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Athena woke up early to see the kids off to school. She made them a quick breakfast of waffles and fruit. May walked in first. “Morning, babe, how did you sleep?” Athena asked as May rounded the corner into the kitchen.
“Good, Happy Valentine’s Day!”
“Aw, Happy Valentine’s Day to you, too, May.”
“Do you and Bobby have plans tonight?” May asked excitedly.
“Oh, I think we’ll have dinner or something. Nothing too major. You know I don’t like to make a fuss on Valentine’s Day.” Athena answered. Just then, the doorbell rang. Athena and May exchanged a confused look since they were expecting anyone. Athena walked to the door with May close on her heels. She opened the door to find a large bouquet, a smaller bouquet, and some chocolate.
“Oh my gosh! Who is all of this from?” May asked, surprised.
Athena handed her the smaller bouquet that had May’s name on it.
“Oh, these are for me? Did dad leave them?”
Athena picked up the large bouquet and the chocolate. “Oh, the chocolate is for Harry.” She opened her card, and she let out a contented sigh. Of course, it was him. Bobby always showed up for her and her kids.
My Love, I can’t wait to see you tonight. I know you’re working today, but I want tonight to be all about making sure you are relaxed and taken care of. My place at 7 pm. Wear something red! I’ll take care of everything else. See you tonight, gorgeous. Happy Valentine’s Day
Bobby
Athena held the note close to her chest and looked over at May. “What does your note say, baby?”
“It’s from Bobby, ‘Happy Valentine’s Day, May. You are loved by so many. Especially your mom, your dad, and I hope I can earn my place on the list of people who love you. You are a bright light in this world. Bobby’ Oh wow.” May said adoringly. “Bobby is such a good man.”
“He really is,” Athena said, pulling May in for a tight hug. Just then, Harry walked in with his school bag slung over one shoulder.
“What’s going on? Is breakfast ready?”
“Yes, your breakfast is ready. Come on,” Athena said and walked them into the kitchen. She set down her flowers on the counter, and May put her bouquet in the middle of the table.
“Where did those come from?” Harry asked.
“Bobby sent them for Mom and me,” May answered.
Harry looked slightly dejected until Athena dropped off his breakfast and the chocolate from Bobby. “You think Bobby would forget you?”
Harry perked, grabbed the chocolate, and tore into them without seeing the note on top.
“Harry, you should always read the card first,” May admonished.
With an eye roll, “Harry opened the card and read aloud. “‘Happy Valentine’s Day, Bud. Hope these give your day a sweet start. Love you- Bobby.’ That was nice,” Harry said, tossing the card aside and going back in for more chocolate.
Athena and May shared an exasperated look. “Harry Grant, you’d better eat your breakfast and not just that chocolate.” Athena tossed over her shoulder as she went back into the kitchen.
Soon enough, Mrs. Anderson was in the driveway, ready to take May and Harry off to school. Athena had 30 minutes before she needed to be out the door for work. She had a shorter shift today and was only working until 5. She would be counting down the hours and minutes till she got to see Booby tonight. She was just about to call him to thank him for the flowers when the doorbell rang again.
She opened the door to the most beautiful sight. Her big, strong fireman. If he wasn’t holding something in both arms, she probably would have thrown herself in those big, strong arms, but she restrained herself.
“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” Bobby said, breaking the silence.
“Not so bad yourself, Captain. What brings you by so early in the morning?”
“I thought I could wait till 7 to see you, but that proved to be impossible. I wanted to make sure your day got off to a good start,” he said, handing her coffee from her favorite coffee shop and a breakfast sandwich.
“Baby, the flowers and chocolate already made my day. Thank you and Happy Valentine’s Day,” she said and got on her tiptoes to kiss him. She broke the kiss and walked into the kitchen with him close behind her. When she set down her coffee and sandwich pulled her into a big hug and passionate kiss.
“Mmmh, Happy Valentine’s Day, baby,” Bobby said against her lips.
----1----1----8----
Bobby woke up bright and early on Valentine’s Day. It was one of his favorite holidays, and he was so excited to shower Athena with love. He had a whole evening planned for her.
He had taken the whole day off after his whole team had basically threatened to quit if he didn’t. They all knew this was a special day since it would be his first with Athena
The day before, he ordered flowers and chocolate to be delivered bright and early to the Grant home. A large bouquet for Athena, a smaller one for May, and chocolate for Harry. He knew the young boy wouldn’t like the flowers.
Bobby planned on waiting to see Athena at 7 pm for their date night, but he couldn’t help himself. He needs to see his fiancée. He knew the kids were picked up around 7:30 am, which gave Athena 30 minutes to herself before she had to drive to work. He decided to surprise her with coffee and breakfast from her favorite coffee shop. He picked it up on his way and waited till he knew the kids were gone. He rang the bell and was blown away by the woman in front of him.
Athena was such a beautiful woman. Strong, smart, sexy, and all his. He couldn’t wait to marry her. He broke the silence, “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”
Athena smiled his favorite smile. The one that stretched across her face and made her eyes twinkle. “Not so bad yourself, Captain. What brings you by so early in the morning?” Athena replied.
“I thought I could wait till 7 to see you, but that proved to be impossible. I wanted to make sure your day got off to a good start.” He handed her the breakfast he had picked up.
“Baby, the flowers and chocolate already made my day. Thank you and Happy Valentine’s Day,” she said. Athena surprised him by getting her tiptoes and kissing him gently. She pulled back and led them into the kitchen. The second she placed the coffee and sandwich down, he pulled her flesh against him and kissed her passionately.
Bobby broke their kiss but kept her close. “Mmmh, Happy Valentine’s Day, baby.”
“You definitely know how to improve my morning,” Athena said, reaching for her coffee.
“That’s my job,” Bobby said with a boyish grin. “How soon do you have to head to work?” he asked.
Athena checked her watch, “I have about 20 minutes before I have to leave.”
“Perfect, that gives you time to eat your breakfast,” Bobby said as he pulled out a plate for her sandwich.
Athena reached out and stopped him, “I’m going to save this for later this morning. I had a waffle, and this coffee is hitting the spot. What I want to know is what the plan is for tonight.”
“It’s a surprise,” Bobby responded
“Now you know I hate surprises.” Athena deadpanned
“Ha, ok, well, I’m making you dinner. I thought you would prefer to stay in. Then I have some other surprises, but I won’t tell you those now.”
“Oh, Bobby, that sounds perfect. I’m not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day, so staying in and having my man cook is perfect,” Athena said, wrapping her arms around Bobby’s neck.
“Kids are staying with Michael tonight, right?” Bobby asked.
“Yes, for the rest of the week, and I have tomorrow off too.”
“So, I get to have you tonight and tomorrow. I am a lucky, lucky man.” Bobby said, recognizing the innuendo, but not caring.
“Yes, you are,” she laughed and hugged him tighter. They talked until Athena had to head to work.
Bobby spent the rest of the day preparing for that evening. He had done most of the grocery shopping but had to pick up a few extra things. On the menu that evening was the following:
Starter: salad with goat cheese, cranberries, and candied pecans
Main: Rack of lamb with potato dauphinoise
Dessert: Tiramisu
He was making all her favorites. He wanted to challenge himself and make something new, but didn’t want to risk Athena not liking what he made. So far, she had loved everything he made, but tonight he wanted to stick to the things he knew she would love.
Booby went to the grocery store to get ingredients for the salad and then to the butcher to pick up lamb. On the way back to the car, he saw a flower shop. Although he already bought Athena flowers this morning, he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to buy her 100 red roses, but he settled for 2 dozen this time.
He went home, put the arrangement on the kitchen island, and started preparing the tiramisu. Once that was chilling in the fridge, he cleaned every inch of his apartment. He kept his place clean, but wanted to make sure it was extra clean today.
After cleaning, he went back to prepping the potato dauphinoise and the salad. All he would have to do was dress the salad and bake the potatoes closer to the time that Athena arrived. The lamb was fully seasoned and just needed to be cooked when Athena arrived.
He set the table and put out several candles. He would light them closer to her arrival. He also found his fire extinguisher; you can never be too careful.
He had about an hour before Athena arrived, and he wanted to wrap her presents. He took a quick shower and got dressed. He wore her favorite blue shirt and khakis. He went back to the living room to write her card and wrap her presents. After he was done, he only had a few minutes to wait.
----1----1----8----
After work, Athena raced home to get ready for Bobby. She had never cared about Valentine’s Day. She only had two Valentine’s Days with Emmet, and he made them special. After him, she was alone for a while and started hating the holiday. It was a lot of high expectations, but it never lived up to the hype. Then she found Michael, and at first, he tried. Romantic dinners, gifts, but it felt like they were going through the motions. He never really “pulled out all the stops,” but even that fizzled out. Seven years in, he barely got her flowers or even said anything about the day. Then, in the last few years of the marriage, he didn’t do anything. He also made Athena feel like a burden for asking.
After her everything shower, Athena stood in her closet looking at all her options. She had pulled out four dresses, three red and one black. The black was new; Bobby hadn’t seen it. It was a wrap dress, and it accentuated all her curves beautifully. She knew he wanted her to wear red, but also knew that he would love this dress. And she had a little red surprise under her dress.
Athena arrived at Bobby’s apartment. He opened the door, and Athena watched his jaw drop. She clearly made the right call. Bobby pulled her inside and wrapped his arms around her. “You look beautiful, baby,” Bobby said, breathing in her vanilla and cocoa butter scent.
“Thank you, and you clean up nice too,” she said, kissing the side of his mouth while taking in his apartment. They had had many candlelit dinners at his place and hers, but clearly, he put in extra effort tonight. Candles everywhere, flowers too, and another large bouquet of red roses that she eyed immediately. “Don’t tell me those are for me,” she said, turning to look at Booby, who was still at the door.
“Well, who else would I buy red roses for?” he asked
“Bobby, you already got me flowers today,” she said shyly.
“Yes, but you deserve all the flowers. I will buy you a million roses. Whatever it takes for you to know that you deserve them and that I will always buy them for you.”
Tears sprang to Athena’s eyes, and she looked down. She felt so seen and loved by Bobby. “How did I get so lucky?”
“I think I’m the lucky one,” Bobby responded with a kiss.
----1----1----8----
Dinner was easy; they talked about everything and nothing. It was like all their others, with an undercurrent of anticipation from both of them. Athena was excited to show him the requested red outfit, and Bobby was excited to see the look on her face when she opened her gifts. Dinner was finished, and Bobby cleared the plates and brought out the Tiramisu.
“Tiramisu, my favorite. How did you know?” Athena hadn’t shared that this was her favorite with him. It still held memories of Emmet and his proposal, even if they didn’t have Tiramisu that night.
“Well, I asked someone what a good dessert would be for tonight. May helped with your favorite dessert. I hope you don’t mind,” he said, seeing how anxious she suddenly was.
“No, no, this is perfect. I just didn’t know you knew how much I loved it. You are so sweet for asking. I know May loved having some involvement in tonight’s dinner.”
He gave them both big scoops of the dessert. He insisted on feeding her a spoonful from his plate even though she had a plate full. Bobby loved taking care of Athena, and he couldn’t wait to do it for the rest of their lives.
Once she was almost done with her dessert, Bobby asked her to close her eyes. Athena closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes and saw a velvet jewelry box, she was confused.
“Bobby, you just made a large jewelry purchase for Christmas,” she said, holding up her left hand.
“Yes, and I made another for Valentine’s Day,” Bobby said with a smirk. He opened the box to reveal a diamond tennis bracelet with some other jewels.
Athena gasped, “Bobby, it’s beautiful.”
Bobby picked up the bracelet, and Athena offered her left wrist to him. Bobby pointed to the blue topaz, “This one is for May’s birth month,” and then he pointed to the purple, “and the Amethyst is for Harry’s. And the Aquamarine is for you. And this last one is a peridot for my birthday. I wanted you to have something that represents the family that you are allowing me to be part of.”
Athena had tears streaming down her face. “You are the most thoughtful and caring man I know. Thank you so much, baby.” He wiped her tears and kissed her briefly. “Now my gift for you seems lame,” Athena said with a laugh.
She walked to the door and grabbed the gift bag. Bobby opened it, and his eyes widened. “Athena, is this the Enso HD Chef's Knife?” Bobby asked, amazed.
“Yeah, do you like it? The guy at the store said it was one of the best.”
“I love it! Thank you, baby,” Bobby said with another kiss.
“There is something else in the bag,” Athena said.
Bobby looked at the bag and saw a folded cloth. He took it out, unfolded it, and started laughing. It was a “kiss the chef” apron. “And just so you know, I’m the only one who kisses the chef,” Athena said, kissing Bobby.
“You are the only one I want kisses from,” Bobby responded in kind. Bobby pulled out his phone and put on a playlist that he had spent a few hours making. Lots of old classics and romantic slow songs. “Can I have this dance?” he asked, and Athena gave him her hand.
As the pair danced in the living room, Bobby half-joked, “I thought my instructions to wear red were clear.”
“Oh, Captain, they were.”
“And you decided to disobey?” He questioned.
“Now who says I’m not wearing red?” Athena said with a wink as she walked to the bedroom door. Bobby was still processing her statement when she turned around to face him, untied her wrap dress, and the fabric fell to the floor, revealing a fire engine red lingerie set. “You coming or are you just going to stare?”