She slipped into the living room with no time to spare, carrying her wedges in one hand as she used the other to put her earring in. "Ready?" She wondered with a gentle smile.
Stevie was wearing a black dress with a small slit in the side, accompanied by a cream shawl thrown over her shoulders. And her hair was in long curls that traveled down her back that she'd done after she'd worked on her makeup for half an hour.
Beautiful was an understatement... She was stunning.
"I'm ready." He pushed himself out of the chair, cradling the glass of scotch he'd poured as he waited. "Prettiest woman in the world, you are." He smirked when she held out her hand, silently asking for his glass.
"And you're as handsome as always." She winked as she brought it up to her lips to let the warm liquor run down her throat. "Yuck." She scrunched up her face, getting the chills instantly.
He chuckled, taking the last drink before he set it down on the stand. "Come on, baby." He patted her hip softly, knowing already that they were going to be late for their dinner reservations.
"One more second." She held up her shoes, giving him an apologetic look as she took a seat on the accent chair to put them on.
He watched her for a second, slipping one foot in and then working on getting the buckles of her thick wedges strapped. "Let me help you." Lindsey grew inpatient fairly quickly, like always.
Her lips turned up into a grin as she gently kicked out one foot for him. "It's my Cinderella moment..." she teased, eyes following his every move as her heart began to beat a little quicker.
He bent down, getting on one knee in front of her as he carefully took her ankle. "Well, you've always been a princess." Lindsey was being a little sarcastic, but not at the same time. "In my eyes, at least." He added as he ran the tips of his fingers up the back of her calf.
She tossed her head back, allowing the deepest laughs to escape her as he ticked the back of her knee. "You're going to make us even later." Stevie looked back down, smiling softly when she realized he was already working on getting her other foot into the heel.
He smirked as he pushed himself up off the floor. "After you, baby." Lindsey held out his hand to help her up, tangling his fingers in hers as she led the way through the room.
It wasn't long until they pulled up to the curb at their favorite restaurant downtown. They'd been going at least once every summer since it opened twenty years earlier, so by then they had a special booth in the back, the best bottle of wine memorized and they ordered the same thing every time.
It was easy.
"I'm going to miss this so much." Stevie admitted, even though she'd been trying her best not to.
She was going to miss it all though... the house, the beach, the memories, the wonderful people and places. But most of all, of course, she was going to miss Lindsey and their time together more than anything else.
He nodded softly, looking at her over the single lit candle that sat on the table cloth. "We can make the last couple of days extra special." Lindsey told her with the softest set of blue eyes. "We can drive down the coast and see all those little houses you like so much." He shrugged a shoulder softly as he let off a small smile.
She gasped lightly, another big grin spreading across her gorgeous face. "Let's do it tomorrow...?" Stevie was excited for the first time since she'd gotten there that summer.
"I can't wait." He took his wine glass off the table, taking a soft sip as he watched their waiter bring out their meals.
She bit down on her lower lip, still smirking as her eyes stayed locked with his. "Thank you." Stevie glanced away from him for a moment, giving the waiter a sweet smile. "And then we can get ice cream." She continued once it was just the two of them once more.
Lindsey couldn't help but laugh, finding her to be incredibly sweet in moments like that. "All the ice cream you want." He loved when she was that carefree... it wasn't often he saw that side of her anymore.
"And-" she was getting ready to continue with her excitement, but the sound of her cell phone caught her attention. "I won't get it." Stevie shook her head, waving a hand lightly.
She wasn't sure who it was, but she didn't want to ruin that moment... She was enjoying their time far too much.
"Something could be wrong." He motioned towards the empty chair where her bag sat, tucked under the table.
She sighed lightly, grabbing her purse off the chair and fumbling through all the junk for her cell phone that had slipped to the bottom. "Hello?" She didn't even look at the caller ID- she just assumed it was Karen since they'd talked the day before.
"Hi..." Her voice came as a surprise... to say the least.
Looking up at Lindsey, Stevie immediately creased a brow. "Ann?" Her nerves shot through the roof as her heart started to pound in her chest.
Lindsey shifted in his seat, dropping his fork to his plate as he tried hard to listen to his daughters voice from across the table.
"Hi, Stevie." She was so sweet and calm... Stevie wasn't sure where she got that trait from, considering neither of her parents were.
"Honey, are you okay?" She wondered, finding it nearly impossible to even remember the last time that Ann just randomly gave her a call.
There was a soft sigh that filled the phone, which let Stevie know all she needed to. "I'm here with Karen and Becks..." she lingered, trying to be as sympathetic as possible. "And we're all so worried that we're going to lose Constance."
