“And what else do you have planned?”
He cleared his throat almost as if he was embarrassed. “I am hoping you will agree to stay the night in the hotel with me. I won’t make love to you but I do want to spend time with you in the hot tub in my room. Clothing is optional.”
“I’d be thrilled to spend the night with you in the hotel.” Sarah replied in anticipation. Dalton settled her more closely to him and watched her in the moonlight. “Dalton, I don’t want to end this night. But even with that nap I am tired. Can we go in?”
“Sure. Should I carry you?”
“Just hold my hand.”
As they walked back to the cottage, Sarah broke the silence “I wanted to spend time tonight learning to please you with my hands, but I am too tired. Is that okay?”
“Yes, my love. I will teach you another time.” As they entered the house he followed her to her room, “Get ready for bed and I’ll be back to tuck you in.” he said with a kiss to her forehead.
Sarah rushed through a shower but Dalton still beat her back into her room. He had pulled the covers down and was waiting to hand her into the bed. She got comfortable on the pillows and he covered her up. He pressed a kiss to her lips and said “I love you my Sarah. Sleep well.”
“Good night sweetheart.”
Chapter 16
The sun was shining brightly the next morning when Sarah awoke. She decided to pay Dalton a visit in his room. She quietly opened the door and walked in. She looked down on him for several minutes before easing the covers back and laying down beside him. He did not wake up so she continued to study him. Sarah, you are so blessed to have this man love you. You need to say those words back to him for the rest of your life. He wants to take care of you and he will do the best he can. There will not be anyone who treats you better. It is time to give it back.
She raised her eyes to his face and found him watching her. “You look thoughtful this morning, my Sarah. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I am wonderful.” She said as she kissed him good morning.
He told her to hold that thought as he ran to freshen up from his night’s rest. As he returned, he gathered her in his arms “Now, why are you wonderful this morning?”
“Because you love me.”
“Yes, I do, very much.”
“And because I love you.”
Dalton sat up so fast he hit his head on the headboard. “What?” he said rubbing his head
“Are you okay?” she asked concerned
“Forget that. Tell me again.”
She moved to sit face to face with him so he could see that she had no doubts. She took his hands in hers and stated clearly “I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life taking care of you.”
“No doubts?”
“None whatsoever.”’
“No fears?”
“Yes, tons of those but not about loving you. Just about the future.”
“We will handle the future together babe. Always together.”
“That sounds perfectly wonderful.” Sarah said through her tears of happiness.
“Sarah, there is a jewelry store at the hotel.”
“Really, that’s nice” she said cheekily. She was grabbed and tossed to the bed for her impertinence. Then she was kissed hard to make sure she understood the severity of her “crime”. “Good heavens Dalton. That gets better every time.” She replied out of breath
“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. But first things first.
He moved so that she was looking him in the eye. Dalton took one of her hands in his “Sarah Dawson, will you do me the greatest honor of my life and become my wife?”
Sarah used her free hand to gently cup his face as she answered “it will be my honor to be your wife; will you do me the greatest honor of my life and become my husband?”
“It will be my honor to be your husband.” They leaned towards each other to seal their pledge with a kiss.
“Let’s surprise Greg and CeCe today with the news but let’s not tell our family for a while. I have a great plan on how to tell them.” She listened to his plan and thought it was a fun idea.
The limousine picked the two couples up at the Davis’ house about mid-morning. He told them about the couples massage options if they were interested and told them that there would be staff available to arrange whatever they needed that day or night.
“Sarah and I plan to spend the night at the hotel, but the limousine will take you back home if you prefer.”
“No, we decided to stay the night also.” Greg replied “We can’t thank you enough for your generosity in doing this for us. Keeping it private so we can enjoy it without publicity.”
“I owe you a great deal more than this.” Dalton said as he waved away Greg’s thank-you.
The ride to the hotel was not long. The hotel manager greeted them in the private elevator. “Welcome Mr. Matthews”
“Hello, Kevin.”
“I’d like you to meet my guests, Greg, CeCe and Sarah.”
“Welcome to all of you. Your rooms are all arranged as instructed by Mr. Matthews. The butler assigned to your room will arrange whatever you need.” The elevator traveled to the top floor and the occupants stepped out into sheer elegance.
“Dalton, this is the most beautiful hotel I have ever seen.” CeCe exclaimed
“I do like elegance! And I like to treat others as I want to be treated.” The manager directed Greg and CeCe to their rooms and Sarah and Dalton followed to make sure it was acceptable to them. “The private dinner will be served at seven pm in the room across the hall. Until then, please call on us at any time.” Kevin bowed and left the room.
“Please do call on them if they are needed. I want you to really enjoy your time here.”
“We will. I am looking forward to that massage.” CeCe answered
“Sarah and I will leave you to it then. We are going to go look at rings. We will see you later.”
“Rings?” screamed CeCe. Sarah and Dalton stopped their exit “Did we forget to tell you that we she agreed to marry me this morning?” CeCe grabbed Sarah in a big hug. Greg went to shake Dalton’s hand and offered his congratulations. CeCe released Sarah and moved to give Dalton a big hug and whispered in his ear “We will talk later.” Greg went to Sarah and hugged her. “Congratulations Sarah, you deserve this.”
“Thank you both for everything; for ignoring my stupidity and inviting Dalton here. We can never repay you.”
“Just be gloriously happy and that will be our thanks.” CeCe said as she hugged Sarah again.
Dalton tugged his fiancé to the door and wished the other couple a good day. “Call us if you need us, otherwise we will see you at seven.” Dalton led them to his suite of rooms and invited her in. Her bag had already been placed in one of the bedrooms. He showed her all the facilities and told her to make herself at home. “Do you want anything to eat or drink before we go look at rings?”
“No, I’ll just freshen up and be ready to go.”
They left their suite a few minutes later to go to the jewelry store. Dalton was welcomed and he introduced Sarah to the clerk. The couple was directed to the engagement and wedding ring sets. Sarah and Dalton had already discussed their ideas somewhat while they were in their room. Sarah wanted to choose three or four styles she liked and then leave the store while he made the final decisions. She would then be surprised when he formally proposed to her.
Sarah had a difficult time choosing because their selection was excellent. The store personnel told her about the stones; the cut and clarity of the diamonds and the different band choices. She didn’t really care about all that; she just wanted it to be beautiful. She finally made her choices and left the store. She told Dalton she was going to go do some shopping and to call her when he was finished. He kissed her goodbye and told her to have fun.
She found the lingerie shop first and purchased some elegant undergarments
and night gowns. The clerk arranged to have them sent to Dalton’s suite. She was paying for a stunning new dress when Dalton called her. “I’m almost finished in the dress shop.” She stated when he asked where she was. “I’m on my way.” Dalton replied.
Sarah’s dress had needed some minor alterations but the clerk promised it would be delivered in time for their dinner tonight. Sarah thanked the clerk and went to meet Dalton.
“Do you want to eat lunch in the café or in our room?” Dalton asked when they met up. “The café would be fine.” Sarah replied
Dalton was once again welcomed by the hostess at the café. They were seated and had placed their orders when the chef came up to the table. He was not what Sarah was expecting in a chef. He was tall and muscular and his face told the story of a hard life.
“Welcome Mr. Matthews”
“Hello Frank. May I introduce my fiancé, Sarah. Sarah this is Frank. He is a culinary genius.”
“Thank you, sir.” Frank said to Dalton and then turned to Sarah “I am preparing a scrumptious dinner and a decadent dessert for you tonight.”
“I can’t wait.” answered Sarah
“I must return to the preparations. Aloha Mr. Matthews and his lovely Sarah.” Frank left them to return to the kitchen.
“Tell me his story.” Sarah inquired
“He doesn’t look like a typical chef, does he?”
“No”
“Frank was a hand at the ranch for a while. He had made some bad choices as a young adult and ended up in prison. He fought his way through prison and ended up working for David. He was in charge of cooking for the ranch hands and his meals became legendary around the city. Gabby was jealous for awhile until she ate one of them. Then she fell in love with him as she does everyone.”
“Frank confided to Gabby that he had always loved to cook and should have made that choice instead of the bad ones. She talked to David and I and we agreed to pay for his schooling if he would agree to work in one of the Matthews’ restaurants for a time. He agreed, went to school and then chose to come here to work. We couldn’t be more pleased, the restaurant gets rave reviews each year. He is past his agreed time to work for us so he isn’t obligated to us anymore and we don’t expect to keep him here forever.”
“Has he received offers to work elsewhere?”
“Yes, he calls me and discusses them with me. He trusts my opinion, but then he always turns them down.”
“He probably is a little insecure about his background and how he would be received elsewhere.”
“Most likely.”
“He is probably very grateful to you also.”
“But I don’t want him to miss his chance to make his dreams come true. That’s why we sent him to school in the first place.”
“Now, I know another reason you are my knight in shining armor. You made all my dreams come true too.”
“Sarah” Dalton covered her hand with his. “I want us to dream new dreams together and make them come true too.”
“We will, we will have wonderful times together.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their lunch. They talked of how he had all these elegant ideas for his restaurants and hotels. He said it was because he liked to treat people well. “I want to be treated like a king for a day so I treat others that way also.”
After finishing their lunch, they headed to the spa. Their appointment for the couples massage was early afternoon. They were greeted warmly by the staff and directed to separate dressing rooms to disrobe.
Sarah changed out of her clothes and put on the luxurious robe. She left the dressing room and was led to the private massage room on the beach. Dalton greeted her with a kiss. The therapists guided them to lie down on the tables.
The massage was a combination of hot rocks, reflexology and deep tissue massage. It was heavenly. Sarah had never enjoyed such decadent treatment before. Dalton could see the pleasure on her face and was thrilled that he could give this to her.
Sarah was almost asleep by the time her massage was over. She walked sleepily back to the dressing room to change clothes and met Dalton at the front desk. “Let’s go, you need a long nap.” He said quietly as he led her to the private elevator to the suite. Inside the elevator he gathered her close and laid her head on his shoulder. “You looked like you enjoyed that massage, sweetheart.”
“That was amazing. Can I have one of those daily?”
“Well, probably not daily, but whenever you want to we can arrange it.”
He opened the door to the suite and sent her to her room to change into some clothes for a long nap. He knocked on her door a few minutes later and she had already climbed in bed.
“Will you lay down with me?” queried Sarah
Dalton smiled at her and moved to join her. She snuggled up to him and promptly fell asleep. He continued to watch her for a few minutes. He too fell asleep for a short nap. She was still sleeping soundly when he woke up. He eased out of the bed and went to the living room.
“My pillow moved on me.” Sarah announced as she came to him.
“I’m sorry. You were sleeping so soundly I thought you wouldn’t miss me.”
She crawled into his lap and laid her head down on his shoulder and wrapped arms loosely around his neck. He kissed her forehead and urged her to go back to sleep. “I’ll just hold you.” She nodded and fell back to sleep. She was tired and he had to make sure she got enough rest so she wouldn’t have any attacks. He didn’t want to waste a minute of their vacation.
Dalton was enjoying holding her but it was getting late in the afternoon. “Babe, I hate to wake you but we need to get ready for dinner.”
“I know, but this is so nice.” She replied sleepily.
“We will do more later. You will enjoy it then too. And the other things I am going to show you.”
She smiled and they went to shower and dress for dinner. Sarah’s purchases had arrived during their massage and the suite’s butler had hung the dress in her closet. Dalton was going to love this dress.
Dalton was waiting in the living room when Sarah emerged from her bedroom. He was dressed in a double breasted suit that emphasized his powerful body. She waited for him to turn and notice her and when he did his hand went to his heart again.
“Do you like it?” Sarah asked as she turned very slowly so he could see the entire dress.
“It” was a mid-calf length navy blue dress. The fabric was silk and it had a shimmering thread that ran through it to catch the light. It draped low in the front to the valley between her breasts and the back draped down to her hips leaving her back exposed. There was one tie across the upper back that kept it from falling off. She had worn the necklace and earrings set again. Her hair was brushed until it glittered in the light. She had left it down because she knew he like it that way and she loved it when he ran his fingers through it.
He walked to her and then around her again.
“Dalton?”
He put one of his arms around her from behind and with the other he moved the hair away from her neck. He placed a long leisurely kiss where her shoulder and neck met. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. You look stunning and I love this dress.”
“Thank you. I hoped you would like it.”
“Love it! It is a good thing that this is a private dinner or you would cause a riot.”
“Not me, but you might. All the female wait staff would flock to our table to take your order. This suit does lots for you.”
Dalton kissed her then offered her his arm. They left the suite and moved to the private dining area. The staff had followed his instructions to the letter. There was soft music playing in the background and plenty of soft romantic light so CeCe and Sarah could see and not be disoriented. The table was perfect and he was so pleased. “Is this going to be enough light so that you don’t get disoriented?”
“It s
hould be fine.”
Greg and CeCe entered the room a few minutes later. “CeCe you look lovely.” Dalton said as he went to escort them to the sitting area.
“Thank you Dalton.”
“Sarah, you look radiant.” CeCe commented as she saw Sarah’s dress.
“Thank you. I feel that way too.”
Dalton brought them some drinks and they all sat down to relax. “Did you have a nice day?” Dalton inquired
“Yes! Your staff is in the business of pampering your guests. Everything we wanted appeared like magic and those massages. I want one every day.” laughed CeCe
Sarah exclaimed “That’s what I said”
“Greg and Dalton those could be company fringe benefits. Your staff would be so loyal.” said CeCe. Dalton and Greg just shook their heads and laughed.
The wait staff silently entered the room and began to set up the dinner. The two couples moved to the table and began to enjoy the scrumptious food prepared by Frank. “Frank was right Dalton, this food is wonderful.”
“Who is Frank?” asked CeCe
“The chef. I was introduced to him at lunch and he was very kind to me. He told me he was preparing a feast for us and he lived up to it. He has quite a storied life.”
“Tell us Dalton”
Dalton told them the same story he told Sarah at lunch. They were impressed by the chef’s talents and his strength to change his life around. It reminded Sarah of what she was trying to do with the foundation. Change people’s lives.
“Is there something wrong Sarah?” Dalton asked
“No, I was just pondering CeCe’s comment about how he changed his life. That is what I hope the foundation accomplishes with a lot of lives. Changes for the better.”
“It already has, Sarah” remarked Greg. “And it will continue to do so.”
Sarah nodded in agreement and the conversation resumed. The dessert was served a few minutes later and it was as decadent as Frank had said it would be.
After dinner, the two couples returned to the sitting areas to enjoy the good company. The wait staff rolled the table from the room which left the area open for dancing. Dalton stood and held his hand out to Sarah. “Will you dance with me?”