Chapter 25:

Zack's POV:

      To say that I liked playing with Nadia's hair, was underestimation because I freaking loved messing with its silk locks, and I had noticed that she liked the act as well because her face always showed peacefulness whenever my fingers reached her hair. That's why, I made sure to twirl it around my finger at times when she was near me, especially when she was tired or just drained like that day after the funeral. 

       Throughout the funeral, Nadia tried her best to cover her sadness and just plastered a weak smile on her face. However, when we were going to be bury the body, tears escaped her eyes but she brushed them immediately, and just fixed her gaze on the dust.

      Col and Dillon were there as well. Both of them just reassured Nadia that things were going to be fine and asked her to be brave. Dillon hugged her then asked me to take care of her while Col looked at her hesitatingly then just gathered his courage and embraced her in his arms, saying "I miss you and I am really sorry for everything"

"I know" Nadia returned the hug and mumbled "I miss you too"

       After the funeral's ceremony, I convinced Nadia to stay two more days in Chicago because I wanted to make her feel better and I really didn't want to go back to New York just yet since the moment we would lay foot on it, our problems would rush back to us and ruin the peace we created for ourselves. 

      Nadia's head rested on my shoulder as we were driving back to the hotel, she was just drained of everything so I made her just relax a little bit and she snuggled into me more by putting her head on my shoulder and wrapping her arms around my waist to pull me closer to her, as if it was ever possible since I already made sure that her body was completing mine. 

      Throughout the car drive, no one uttered a word and we just embraced silence which surrounded us. While I was stroking her hair, she was tormenting me by playing with the tips of my fingers and at one moment, she lifted my hand and placed a kiss on my knuckles, totally surprising me but I shrugged off the strange arising feeling I sensed in the pit of my stomach and just kissed the top of her head.

      As we arrived to the hotel, the sun was already leaving the sky and the cold chill took control of the air. Holding Nadia's hand in mine, I leaded Nadia to the lobby and decided that it was the right time to have my date with her. That's why I stopped walking and turned to look at her "I'll join you in few minutes, go ahead and make yourself comfortable" 

"Where are you going?" She raised her eyebrows at me, questioningly. 

"I'll go talk to the manager of the hotel" I shrugged my shoulders, trying to come up with a convenient lie. 

"And why would you talk to the manager?" 

"Because this hotel is one of my grandpa's hotels" I answered as a matter of fact.

"Hum, acting all bossy with the poor man" She feigned a displeased look. 

"You're wrong my dear" I moved my face closer to hers and whispered in her ear "I'll be acting bossy with the lucky woman" 

"Hum" She put her hand on her hips, glaring at me "So the manager's a women" 

"Yep" I added more stress on the 'P'. 

"Well, enjoy your time with the lucky woman then" She winked at me then she turned her face at me and started walking away.

"Wait" I followed her and held her wrist in my hand "I'm taking you out on a date tonight, be ready" I informed her, enjoying the warmth her skin provided for me. 

"But I don't have clothes" 

"They'll be in the suit in as soon as possible" I lifted her hand to my mouth and pressed a kiss on top of her wrist "Now I have somethings to handle" I smiled at her before I turned in my heels and walked away. 

       I had no idea of what was happening to me but I suddenly wanted to make her happy especially when I saw her face's expression when I told her that the manager was a woman not a man, her glaring session was hilarious and all I wanted to do was to claim her lips until we were both out of breath.

However I knew I should wait!

I had to...

     I headed to the reception and told them what I wanted to do for Nadia and asked them to make everything perfect and in a hurry since it was a last minute decision and I didn't have time to think about all of the details so I just Informed them what I had planned in my mind, which they took in consideration and added more things to it.

      I wanted things to be special for her, therefore, I asked for their help to find some outfits for Nadia since my surprise was taking place in two different places and I wanted Nadia to feel comfortable throughout the entire night. The receptionist informed me that there was a shop two blocs away and she showed me their catalog online.

      The shop had almost everything and I really fought the urge to just buy all of the clothes since I couldn't stop myself from imagining Nadia wearing them. However, I managed to pick five different outfits, which seemed breathtaking and caught my attention right away, knowing that none of us brought any luggage for several days. 

       Nevertheless, I always loved to be surprised whenever Nadia leaved her room and showed up wearing something that made me keep staring at her for a while, thus why, I asked the assistant of the shop to send one of their fine dresses and accessories to the hotel as soon as possible, just in condition that dress hadn't be revealing. 

I wouldn't handle men gawking at her. 

      I ordered a suit, shoes and other casual outfits and underwear for myself then I finally asked them to drop everything in the hotel in less than twenty minutes since I was really dying to start that night. Meanwhile, I booked a normal room and went to take a quick shower because all of the events of that day, managed to get under my skin and I needed to freshen up.

     Filling the bathtub with hot water, I took my place inside the water and enjoyed the soothing feeling that rushed to me as my muscles started to relax quietly. I started thinking of what would happen the moment we would be back to New York. We would have to face everything and so many things would change between us, maybe for the worse or for the best.

'I hope it was the latter' I thought to myself as I washed my hair and body 'I'd work hard to make everything work' 

      I finished my shower and went out of the bathroom, wearing a bathrobe, just in time I heard someone knocking on the bedroom's door. I opened the door, and revealed a man who looked in his mid forties, wearing a suit, and two men from the room service, holding a big plastic bag and a pile of bags and boxes in their hands.

"Your order, sir" The servant who was holding the plastic bag said, gesturing at the bags. 

"Thank you" I opened the door wider and left space for them to enter "May I know if my wife's clothes are already dropped in the suit?"

"Yeah, our assistant is already there, and she will gladly help your wife in getting her hair and makeup done" The man in a suit answered, politely, gesturing at the servants to leave. 

"But I didn't ask for such treatment, thank you" I smiled at him, scolding myself mentally for not thinking of that "But who did?"

"Well, Mrs. Collins called after you ordered the clothes, and asked us to add some stuff to your order and make sure that your wife had everything she needed" He replied with a stable tone "I was surprised to know that she was ordering for her grandson and wife, that's why I came personally to drop the clothes"

"Thank you, that's pleasant to hear and I'd be happy if you send the bill to the hotel" I shook his hand.

"It's already taken care of" He stated before he said "Have a lovely night" Then he walked away.

'Grandma? How did she know?' I wondered, thinking of calling her but then I remembered that she would start giving me stupid advice about dealing with Nadia so I just dropped the idea and went to check the suit. 

      The outfit I picked consisted of an ivory white suit with a white dress shirt and a brown leather belt, matching the brown shoes. I wore my clothes then I headed to the bathroom to brush my hair back and spray some perfume on my suit, and thankfully when they brought the boxes, they had everything I needed. 

'I should pay them some extra money' I noted to myself as I looked at my reflection on the mirror. 

       I lifted my phone off the nightstand where I put it earlier along with my wrist watch , and smiled at it immediately when I saw that I had an upcoming text from Nadia. I unlocked the phone and read the long message Nadia sent me. 

'Wow! I love the dress, thank you, I can't believe that you're putting all of this effort into this date, a night in bed watching movies would've been great but thanks, I can't wait to see you! I'm not spoiling but you have to close your mouth when you see me! I know, my modesty reached another level! xoxo'

      I couldn't stop myself from chuckling as I read her text. Damn, she made me even more curious to see her, especially that I was so bored already; and that's when I decided to keep texting her instead of waiting without doing a thing. 

Me: Really? I should say the same about you, don't gawk at me later.

Nadia:  Hum! Mr. Confident.

Me: But I have to admit that I am pretty curious to see your blushing face when I tell how much you look stunning in the dress you're wearing. 

Nadia: I can tell that you already have your famous smirk on, and no need to compliment me, your eyes always betray you. 

Me: And what did they tell you when I left you in the lobby earlier. 

Nadia: You wanted to kiss me. 

Me: Damn, they really betray me!!!!! (I'm faking an exaggerated sigh) 

Nadia: You know that the hair specialist will probably kill you later since I keep moving my head while texting you! 

Me: It's okay, tell her that your husband is telling you how sweet you taste when he kisses you. 

Nadia: You'll cause my death someday, goodbye see you in 15 minutes. 

Zack: Okay, and stop blushing and text me when you're ready, I'll come take you <3 .  

      I stared at the screen of my phone foolishly, impatiently waiting for Nadia's text since my curiosity was getting the best in me at the moment. Then I called the reception to see if everything was ready, and they gladly said that they had tried their best to make every single detail perfect.

      As I was putting my watch on my wrist, my phone vibrated in my pocket, I pulled it out to reveal Nadia's name on the screen saying 'Come on, I am ready' . I smiled at the text and without waiting any further, I started writing my message while walking 'I'll be there in two minutes'

       As I reached the suit, my palms became sweaty out of a sudden from anticipation, and all I wanted to do was to open the door but I had to be a gentleman and knock on it instead; After few seconds, I heard the sound of heels and the door's knob turned, then the door burst open.

      Nadia stood there beaming at me, a genuine blush covering her cheeks while I stood there mesmerized by her beauty. The dress they chose was a purple strapless dress with a small cut in the front, a dress which hugged her waist marvelously with a thin band and flowed to reach the floor, which hid her curves as I asked for but still had its own charm.

      Her hair was straightened like usual and curled at the ends, hiding her back and neck, which I was thankful for since her skin was so appealing and all I could think of was other men's eyes ogling her, giving me a serious impression of throwing my jacket on her shoulders. Her makeup was light and so natural that I barely noticed that she had it on. 

      Realizing that I still hadn't made a move and I was looking at her intensely, I decided to just take a step closer, slowly and show her exactly how beautiful she looked. I moved slowly closer to her, making sure that my hand already reached hers.

"You look beautiful" I whispered in her ear, kissing the spot beside it.

Her skin was just sweet and tender.

"Thank you, you look handsome as well" She pulled back and kissed my cheek.

"Right now, I regret asking you to wait because I seriously want to brush my lips on yours" I spoke, hoarsely, lying my forehead against hers.

"I hate the fact that you even thought of it" She smiled as her cheeks were flushed red.

'Not that blush again' I closed my eyes since that bashfulness of hers was tempting me.

"So can I?" I demanded, looking straight at her lips then at her eyes again, which were hiding a deep ocean of emotions. 

"I thought you'd never ask" She mumbled quietly but I could hear her anyway.

      Within a matter of a second, I cupped her cheeks in my hands, leaned down and brushed my lips on hers. She didn't hesitate to kiss me back with the same urgency and I liked the feeling that started building inside of me due to her simple touch. 

      I titled my head to the side to have better access and pushed her against the door gently since I felt like her feet were about to betray her; she wrapped her arms around my neck for more support and pushed herself closer to me as soft voices escaped her mouth. 

      I liked every moment of that kiss but I knew I had to pull away before it would become pretty impossible to pull back. That's why, I broke the kiss and tried to even my shaking breath. I looked down at her and saw her liking her lips as her face was as red as a tomato. 

"Unless you want us to skip our date, stop doing that" I put my forehead against hers. 

"Doing what?" She questioned, biting her lower lip. 

"This" I outlined the shape of her lip with my thumb "It's so tempting" 

"Sorry" She closed her and turned her head from embarrassment. 

"I like the state I leave you in after kissing you so never turn your head" I lifted her chin and made her look at me "Okay?" 

"Yes, Sir" She chuckled, making me roll my eyes at her choice of words. 

"Come, let's go" I kissed the tip of her nose, took a step back and I offered her my hand. 

      She intertwined our fingers and flashed one of her Megawatt smiles at me, sending an electrical wave to my heart with a weird sensation, which was full of happiness and confusion at the same time because the feelings I was experiencing whenever I was around her, were new and strange to me, and never had I felt anything like that before. 

      I leaded her her to the elevator and pressed on the button of the lobby as I could feel Nadia's stare on me, obviously trying to study my face but she failed miserably because I could see her annoyed face from the corner of my eyes when she couldn't even predict what I planned for her. 

She's be surprised. 

      The elevator's doors burst open revealing a servant holding a red flower in his hand. He bowed his head to us and offered the flower to Nadia, who turned to look at me, questioningly, but I just shrugged my shoulders and nodded at her to accept it. 

      With a huge smile on her face, she accepted the flower and brought it to her face, closed her eyes and snuggled her nose in it, enjoying the refreshing smell of its petals. When she opened her eyes, she beamed at me genuinely and that was my cue to keep walking. 

     The moment we took two steps forward, another servant offered Nadia a red flower and went away, followed by other people who just did the same without uttering a single word while I just enjoyed looking at Nadia's expression, every time someone approached her with a flower. 

"I can't hold all of them" She suddenly whispered, looking affectionately at the flowers in her arms. 

"I know" I answered her, gesturing at a servant who came rushing to us with an empty basket. 

"You thought of everything, didn't you?" She brushed her thumb on my hand, tenderly. 

"Anything for you"  I grinned at her, running my hand through my hair. 

"Now what? Are you going to take me with a helicopter to the location of the date or maybe with Limo?" She questioned with a mischievous smile. 

"Nah, we already reached our destination" I gestured at a double door. 

"Really?" She suddenly almost jumped from excitement. 

"Yeah so close your eyes" I demanded. 

"Okay" She closed her eyes. 

      I held her hand, opened the double door and helped her walk slowly due to her long dress. I smiled at the sight in front of me since I was astonished with the hotel's efforts and how they managed to finish everything in less than an hour. 

"You can open your eyes" I said once I took a step back and stood by her side, to see her reaction, intensely.

"Okay" She opened her eyes slowly, taking-in her surroundings "Wow" She said, plastering the biggest smile I had ever seen on her face "Thank you, it's like a fairy tale... I ... am speechless" 

That was everything I had asked for; that look on her face, that smile and sparkle in her eyes when she saw what I did,  it was worth it. 

To be continued... 

******

/*So? Things are heartwarming :'( */ 

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/*The next chapter will be published on April 14th, 2017*/ 

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