“How thoughtful,” she said as she stepped up and into his small office. She’d been here a few times in the past, but not for a while. Dawson was pretty protective of his space, and Caroline had tried to be respectful of that.
His whiteboard with his sticky notes hung from the wall on her right, and she couldn’t stop herself from looking at it. She found blue, yellow, green, tan, white, and pink notes there, and he’d told her he used specific colors for specific things.
His writing was cramped and small, and she didn’t linger there, trying to read any of his reminders.
“You brought the pizza pasta,” he said, pulling things from the bag. “This is great.” He smiled at her, and Caroline quickly closed the door behind her, as Dawson didn’t like to lose his air conditioning.
“Dawson,” she said, really stretching out his name.
He looked up, clearly sensing something. “What’s wrong?”
Caroline realized then that her eyes had filled with tears. “It’s just—there’s no way you’ll ever be able to do this again next year, and I’m just freaking out a little that you’ve gone way overboard for my birthday, and we haven’t even done the afternoon or evening stuff yet.”
She sniffled, pure embarrassment running through her. Dawson straightened and simply looked at her. She shook her head. “This is so silly, I know. I told you birthdays and stuff were a big deal to me, and now I’m upset that you’ve made it a big deal?”
“Did I?” he asked. “It was the texts in the morning, right? I never do that.”
She wiped her eyes, and her brain finally recognized the teasingquality of his voice.
“Or it was that breakfast. I knew it would be cold by the time it got to you, but God told me it would be okay. I’ll have a word with Him about it.”
Caroline burst out laughing, glad when Dawson allowed a smile to come to his face too. He took her into a hug, and Caroline wanted to stand in his arms forever and ever. Within the strength of his chest, he could protect her from the negative things in the world. With him so close, she didn’t have to worry about what plagued her.
“Happy birthday, darlin’,” he drawled, his mouth right at her ear. “I didn’t think I’d gone over-the-top, but if you think I have, I apologize. I just want you to feel important today, because you’re really important to me.”
You’re really important to me.
Caroline didn’t think better words could be spoken, and her eyes burned with unshed tears again. She clung to him until she felt certain she wouldn’t break down into sobs when she stepped back. “You hungry?” She couldn’t quite look at him, and he gave her the time she wanted to put herself back together.
“Yes, ma’am,” he murmured.
They settled down to eat, and Caroline’s heartbeat didn’t quite calm back into its normal rhythm. Dawson finished before her, and finally, when she only had a couple of bites left, he said, “Talk to me, sweetheart.”
“I guess I…what are we doing this afternoon?”
He ducked his head, which didn’t exactly comfortCaroline. “You said you wanted to seeThe Bridge on the River Kwai, and it’s playing this afternoon at the Maven. I got us tickets to that.”
“Mm.”
“The deluxe package,” he said. “With the candy and the soda pop and the popcorn, so I should’ve warned you before you started eating lunch.”
Caroline had eaten a lot, but she’d always have room for movie theater popcorn. “And tonight?”
“Dinner,” he said. “Miggliano’s. If I’d have known you’d bring Italian for lunch, I’d have chosen somewhere else for dinner.” He finally looked up at her. “Too much?”
Caroline wasn’t sure. She honestly wasn’t sure why her thoughts and feelings zipped left and right inside her. “What if I said I wanted to cancel it all, and we could, I don’t know, go back to your cabin and just lie on the couch together, talking? Could we do that?”
Dawson didn’t answer right away, which somehow made her appreciate him more. “We could,” he said. “If that’s what you want.” He took both of her hands in his. “But I’m confused. You wanted a big deal. I sent breakfast and flowers. That’s normal boyfriend stuff, isn’t it? And dinner and a movie? It’s nothing special.”
“I don’t know,” she said.
“It feels kind of boring to me,” he said. “But Miggliano’s is a nice place. Very romantic. But a cold breakfast and someflowers? Snooze fest.”
“And the brownie,” she said. “And the balloons. And I’m in your office, where you never let me come.” She raised her eyebrows at him, but Dawson simply gazed evenly back at her.
“My mother wanted a couple loaves of bread from the bakery,” he said. “Your brownie was an afterthought. The balloons came with the flowers. And I needed to work, thus, I needed you to come to me for lunch. That’s evenmoreunromantic.”
“Dawson.”