The Blind Date by Landish, Lauren (suggested reading .txt) 📕

I nod, and he snaps his fingers. “Coming right up.”

I sit down at a table, and in minutes, he’s back with a gorgeous, and humongous, shake. I’m no India-caliber photographer, but I’ve got a few tricks of my own, so before Mike opens for the early crowd starting to gather in the parking lot, I stand up in my chair and take a picture of the shake, making sure to get the globs of whipped cream, cute sprinkles, and the ambiance of the diner surrounding the table.

I do a quick edit on the photo and then add a teaser to it . . .

Don’t pinch me . . . I don’t want to wake up from this dream. Today, I had an opportunity I would’ve never imagined, but it happened. To me. Which is proof your dreams can happen for you too. Be open, be adventurous, be resolutely yourself, and amazing things will come your way.

I can’t wait to share with you. Photos coming soon. #turningdreamsintoreality

I post it to my page with a smile on my face that I don’t think will shrink ever again. Today was amazing.

I take a celebratory sip of the shake and blink. Holy Chocolate! This is amazing too.

What a day, what a life, I think. I’m a lucky woman.

* * *

“Hey, Sunshine,” Noah says as I open the door. He’s holding a sunflower, spinning the single thick stalk gently in his hands. “You didn’t seem like the rose type, but this reminded me of you.” His smile is pure filth even as he says sweet things. I love it—his dirty mouth and the pretty flower.

“Thank you. It’s beautiful,” I tell him, taking the bloom from him. It’s bright yellow and warm brown and reminds me of summer days in the sun.

He follows me into the kitchen where I pull out a tall glass. “I don’t have a vase that’ll fit this, but I think this will work.” I add water and the flower as he watches me. I smile softly at the focused attention. “What?”

“I missed you today,” he answers bluntly. “I was busy at work—running from meeting to meeting, poring over BlindDate stats, and dissecting what it all means with River. But all I wanted to do was call you to see how the photo shoot went this morning.”

“I wanted to call you so much, but I didn’t want to interrupt because I knew you had the meeting with the marketing people this morning.”

We flash matching smiles, both of us wanting to talk but respecting the other’s work. “Just call me next time,” Noah growls, pulling me in for a proper hello kiss. He’s warm and firm against my body, his lips soft and demanding against mine, and I melt into him.

“Hi,” I murmur, blissed out from his kiss. I blink and promise, “Next time, I’ll just call.”

He nods approvingly. “So, how did it go?”

I twirl away from him, spinning through the living room, and Raffy barks, running around with me. I’m celebrating, and he thinks I’ve lost my mind, but Noah laughs. “I take it that’s good?”

“It was amazing!” I sigh happily. “India is going to send me the pictures tonight and they’ll go live in a couple of days.”

“I can’t wait to see them. You looked gorgeous in that skirt and those shoes. Ugh, those heels and little socks? You might have to pull those out later.” He lifts a dark brow lewdly. “Only those . . . and nothing else.”

“That could be arranged,” I promise. “But first, I have a date idea. Caveat—I’ll need to take some pictures of Raffy for social media too, but I think it’ll be fun.”

I know where I want to go. I’ve been waiting to take Raffy to the Inu Onsen Dog Water Park for weeks, but it’s been too cool. Today, though? The weather is perfect.

If Noah will agree to go with me and Raffy. I don’t imagine it’s his usual type of place to go for fun, but I’m hoping he’s willing to be adventurous today too.

“Is this why you told me to bring a swimsuit and flip flops?” Noah looks me up and down approvingly, and I smooth my sundress. It’s covering my own swimsuit. “It’s nice out, but I looked up the quickest way to get to the beach, and it’s at least four hours away.”

“You looked up routes to the beach?” I ask, hiding my smile behind my hand. Noah nods slowly, having no idea how adorable that is. All I said was ‘swimsuit’, and he’s already planning out routes, bathroom stops, and looking at Yelp reviews for dinner options. I love that he cares and shows it by planning and researching so we can have a good time.

“We’re not going to the beach, are we?”

I smile brightly and shake my head. “Nope, we’re going to a dog park. A water doggy park, to be precise. I know you like precision. And I already know where it is, how to get there, where to park, and all the attractions because I looked it all up.”

Noah bites his lip, being silly. “Oh, damn, Sunshine . . . speak ‘control freak’ to me. I love it. What else did you plan?”

I laugh at his antics. He is so funny when he wants to be. “I know what time sunset is so we can get golden hour pics, so let’s go. And also, I thought you liked to be the control freak?” I let my voice go sultry, implying so much more than the light words.

“Fuck yeah, I do. Let me change and we can go.”

And I swear to the sun itself, as Noah goes down the hall to change out of his work clothes and into his trunks and T-shirt, he is whistling.

Noah Daniels. Whistling.

My heart squeezes in my chest, hugging itself with happiness.

“Ready?” Noah asks a few moments later.

I’ve got Raffy’s stuff all packed in my bag, plus sunscreen and dinner for Noah and me. “Oh, let me get Raffy’s hat and life vest.”

“His what?” Noah asks in surprise as he