Page 21 of Mr. Blackwood

“Damn. They move so fast, and they’re so little it’s hard to see them.”

I looked at Jabari. “Do you wear glasses?”

“No. I have perfect vision.”

“Mhm.”

“What? I do.”

“I’m just saying that you didn’t see those birds, and there are quite a few of them.”

“Come on. They’re tiny.”

“I saw them.”

He side-eyed me and shook his head with a tiny smirk, making his handsome features even more appealing. “Whatever.”

“You know, you might look sexy in a pair of glasses. Maybe just some readers. I can see it now, you in a pair of pajama pants, a cigar jacket, with a cigar tucked in your mouth, some glasses perched on your nose, and you reading a book.”

“You can’t see that.”

“Why not?”

“’Cause I don’t even see that.”

We laughed, and he took my hand as we worked our way past the Gainesville Event Lawn at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. He had brought me here for another date, and I had enjoyed myself so far. The date nights that Jabari made were creative and thoughtful. Each date made me anticipate the next one even more.

I looked forward to spending time with him, although I knew I shouldn’t. We were becoming too personal, and a little too close for my comfort. He now texted me to check on me in the middle of the day or at night, and I did the same. He sent cute little messages telling me to have a good day, don’t work too hard, or he was just thinking about me.

Each one made me a little giddier. The worst part was that I knew why I was supposed to be dating him, but I didn’t want to do the cover story on him now. I just wanted to get to know him better. I also knew that the funding from Sullivan Investments was at stake if I didn’t do the story, and I needed and wanted to grow my magazine.

We traveled through the Cascades Garden, where I marveled at the Earth Goddess and the fact that she was made of over 18,000 plants, and she was over twenty-five feet tall. Jabari took several pictures of me in front of her before we moved on.

I inhaled the fragrant aroma of the gardenias, jasmine, and Southern magnolia perfuming the air as we strolled through the gardens. We took the candlelit path through the Fuqua Orchid Center and sampled rare vintage champagnes from a private sommelier.

I was surprised again by his refined palate as he identified the various notes in each champagne. Jabari was definitely knowledgeable about worldly things, and he was a man of great wealth. Yet, there was a certain edginess about him that, if I didn’t know any better, I would think it came from the streets.

When we finished, we continued walking until we came to the Levy Parterre.

“What’s this?” I asked. A small table was set up on the walk just in front of the fountain, and several small candles lit the path.

“This is our dessert and wine,” he explained.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?” I asked.

“I would never want you drunk, beautiful. You need to be aware of everything that I do to your body when I do it. I don’t want you to miss a single touch or tease. You should be fine, though, because I’ve paired it with a good dessert,” he replied before he dropped a sensual kiss on my lips.

“Camilla, this is Janine Sterling, and Janine, this is my lady friend, Camilla Valentine,” he introduced, pointing to the brunette woman who served our dessert.

“I know who she is!” I exclaimed with a large grin as I shook hands with the world-famous chef.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she greeted.

“The pleasure is all mine. How do you know a world-famous chef?” I asked Jabari.

He chuckled and replied, “I’ve met a few people in my life.”

She chatted with us about the dessert he had chosen: a dulce de leche lava cake and a homemade caramel walnut ice cream. It was paired with caramel apple martinis, and although it may have sounded like too much, it was perfect.