Bitter and Sweeter

Chapter 4 ~ Lemon Scones & Tea

Now that you're all caught up, I can finally introduce you to the handsome stranger who appeared at my door. 

"May I come in?" He asked. 

Smiling, I opened the door wider. "Of course."

He awkwardly waved the flowers he was holding around. 

"Oh." I took them. "I'll put these in water."

He smiled. "Alright."

I sighed happily after seeing his dimples. 

Khalid Tsafek-Abel, aka, the love of my life. 

I met him when I was twelve, fell in love with him at twelve and a half, and decided we'd get married when I was thirteen. 

He shrugged off his jacket, and I got a glimpse of his muscular arms.  He drew his eyebrows together as he looked at my robe. "Did I come at a bad time?"

I shook my head. "No, absolutely not. You came at a perfect time. Uh," I gestured to the couch. "Why don't you get yourself settled while I get changed?"

"Alright."

"Okay." I quickly found a space for the flowers in the kitchen, and then ran upstairs. 

What to wear. What to wear. 

If I go too sexy he might think I'm too forward. Ugh, but if I dress too laid back he might think I'm not interested. 

I quickly scanned a section of my walk-in closet. 

Ooh, that's it!

One can never go wrong with a little black dress. 

I chose a short and lacy one. It took me a while to tie all the straps in the back, but the end result was certainly worth it. I inspected myself in the mirror one last time. 

Perfect. 

I made my way down the steps. 

Sensing my presence, he looked up from his magazine and smiled at me. 

Gosh, he was beautiful. 

Brown gems sat in his perfect oval-shaped eyes, framed by his thick lashes. The lines of his heart-shaped face were straight and exact, and boy did he have a jawline that could cut paper. As I got closer, I made out the smoothness of his dark, caramel-brown skin. Oh, and those curls. They were an array of chestnut-brown strands with some golden hues. They bounced with every slight movement of his head and sat right on top of his slick eyebrows. 

I finally reached the bottom of the stairs. "Can I get you anything to drink? Tea maybe? And a snack?"

"No tea-"

I frowned. 

"-But who am I to turn down the cooking of a Montgomery?" His smile brightened. 

I had to pinch myself to keep from bouncing happily. 

"If it's not too much trouble for you."

"Of course not!"

I went to the kitchen and prepared him a plate of the Cajun shrimp I had made earlier. Once it was out of the microwave, I took a quick bite. 

Hm. 

I squeezed a bit of lemon into it. 

"Here you are." I set the plate in front of me. 

He closed his eyes and took a bite. "Mm," he licked his lips. "This will never get old."

"I hope not."