"Come on, you have to keep your eyes closed."
"I already know where we are. Don't forget I basically have my own navigation system inside my brain. I've already called up the coordinates."
She felt a firm poke in her ribs. "Cinder, you're such a cheater."
"You know I don't like surprises."
"And you should know by now that I don't always listen to you."
"Kai, you know I can use my glamour to make you listen to me."
"An empty threat, my dear," he murmured, and she felt his breath closer to her neck. A prick of anticipation tingled through her. Kai placed a kiss in the hollow of her collarbone before backing away and continuing to pull her forward. "We're almost there."
"If we're almost there, can't I just open my eyes already?"
"Please, let me do something romantic for you. You always do everything for me. Just enjoy our vacation. It's been too long since we've been without the kids."
"Fine."
They walked several more meters until Kai stopped and ushered her forward. "Okay, you can look now."
Cinder opened her eyes and squinted for a moment. The sun was beginning to set, and though it was impressive with its different hues, it was also startlingly bright. She looked around; they were in a natural park. A waterfall spilled into a perfect basin for swimming, even though it was too cold around this time of year for that sort of thing. Next to the basin, Kai had laid out a picnic blanket, a basket of food, candles, and some rose petals. It wasn't a bad surprise at all. She had been expecting something big and showy, and she felt bad for having underestimated Kai's ability to understand her. He really did know her better than anyone.
"I love it," she said.
He sat down on the blanket and held his hand out to her. She went to sit by him, and he moved his legs so she could scoot between them and lean against his chest. He pulled out an old, faded gray hoodie and wrapped it around her so she wouldn't be cold. She grinned at the memory, and felt safe as he encased his arms around her.
"I love you." He whispered quietly in her ear, and they sat and stared at the sunset for awhile.
After they had finished dinner, he pulled out a slender bottle. "Champagne? That's what they drink around here."
"Remember when we met, and I was planning to run away to Europe?"
He chuckled. "I know, that's what I was just thinking of too. I'm so glad we finally took that off of your bucket list. I'm only sorry it took so long to fulfill your dream of coming here."
"It stopped being as important after I met you."
Kai didn't respond, but watched as a few people walked in the park. She knew what he was probably thinking—hopefully nobody was close enough to be able to recognize them. They'd tried to keep their vacation to the European Federation a secret from the media.
"Could you, uh, use your glamour?" he asked tentatively, a mischievous smirk beginning to form on his lips.
"For what?" said Cinder, looking surprised.
"You know…could you make us look like...I don't know...an old couple who are just sitting on this blanket reading?"
Cinder blinked, confused. "Why would we do that?"
Kai leaned forward and pulled her close to him, his smile growing with each word. "Can't a man want to make out with his wife with a little bit of privacy?"
His eyes were full of teasing and longing and Cinder knew that she would be unable to resist that striking smile for long. It was one of the things that made her fall in love with him again each day. She could already feel the small bit of heat–the one that still emanated from her spine whenever she used her glamour–building around them.
As she leaned into the kiss, she thought about their vacation together. He had been right to surprise her. He was wrong though, about Europe being her dream. Kai was her dream. She just hadn't known it back then.