“The sun rises there”—he pointed to a spot filled with multiple high-rises, none as tall as his—“and sets there.” He turned us, the opposite view just as magical.

“Your home is stunning.”

“Thank you.”

He moved us closer to the glass, the sun just starting to lower, heavy swirls of deep orange and aqua in the sky.

“I can’t imagine what it’s like to wake up to this.”

I felt his eyes devouring me, but I couldn’t drag mine away from the outside scenery.

“You’ll know tomorrow morning.”

As his words sank in, my cheeks surely gave away my reaction.

When I turned to him to respond, he instantly led me into the kitchen, where he took the pink box from my hand and set it on the counter, untied the string, and lifted the lid.

“I didn’t know what flavor you liked,” I admitted as he looked at the assortment of cookies. “So, I guessed.”

His grin was even more delicious than the gooey chocolate on the inside of those treats. “And which one did you pick?”

“Not the rainbow chip, although it’s excellent.” I laughed and winked. “I went with the Oreo.”

“You did very good.” He went over to the double oven, covering his hands in mitts before he reached inside the bottom one. “Let’s see if I did as well with choosing what to cook for you.” He set the casserole dish on a trivet, the top full of lightly browned cheese.

“Tell me you didn’t make eggplant parm.”

“You don’t eat chicken,” he said, recalling our conversation from the bar. “That’s probably what I’m best at, but eggplant comes in at a close second.”

I closed my eyes, inhaling a smell that I wanted to bottle. “I feel like I’m dreaming.”

“Wait until you taste it.”

Once he put a piece on each plate, I brought them to the table, which had already been set with salad and bread and an opened bottle of red wine that I poured into our glasses.

I took the seat across from him, placing my napkin on my lap. “Thank you, Caleb.” I added each of the sides to my plate and lifted the drink in my hand. “This is everything.”

Everything a man had never done for me before.

“I think we need to cheers to that.” He tapped his wine against mine. “But I assure you, this is only the beginning.”

As his words echoed in my head, a wave of tingles came shooting through me.

Stalling long enough, I picked up my fork and dug into the corner of the eggplant. I hid my mouth with the back of my hand and groaned, “Oh God, I was right. This is even more than everything.”

He smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”