Page 97 of Sheltered

He’d been everything I could have ever hoped to have in a partner after suffering through something so traumatic.

And even though we’d discussed it before, even though I’d insisted he wasn’t responsible for what happened to me, I could see how much it bothered him that I had gotten caught up in this mess. So, as much as he did to try to see me through all the challenges I’d been facing with my recovery, I found it helped me to focus on the things I could do to help Blaze through it as well.

I wasn’t sure it was working, though.

For the last several days, he had seemed just a bit more on edge than usual. I had asked him about it last night, wondering if there was something that had popped up in the case that he hadn’t been expecting and perhaps was worried about. He insisted everything was fine on that front and promised nothing was wrong.

But I knew him.

Or, at least, I thought I did.

And if everything I believed to be true was the case, something was on his mind.

That’s why I was looking forward to today.

Whether he recognized I was catching on to whatever was happening inside his head and he didn’t want me to worry about it, or he genuinely wanted to do something special for the both of us, I didn’t know. But Blaze had decided that today was the day we’d be getting back to checking things off my list.

We were having an afternoon date today. Though he often liked to have the element of surprise when it came to our dates, I had a feeling he didn’t want me having any major shocks to the nervous system right now.

So, he had revealed he was taking me out for my first picnic ever. I thought it was the sweetest, most romantic thing we could do together, and I couldn’t wait.

I’d spent the last hour getting myself ready for our date. The weather was beautiful outside and would offer the perfect setting for a picnic. I was beyond excited.

As soon as I’d gotten myself ready, I descended the stairs and found Blaze waiting for me.

He smiled as his eyes raked over my body. “Hey, baby,” he said, taking steps in my direction. “You look beautiful.”

I’d chosen a floral maxi-dress for the occasion. Blaze clearly appreciated it. And when he slid his arm around my waist and kissed me senseless, the thoughts I’d had about him seeming distracted for the last few days had vanished.

There was no question he had a magical day of fun in store for me. I couldn’t wait.

When Blaze tore his mouth from mine, he asked, “Are you ready to go?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Then, to my utter amazement, Blaze took me by the hand, led me to the door, and bent to pick up the basket. He’d gone all out and gotten a picnic basket, and I thought it was the most wonderful thing in the world.

I walked beside Blaze toward his truck, smiling from ear to ear. It wasn’t until this moment that I realized just how much this meant to me. While Blaze had spent every day with me since the shooting, nearly all our time had been spent inside at one of our homes.

The one exception to that had been the day we’d gone to his parents’ place to have dinner with them. Of course, that dinner had been rescheduled since I’d had the hospital stay and initial recovery time that would have made an occasion like that less than ideal. Fortunately, Blaze’s family was wonderful about it all, and I was thrilled that they seemed to like me at least as much as my family liked Blaze. That dinner was just one more thing Blaze had done to really lift my mood.

I’d appreciated his patience and willingness to do whatever was necessary to help me recover, but now that we were heading out on an actual date that would have us outdoors, I realized how much I’d missed it.

As soon as we were in his truck and Blaze had pulled out of the driveway, I said, “Thank you for deciding to do this today, boss. I already feel a million times better.”

Blaze had already been holding my hand, but he gave it a squeeze before he said, “I’m glad, Harlow. I know these last few weeks have been a lot to deal with, and I just thought you really needed to try to get back to normal. I figured this would be a nice way to ease into some fun things again.”

I smiled brightly at him. “It’s going to be wonderful. I feel like the luckiest woman in the world.”

Blaze stroked his thumb over my knuckles. “It’s not luck, baby. You deserve to have it all.”

“Well, I think I’m lucky to have found a guy like you who believes that’s the truth,” I noted.

He let out a laugh. “Fair enough.”

By the time we arrived at the park, it was safe to say I was having the best day I’d had in weeks. Blaze led us to a spot where he spread out a blanket and sat down beside me under the shade of a tree.

There was a gentle breeze in the air. Looking at Blaze, I said, “This has got to be the most perfect day for a picnic.”