Leap of Faith

Day Forty-Four

So far, so good.

I ran for my mother’s shoe closet, found a pair of gold heels that would complement the dress and then quickly went back to my bedroom. The clock on my cell read seven thirty, which mean that I only had half an hour left to style my hair, and put on some make-up.

I curled my hair into beach waves, and then styled it into one of those half-up, half-down hairstyles. I let the curls tumble down my back and quickly got to work on my make-up. I went for subtly, brushing a shimmery gold shadow over my eyelids, and brushing some bronzer onto my cheeks to make my cheekbones a little more defined. I was just brushing on some lip gloss when the front doorbell rang.

I froze. My stomach flipped. My heart raced. My breathing quickened.

“Cate,” Libby’s voice called me from downstairs. “There’s someone at the door for you.”

I took one last long look in the mirror.

“Guess this’ll have to do,” I tell my reflection. “Here goes.”

*~*~* TJ *~*~*

Be still my beating heart.

“Wow,” I breathed out as Cate approached me.

When Libby had opened the door and had seen my dressed up in a grey suit, she did a double take. I announced that I was here to pick Cate up for her birthday surprise, news that immediately got everyone excited. Cate’s entire family and my mother came rushing to the door to see what the commotion was about and we all let out a collective gasps of appreciation when Cate descended the stairs and came to stand before us.

She looked gorgeous, but then, she always had to me. The dress fit like a glove and I could see the definition of her waist, the shape of her legs and the milky skin of her neck, which I loved so much. I immediately noticed that she wasn’t wearing a necklace, and I had to thank God for that. It would have blown my surprise if she’d been wearing one.

After a beat of being the center of attention, Cate blushed and moved forward to take my hand in hers and pull me out of my daze. I smiled down at her proudly and she laughed at the goofy look on my face. She mumbled something to herself and then bid everyone a good evening as she led us out of the house.

My manners snapped back in time to hold the car door open for her, and when I jumped into the driver’s seat, I pressed play on the iPod. Tonight, there was no punk music and no dance music. Tonight we were having a little Ed Sheeran. Cate’s face was priceless as she heard the music start up and she looked so darn cute when her nose scrunched up. I couldn’t help the laugh that passed my lips.

“We’re trying something new,” I explain as I drive us out of town.

I had planned tonight perfectly. We were headed up to The Grange, where I had decorated a private room to look like Paris. I knew Cate wanted to visit one day, so I thought I’d give her a bit of a taster. After a lot of begging I had managed to get one of Mom’s assistants to call in sick and help me out instead. It took us the better part of the day to organize the room to look how I’d imagined but I knew it’d be worth it to see the look on Cate’s face.

When we arrived at The Grange, a valeting attendant opened Cate’s door for her, and I couldn’t help but glower at him. I was the one that was supposed to do that. I shrugged it off and rounded the car, taking Cate’s hand in mine as I led us up into the grand lobby. Without speaking to anyone, I pulled Cate towards the private room that looked out onto the gardens. I stopped short at the door and told Cate to close her eyes.

“Really?” She groaned, but she did as she was told. I couldn’t resist moving forward and planting a kiss against her rosy lips. “Can I open my eyes now?”