Charades And Champagne

35

"Grass and dandelions?" Zoe asked, looking down at what she was standing on.

        Miles smiled and lifted her chin up.

        Directly in front of her was a small lake, glittering in the afternoon sun. The water rippled in the gentle breeze, inviting her to dip her fingers in. It looked so pretty. And familiar. Because she knew this lake ...

        So well, she thought as she whirled around, red hair flying out behind her as she turned.

        There was a grassy hill in front of her now. A hill she knew like the back of her hand from countless childhood memories of her rolling down it and coming to rest next to the water. And from a more recent one; of her and Miles tumbling down it accidentally and coming to rest at the bottom — on top of each other. It wasn't like it was easy to forget how fast her heart had beat when he'd rolled on top of her, making it hard to remember that he was just her friend.

        They were in her meadow.

        Well it technically wasn't hers, but it was definitely a place she considered special. A place that only held happy memories for her. And Miles knew it too.

        Zoe turned to face him now, a smile spreading across her face when she saw him watching her, expression expectant. Suddenly feeling uncontrollably happy, she flung herself at him, colliding with his hard frame as she hugged him tightly.

        "Thank you," she said, voice muffled against his neck.

        Miles pulled back slightly with a raised eyebrow. The afternoon sun was glinting off his raven hair, casting certain angles of it in shadow while highlighting the others, making him look more gorgeous than Zoe had ever seen him.

        "You know Zoe," he said in amusement. "I'm being led to believe that you are rather easy to please. After all I just brought you here. We didn't even get to the real surprise yet."

        "There's more?" Zoe asked in mock amazement. Of course Miles would have layers to his plans. However trivial they were.

         Technically all he'd said over the phone that morning was that he'd be taking her somewhere in the afternoon, nothing else. Her other friends had dropped by at random times of the day with presents and birthday wishes, and her mom and Brandon had already made plans to take her out for dinner tonight. Miles had been the only one remaining.

        There'd even been one completely unexpected present in the mail that she'd refused to open for obvious reasons.

        It was from her dad.

       Right now, it was lying unopened in her bag, which Miles was carrying for her. He'd wanted to know if she was planning on pulling an outfit change on him like she'd done with Joshua.

        Yes, she'd finally told Miles everything about that night, cringing as she expected him to laugh at how stupid her plan had been and how much of a failure it'd turned out to be.

        But Miles hadn't laughed. He'd actually been impressed with how she'd managed to do everything on her own while also being pressured by Joshua. Most people, he'd said, would have given up. It was a plan that would have worked, if only they hadn't all underestimated Joshua Bell.

        "Of course there's more!" Miles exclaimed, looking down at her with a half amused, half adoring expression. "Look over there."

        Zoe looked at where he was pointing a few feet away and saw two fairly large baskets lying on a red and white checked cloth spread out on the grass. Coupled up with the scenery, the whole thing looked very picturesque, like something out of a book or a movie.