Happy Birthday, beautiful.

Yours,

Nate

Wow.

I smile and look up into his amused gray eyes.

“This is where I do the obligatory ‘you shouldn’t have’.” I kiss him softly and rub my nose against his.

“And I’ll do the obligatory ‘but I wanted to’.” He grins, delighted with me, and I hug him close.  He’s come to be so precious to me in such a short time.  Or has he always meant this much to me and I just couldn’t admit it to myself?

“Thank you, so much.” I whisper.

“You’re welcome.  I wanted to send you flowers, but it wouldn’t be appropriate here.”

Oh, that’s right!  No wonder.

“I understand.  This is a very generous gift.”  I nuzzle his chest and hug him tighter.

“You’ll get your other gifts tonight,” he murmurs and kisses my hair.

“What?” I pull back and look up at him.  “This is too much as it is, honey.”

“Don’t be ungrateful.  If memory serves, you hate that quality in Natalie.”

Oh.  Damn him.

“I’m not ungrateful.  I’m… overwhelmed.”

He smiles warmly and kisses me again.  “I have a meeting.  Go have fun.  I’m serious, get whatever you want.”

I grin and jump up and down in excitement.  “Okay, you asked for it.”

He laughs, a full out belly laugh, kisses me again, and leaves to go back to work.  Holy shit, so this is how Natalie felt when Luke treated us to a day of shopping for her birthday.  No, Natalie hated it.

I’m going to love the shit out of it.

***

I nudge the front door closed behind me with my foot, my arms and hands loaded down with bags from Neimans and climb the stairs to my bedroom, throwing the bags onto the bed.

I did good.

Nate was very generous today.

I didn’t go crazy.  I replaced the underwear he ripped, and bought some extra because they are sexy and will most likely meet the same fate the lacy panties of mine met this past weekend. I splurged on a couple of pretty nightgowns, and the rest is a hot, black leather jacket, shoes and handbags.

Oh, the shoes and handbags.

Two pairs of Blaniks and one pair of Jimmy Choos that are, frankly, to die for.  Nate also got me a Gucci handbag and matching wallet.

He really shouldn’t have.

I laugh as I pull everything out of the bags and put them away in my closet.  The smallest bag has a tiny wrapped box in it, tied with a red bow and I hug myself, excited to give Nate his gift.

This gift was paid for by me, of course.

I hear my doorbell and I race down the stairs to greet my man.

“Hi,” I smile up at his beautiful face.  He’s let his hair down – yum – and he’s holding a large bouquet of red roses in one hand and a white plastic bag full of food in the other.

“Hi, gorgeous.  These are for you.”

“Thank you.” I bury my nose in the soft blooms, inhaling their sweet scent and grin.  “Come inside, make yourself at home.”

I step back and lead him through the house to the kitchen so I can fuss over my lovely roses and put them in water.

“Plates?” he asks and I point to the cupboard that houses the dinnerware.  I love this house, and I’m thankful to Natalie every day that she lets me live here, rent free.  It’s beautiful, with a fantastic view of the Puget Sound.  The kitchen is state-of-the-art, though not quite as sexy as Nate’s.

I arrange my flowers and put them on the breakfast bar where I can admire them.

“These are fantastic, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”  Nate leans down and kisses my cheek, then loads both our plates full of Italian food.  We settle at the dining room table with our dinner and I pour us each a glass of red wine.

“So, did you have fun today?” Nate digs into his lasagna.

“I had a blast today, thank you again.”

He grins, looking exceedingly proud of himself.  “You’re welcome.  What did you get?”

“Oh, you know… lingerie, shoes, handbags… the things girls love the most.” I smirk and take a sip of my wine.

“I’m glad.”  He takes my hand in his and kisses my knuckles.  “I’d love to go with you next time.  You can try the lingerie on for me and I can attack you in the dressing room.”  His eyes are shining with humor and lust and my belly clenches.

“It’s a date.”  I finish my food and push my plate away.  “How was your day?”

“Uneventful, but profitable,” he winks at me and smiles.  I’m sure it was.  He’s very good at his job.

“That sounds like a good day.”

“It’s much better, now that I’m here.”

“Such the charmer,” I wink at him and nudge his leg under the table, making him laugh.  I have something for you.”  I clear our plates and take them to the kitchen, then snag the small box off the kitchen island.

“Oh?”

“Yes, here.”  I set the box on the table and smile.  “This was not charged to your account today.”

He frowns at me and looks down at the box.  “You didn’t have to get me anything. It’s your birthday.”

“You don’t always have to have an occasion to buy a gift.” I roll my eyes at him. “I wanted to get you something.”

His eyes soften for a moment, and then they burn with excitement.  I can tell he’s dying to see what’s in the box.

“Open it.”

“Okay.”  He pulls the ribbon off and unwraps the white paper.  Inside is a small black jewelry box.  He flips the lid, and nestled in cream colored satin are two platinum cuff links with his initials engraved in them.

His face is completely blank.  I can’t tell what he’s thinking.  He hates them?  I just don’t know.

Then his face transforms into his big, panty-melting grin and he pulls me into his lap, nuzzling my neck.  “Thank you, baby.  I love them.”

“You had me worried there for a second.”  I run my fingers through his hair and enjoy being in his arms.

“I’m not used to getting gifts.”

“Get used to it.” I kiss his nose, and then sweep my lips over his mouth, sweetly kissing him.

“Well, since we’re giving gifts…” He shifts, pushing me back on his lap and pulls a small red Cartier box out of his pocket.