I wouldn’t have thought to change a thing, but Jared insisted I add a feminine touch. I hung up self-portraits we’d taken of ourselves, bought a new floral comforter, and even picked out new china. Jared regarded the transformation with wholehearted gratitude. There were times that I thought Jared wanted me make the changes so that he had tangible proof that I was in fact living there.

A month after I had officially moved in, Jared wanted to celebrate with an evening out. I put on a strapless black dress with red pumps and Jared made the effort of putting on a tie. We walked out to the curb and Jared straddled his Vulcan. I raised an eyebrow, pointedly looked down at my short skirt and then back at him.

Jared laughed out loud and dismounted. “Just kidding.”

He walked over to the Escalade and opened the door.

“So, where are we going?” I asked.

“Somewhere new. You’ll like it,” he said before closing my door.

We pulled up to a dark, brick building. He helped me to the curb and held open a glass door, kissing my cheek as I passed. A small Asian woman greeted us, and Jared grabbed my hand, leading me to a table bearing a beautiful arrangement of pink and white tulips. We were the only patrons in the small eatery and I smiled at Jared as he sat in front of me. The woman walked half-way across the room to a waiter’s station to fill our water glasses, and I leaned against the table.

“Are they getting ready to close?” I whispered.

Jared chuckled. “No…I arranged for us to have the place to ourselves.”

“Oh,” I said, watching the woman bring our water and menus.

Jared uttered something in Japanese to the woman and she nodded, leaving us alone.

“Have I told you how exceptionally beautiful you look tonight?” Jared asked.

“Only four or five times,” I smiled. “Thank you.”

The woman returned, chattering something I didn’t understand. Jared looked to me and then back at her. “No, I think we’ll need a few more minutes.”

“Are we meeting your mother here or something?” I asked.

“No. Why?”

“I was just wondering…why all the effort? The tie, the flowers, the empty restaurant…the secrecy.”

Jared raised an eyebrow. “What secrecy?”

“You were sneaking around the loft earlier. I may be human, but I’m not blind.”

Jared’s laughter filled the room. “I can sneak past trained assassins, but I can’t get anything by you.”

“That’s because they’re not around you every second of the day,” I qualified.

Jared smiled, pressing his lips together. “We’re celebrating.”

“A month of cohabitation. You mentioned that.”

“Exactly,” he smiled, an edge of nervousness to his voice.

I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips at his evasive answer, but I let it go. He was obviously having fun keeping it from me.