The Best Woman's Secret

~First Date~

Dakotas POV❤️

We pull up to the restaurant and valet comes to open our door. "Thank you." I say and watch as the other helps Raven out.

"Thank you." She says and I come up and wrap my hand around her waist and guide her inside. She takes in the low dimmed restaurant with chandeliers of diamonds and a live piano. "This is gorgeous."

I smile and then we follow the hostess to our table. I let her chair out and she smiles at me and sits down. I sit down in front of her and I admire her. "I hope you like it here, you have no idea what I had to do to get a reservation here." I say and she raises an amused brow.

"What, sleep with the boss?" She asks and I chuckle shaking my head.

"No that I would never do." She hums. "No I had to actually set the owner up on a vacation spot up in Paris. Her eyes go wide. "What?"

"You just have the abilities to send people to Paris?" I shrug nodding. "Can I owe you a favor?" She asks and I laugh.

"You would only simply have to ask Raven. I'll take you wherever you want to go." I say honestly and she blushes.

"I'll take you up on that. So what's good here?"

"Well I like their steak and their shrimp pasta."

She nods. "Can we get both and share them?" I nod fully agreeing with the idea. "How's Jamie?" She asks and I look at her confused.

"What do you mean?"

She shrugs. "The last time he saw you, was after I told him about our affair. And then you left to go to Spain and now you're here with me on a date. How does he feel about this?" She asks and I nod.

"Well, I haven't really spoken to him about us. But he's not mad, he was hurt of course and got a punch in but in reality he knows I have a good heart and what he did to you was not ok Raven. He knows I'll do right by you." I say honestly and she smiles.

"Well, I must say you are doing a great job at that so far." She says and I chuckle smiling softly at her. "I want to apologize Dakota."

"You didn't owe me anything then and you still don't."

She shakes her head and grabs my hand over the table. "I do. You confessed your love for me that day and I completely froze on you. I made you feel unwanted Dakota but that's far from what I thought. I loved you then and I love you now. And I'm sorry." I look into her eyes and then nod grabbing her hand and kissing her knuckles.

"Thank you Raven." The waiter comes and takes our orders that we agreed on. "You really do look beautiful Raven."

She blushes. "Thank you Dakota. I was very nervous for this date."

I tilt my head confused. "Why is that?" I ask with a smile.

"Because I love you Dakota. And I don't want to mess this up."

I smile. "You couldn't mess anything up even if you tried. We pretty much know everything it is to know about each other right?" She nods. "This date is not to get to know each other or pretend, it's to just be present with each other. I love just being around you Raven and I missed you."

She sighs. "I missed you too." Food comes out and we begin to eat with me having the steak and her having the pasta. "Here baby." She says and I look up as she has some pasta and shrimp on her fork. I smile and lean over the table to take the bite but remain eye contact with her. "You did not have to do that."

I chuckle. "Didn't I though?" I say with a smirk and she rolls her eyes playfully. "Here." She looks at me and then the steak on the fork. She does the same thing I did by remaining eye contact but I get completely lost in her eyes.

She smirks and hums at the taste of the food. "That's so good." She says and I nod. "You're drooling." I go to wipe my mouth but she laughs.

"Haha very funny." She continues to laugh and then we continue eating and taking bites from each others. We finish eating and head to the valet. "Grey Audi." I tell them and they go get my car. "So how was dinner?" I ask her as she holds on to my arm.

"It was delicious. We are definitely going to have to come back again." She says and the use of we makes me happy.

"Then we will." I look at my watch. "It's 9 and I have one last thing to show you before I have to take you home." I say and she raises a brow skeptically.

"Really?" I nod and then the car drives up. I smile at the valet and tip him a hundred dollars and then I let Raven inside with her thanking me for the chivalry. I get in and drive her to the next destination. The song Can We Talk by Tevin Campbell starts playing and she smiles. "This was playing the first day we hung out with each other."

I smile at that. "And you remember that how?"

"Not to be corny or anything but that was the day I realized I was in love with you Dakota." I take a glance at her. "I immediately felt guilty from being so entranced by you and felt safe. You became so much more to me than Jamie's bestfriend he always talked about. I understood why he loved you so much and I wanted to do the same." She says making my heart swell.

I clear my throat. "Well that wasn't corny at all. I was nervous towards the end of it because it felt like a date."

She smiles nodding. "Me too." I chuckle shaking my head.

"Well now I'm hoping I can end this one like I wanted to end that one." I say and she blushes and then shys away. We pull up the building and get out right in front. I let her out and take her hand in mine.

"The art museum?" She asks and I nod with a smile and we go inside.

"Ms. Neils!" The curator Jonathan calls and I guide us to him. "It is a pleasure to have you here tonight." He shakes my hand and then looks at Raven and then looks at me making me nod. "It is a pleasure mademoiselle to be graced with your presence." He says to her and then shakes her hand and she smiles confused.

"What's going on?" She asks me.

"Is it ready?" I ask him and he nods and then leads us to what I hope will bring this night to a great close. We enter into a secluded exhibit and the lights come on and I hear her gasp and her hand leaves mine going to her mouth.

"Welcome to the For Raven Collection by yours truly Dakota Neil's." Jonathan says and she looks at me still in shock.

"Dakota what is this?" She asks in disbelief. I take her hand and take her to the first painting. "Is that?" I nod.

"It's you in the dress you wore on our first unofficial date and you looking at the play. Thats Hamilton there." I say pointing to the details and she has that same sparkle as she did that day in her eyes.

"Dakota." She wipes her tears. I guide her to the next one. She chuckles at it. "It's just green." She says and I smile nodding.

"Well baby your favorite color is forest green." I say as a matter of fact and she nods staring at it with a huge smile. "And this is the last one." I take her and I feel her relax as she looks at it. "It's not exactly you but it's how you made me feel the moment you walked down the aisle at the wrong wedding." It's a painting of me watching her walk down the aisle and the way I pictured our very future within that moment.

She looks at me. "Dakota it's beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it. It was all Mikayla's doing. She just said to do what I do best and she'll handle the rest." I say and she chuckles.

"And you definitely did that. They're all beautiful. Thank you." Her eyes meet my lips and then back to mine. "Can you kiss me now please?" I smile and take her lips onto mine. I feel her smiling and it shoots butterflies in my stomach. We lean our foreheads together when we part. "I love you."

I sigh in content closing my eyes. "I love you too. This really is your exhibit though so." I say and her eyes widen and I chuckle.

"God Dakota." She shakes her head.