𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐏.𝐎.𝐕

When was the last time we did this? It's been a couple of months since Jason and I have had time for each other so I'm looking forward to tonight. I double-check my outfit one more time, satisfaction coursing through me with how good I look.

With a sweetheart neckline and an open back, the short gold dress hugs my body so nicely, I know my husband is going to be floored when he sees me. I kept my makeup simple the only thing standing out is the highlight on my face and as for my hair, I cut it a couple of weeks ago so my short curls reach just at my shoulders but frame my face so nicely.

I grab my phone, cards and heels that are next to the bed before leaving the room and going downstairs to wait for Jason. Tonight the kids are staying with Camryn and while normally they would stay with Charlotte since Wren is there to hang with Oli, this time he asked if he and his sister could stay with Camryn and of course we couldn't say no to that. And not to mention the excited text messages I got from Camryn I know that they'll have a good time tonight.

Speaking of Oli, I still can't believe he asked if I'd officially adopt him not to mention call me mom. From the first time I met him I never wanted to take the place of his mom nor was I going to force him to see me as a parental figure. I just wanted to show him that I'm an adult that he could trust, rely on and not just because I'm with his uncle.

So the day when he brought those papers to me, I still can't believe it happened. Even after the kids went to sleep that night, every time I looked at the papers I was still getting misty-eyed. We already submitted the paperwork and just last month the adoption was finalized in court so it's still surreal. Oli might not realize it but Jason still gets emotional when he calls him dad. I'm pulled out of my thoughts when I hear knocking on the door.

"Why knock when you could unlock it yourself," I comment to myself as I go to open the door after checking to see if it's Jason. As soon as it's open I'm met with the sight of my husband with a bouquet of flowers in hand along with a small box.

"Wow, you look gorgeous sweetheart," Jason says as his eyes trail from my face down to my body.

"I know, you won't be able to keep your eyes off of me tonight," I say as I do a small twirl for him to see the entire outfit. "But you look good as well," I comment as I take in his appearance. His hair is slicked back, his black dress shirt and pants are cinched to his body, the sleeves of his shirt are rolled up to show his tattoo sleeves. To add to that he has the first two buttons of his shirt undone showing the additional tattoos he has.

"Where else would you expect me to be looking?" he questions as he hands me the flowers and kisses my cheek. I hand him my cards to put in his wallet while I admire the flowers in my hands, a bouquet of sunflowers and some others ranging in colours of blue plus white. In my free time tomorrow, I'll have to search for what the other flowers are.  

"Good answer," I reply cheerily before getting distracted by the box in his hand. "What's in there?"

"A present for you," he says as he steps into the house and opens the box in hand. Lying on the cushion is a thin gold necklace with a sapphire gem, it's beautiful.

"Jason, you didn't have to," I say as I look from the necklace to him. He takes it out of the box and steps closer to me as he puts the necklace onto my neck, the gem sitting between my collarbones. 

"I can't help it if I want to spoil my wife," he says and I move in to kiss him response before pulling back.

"I love it, thank you. Let me put these in the kitchen and then we can go," I tell him. "By the way where are we going?" I ask as I walk to the kitchen.

"I got us reservations at a restaurant, was recommended to it by your friend," I hear him tell me and I already have a guess in mind as to who it was.

"That makes sense, Camryn does like to go out to eat and try new things and the places she's taken me, the kids, or us girls haven't been a fail yet so I can trust what she says," I say as I place the flowers on the island before going back to Jason.

"She gave me such a detailed list you'd think she's a food critic," he says with a laugh and I join him.

"We should get going then, I'm going to assume our reservation is soon?" I ask as I take his hand, the familiar feeling of his wedding band pressing into my fingers. 

"We have an hour so we're good on time," he says as he leads us out of the house into the late summer evening, locking the door behind him as we go to the car.

"I just hope they have good food," I say as I get inside the car. 

"I checked out their reviews and they had some pretty good ones so hopefully it's good," he replies once he's inside. After he starts the car our hands naturally find one another as our fingers link together.

"I've missed doing this, just having time for me and you," I tell him as we drive out of our neighbourhood. "Don't get me wrong I love spending time with the kids and working but I miss having times like this." We both just got so busy with life that we've kind of neglected time for each other though that doesn't mean that our sex life is lacking; I can whole-heartedly say that we're too addicted to one another to let that stop. But moments like this I missed.

"I know what you're saying, I hate when we have plans for one another and things just get in the way," he says as his thumb caresses the back of my hand. "Which is why we're going to make the most of tonight. We have each other, we'll eat some good food, and we'll fuck to end the night," he says bluntly, tone suggestive while I smirk in response. 

"It's going to be easy access for you tonight," I reply ominously while he looks at me in question.

"Are you to tell me what you mean by that?" he asks but when I give him a deadpan stare in response he knows to drop it. "I guess it'll be a surprise for me," I hear him mutter while I giggle.

"How far away is the restaurant," I ask him as he turns into the highway.

"I'd say another twenty minutes away," he answers as he merges with the traffic. The car falls silent between us but it isn't an uncomfortable silence. I turn my gaze to the window watching cars pass by us or the trees we drive by when I feel as if I'm being stared at. I turn and meet Jason's eyes looking at me before turning his focus back to the road.

"Why are you looking at me? I know I said you wouldn't be able to keep your eyes off of me but if you keep staring we'll probably end up in a crash," I say with a teasing smile.

"I'm still focusing on the road," he says before lightly squeezing my hand. "I love you so I can't help it sometimes." When he says that I feel my face heating up and I turn to the windows again, I know I must have such a sappy look right now. Some days it feels like a dream where my life is at right now. From my mom passing away, my dad's remarriage, my year in jail, not having a home, getting my education and everything that led up to now; I went through a lot of hardships mostly on my own but I now have someone here to always stand by me. I don't even realize that I've unconsciously started staring at Jason until I realize he's calling my name.

"What's with the look on your face?" he questions and I just shake my head in response.

"I just wanted to tell you that I love you too," I say with a smile and I lean over to quickly kiss his cheek. "Are we almost there? I'm kind of hungry, I skipped lunch," I ask as I settle back in my seat.

"You skipped lunch?" he asks echoing my words.

"I lost track of time at work so I'm going to eat my fill tonight and raise my energy levels," I answer. And besides, I need to make sure to eat since I will definitely need the energy for later. It's another ten minutes until we reach the restaurant parking lot and it must be some high-end restaurant if there's a section for valet parking. Jason opts out of going to the side where the valet is and instead goes to the self-parking area. 

"Ready?" he asks once the car is parked and I can see a subdued bit of excitement in his eyes that has me smiling. 

"Let's go," I reply as I open my door and step out. I close the door and use the window to quickly check my outfit is still flawless which it thankfully still is. I walk over to Jason, take his outstretched hand and the two of us make our way to the front of the restaurant. When the host sees the two of us approaching him I don't miss how his eyes linger on my figure but the minute he looks at Jason he immediately straightens up. I guess at a glance he can look pretty intimidating and when I take a quick glimpse at Jason, he's glaring at the man. I have to hold back my laughter at the sight.

"Welcome to Lakeside Garden Restaurant, could I have your name please?" the host asks us as we stop in front of him. 

"We have a reservation under the last name Carter," Jason tells him and he opens his book to look for our reservation but he ends up shaking his head.

"I'm sorry sir, there's no reservation under that name," the host tells us and Jason's lips twist into a frown.

"What do you mean there's no reservation, I called on Monday to make it so why isn't our name on the list?" Jason demands and the man just shrugs his shoulders.

"I don't know what to say to you except that your name isn't on the list, apart from that I don't know if our establishment should be serving someone like yourself. I don't know why this woman is with you either, you look like you'd just bring her trouble, she could probably do better than you," the host rants and I roll my eyes. Jason bringing trouble to me? Please, I was the one that brought trouble to him.

"I don't think it's any of your damn business if I'm with him, I don't even know who the fuck you are for you to say that. And for your information he's my husband so your words of me finding anyone better than him, you can take it to the trash along with yourself. There's no one better than him," I say bluntly. By this time we see a woman rushing towards us, probably his manager or someone along the lines.

"Is there a problem here?" the woman asks looking at the host and then at us. When she sees Jason, her facial expression turns solemn. "It's nice to see you Chief Carter, are dining here tonight?" 

"We were supposed to but our name wasn't on the list for reservations," Jason tells her.

"I'm so sorry for that, we can take you inside to a sweat right away," she tells us but I hold my hand out.

"As acceptable as that sounds we won't be eating here, I don't accept anyone insulting my husband the way he did," I say as I nod my head at the host. "And I don't appreciate a stranger telling me what kind of person I should be with."

"Kevin, did you do that shit again?" the woman hisses at the man. "And how can you not recognize him? He's the Chief of police for the city."

"If it's not his first time doing this I'd really reconsider having him as an employee because someone like him will just bring down your business," I advise before pulling Jason away from the two.

"No one better than me?" I hear Jason say as we're walking back to the car.

"Of course, the meaning behind his words we're obvious and he's an idiot for thinking he even had a chance," I say furiously. He pulls on my hand to stop me and when I turn to ask him what's wrong he just cups my face pulling me into a deep kiss. We spend a couple of seconds kissing in the parking lot until he pulls back, eyes darkening as they meet mine. 

"I'll hold back for now until we're home later," is all he says as he starts walking again with me following along. My body feels warm at the thought of what's to come later, it's going to be a good night tonight.

✘✘

"You know, for some reason this feels more like us," I comment as I finish off my pizza slice. When we left the restaurant we drove to a pizzeria we usually come to as a family. Of course we without a doubt stand out with our dressed-up clothes. "Maybe next time we should do something casual or we choose a place that doesn't require reservations." I truly hope that man gets fired from his job.

"First and last time we'll go to a place like that, I know you probably left a bad review on their website when we were coming here," Jason says with a smirk while I smile innocently.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say ambiguously before taking a drink of water. Surprisingly for a Friday night the place is pretty empty which worked well for us because we've been here for the last two hours taking our time eating, talking, and catching up on the small things in our lives. 

"You ready to go?" he asks and I nod my head as he takes our trash to throw out and I wait for him by the exit. We wave bye to the owner as we leave, the night air cool now that the sun has set. We get inside the car and before Jason can start I grab onto his shirt to kiss him, his lips moulding against mine, a low moan passing his lips when my hand grazes over his chest and down his abs. 

"You said you're not going to hold back so I wanted to tell you I won't either," I whisper, our lips brushing one another. I pull back from him and it takes a couple of seconds for him to register what I said but his lips pull into a smirk after.

"I'll hold you to it sweetheart," he says as he starts the car while I have a smirk of my own. If all goes well I'm expecting to be sore all throughout tomorrow. 

✘✘

A/N I couldn't help it, another bonus chapter. Honestly when it comes to these they're never planned but if a good idea comes to me that I know I can write then I have to write it. I just want to share things that weren't in the main story, more of the sweet moments between our two MC's or their family, etc. And as you can see this is part one so there will be a part two so make sure to keep an eye out for it. 

I've been working on finishing The Detective (thankfully I'm almost done) so I'm looking forward to what I'll be writing in the future. And thank you all for the 600k views, your support means a lot to me so thank you! Anyways be sure to leave your thoughts of the chapter in the comments, what you all have to say is what I love as a writer because I'm open to feedback ^^