trip, the kids and all the places Pluto wanted to see before we left Soléya. She asked if we could visit a temple near the mountain gardens, and I told her I had already arranged for us to go the next mornin’.

“You already knew I wanted to go?” She asked.

“I know everything you want,” I said before takin’ a drink. “Sometimes you just take too long to tell me.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is, but therapy told me I’m supposed to let you speak for yourself now.”

Pluto reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “You’re doing good.”

That simple sentence hit me harder than it should’ve.

I lifted her hand and kissed her fingers. “I’m tryna do right by you.”

“You are,” she assured me.

After dinner, we walked back toward the villa instead of callin’ the car. The path was lit with small lanterns, and the ocean stayed beside us the whole way. I held Pluto’s hand while she walked close enough for her shoulder to brush mine.

Halfway there, she stopped and turned toward me.

“What?” I asked as I slid one arm around her waist.

“Nothing,” Pluto answered before reachin’ up to touch my beard. “I’m just happy.”

I looked down at her and felt somethin’ settle inside me that had been restless for months. “That’s all I wanted.”

Pluto lifted herself on her toes and kissed me. I held her close while her lips moved over mine, takin’ my time ‘cause there wasn’t nobody around to interrupt us. By the time she pulled back, both of us was smilin’.

“Come on,” I told her while kissin’ her forehead. “I got more shit planned.”

When we reached the villa, candles was already burnin’ through the bedroom ‘cause I had arranged everything before we left.