HIS CLAIM

68

The closer I got to the top of the hill, the clearer I could see it  was warmly lit up at the top. Finally reaching my destination, a small gasp escaped my lips at the sight in front of me. Lanterns hanging from the large tree gave the area a warm tone to it, and right under the tree, blankets and pillows were cozily set up with food and drinks.

And right there, in the end, was Nicholas with his back facing

He turned around, the light from the lanterns making his eyes seem even more golden than they already were. He looked at me softly with a smile that had my heart skip a beat every single time.

“Good girl. You made it.” I was at loss for words when he came to stand in front of me with a huge bouquet of red roses.

“You look beautiful as ever, my love.” Nicholas's eyes trailed down my body before he leaned down to me, giving me a sweet kiss that had my body tingle like crazy.

“I… What is all of this?” I asked as he handed me the roses. For some reason, my heart was starting to beat faster.

“A date. I never took you out on a proper date. This is me trying to make up for it. Do you like it?” He asked and gestured to the setup.

“I love it! This is so beautiful.” I couldn’t stop looking around and just thinking about how he had planned all this for a date.

“Thank you so much!” I said excitedly, making him smile when I leaned into him for one more kiss.

“Come, you must be hungry.” He held my hand and led me to the large fuzzy blankets.

“Oh, I’m starving!” I sat down, sighing at how soft the blankets were. Nicholas grabbed a couple of pillows and placed them behind me to support my back against the tree.

“And here I thought you were trying to make me lose weight with the running and climbing hills.” I chuckled as I saw he actually got me two large pizzas, different kinds of pasta, lasagna, chicken parmesan, and tomato salads. The food was endless and my mouth started to water. Even more when my eyes landed on the dessert, seeing my favorite cakes and chocolate-covered strawberries.

“Lose weight? Baby, I’m trying to get you to eat as much as possible. Eat and be happy.” He almost ordered, making me laugh at how sternly he said it.

“Just the way to my heart.” I chuckled at him. I immediately dug into the food, closing my eyes at the first bite of the pizza.

I could die so happy right now.

I opened my eyes when I heard Nicholas let out a small laugh. He was watching me and I didn’t realize I was doing a small happy dance while I ate.

“It’s so good!” I held the pizza slice out for him to eat as well.

“You will love this one.” Nicholas poured us a glass of red wine and handed me one.

“To you.” He said and clinked our glasses together.

“To us.” I corrected him with a smile.

“For being bad bitches and outliving our enemies.” I finished and he burst out in laughter. I stilled for a bit, smiling as I loved the sound of his laughter. It was deep and so angelic. It made me the happiest to hear him like this.

“Saluti, for being called a bad bitch for the very first time in my life.” Nicholas chuckled as he raised his glass.

“There is a first for everything.” I laughed and raised my glass as well.

“Indeed, there is.” He slightly shook his head in amusement.

I took a sip of the wine, my eyes widened a little as soon as it hit my tongue.