A Wrong Surrogate for the CEO-Chapter 90: A surprise

"Where are we going, Curtis?" Lara asked as he helped her into the car.

Her stomach had gotten bigger, and they both knew that it was only a matter of time before her time was up.

Curtis smiled, leaned down to kiss her on the forehead, closed the door, and jogged to the other side of the car.

He closed the door beside him as he sat down, and Lara raised her eyebrows at him.

"You’ve not answered my question," she stated.

Curtis shook his head at her insistence.

"Don’t be so grumpy. It’s a surprise," he said.

"I hate surprises," Lara volunteered.

A small smile settled on Curtis’s lips. "I think you’re going to love this one."

"And if I don’t?" she insisted.

"You will, love. You will."

Lara sighed and said nothing else, leaning back on her seat as he drove. She tried to figure out where he could possibly be taking her to.

A breakfast date?

A restaurant?

Maybe he was driving her to an aquarium. Or a museum. All of these seemed very likely, but no matter how much she tried to think, she couldn’t decide on one option because she wasn’t sure.

After driving for a while though, Lara sat up and took in their surroundings.

They were at one of Curtis’s buildings, and as he led her to the elevator, she turned to face him.

"A rooftop date?" she asked.

"Come on. Have some faith in me," he responded.

"Why won’t you just tell me the truth?" she quipped back at him.

Curtis reached out to tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Don’t be so impatient. You trust me, right?" he asked softly.

Lara nodded against his touch.

"Then please stop asking and just wait. You’ll see. I have a feeling that you are going to enjoy this so much."

Lara sighed and nodded, dropping the interrogation.

"Just so you know, if I don’t end up liking however this ends up, I am going to be very very mad at you. I’m sure you wouldn’t want that, would you?" she asked.

"Of course I won’t. Just trust me," he repeated.

The elevator stopped moving, and the doors slowly slid open.

Curtis led Lara out to the rooftop, and where Lara was expecting to see a dinner table with food laid out, what she saw was totally unexpected that her jaw gaped open.

"A private jet?" she gasped in disbelief.

Curtis gave her a sheepish smile.

"What the hell, Curtis?" she exclaimed, but there was no anger in her voice. Just awe and surprise.

"Get in, baby," he said softly.

Dazed, Lara did as he said. Curtis walked in after her, and the jet was lifted off the rooftop immediately.

Lara turned to face him.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Curtis draped his arm over her shoulders and dragged her closer until she was nestled at his side.

"Paris, baby."

If Lara had been surprised before, her jaw literally hung up at his words.

"What?! We are flying to Paris? For what?" she asked, her eyes as wide as saucers.

Curtis shrugged.

"For breakfast. You were grumpy when you came downstairs and you looked tired. I thought it would be a good idea to get you out of the country, you know. Feed you foreign cuisine. Lift your mood a little bit," he explained.

Lara groaned as her hand flew up to cover her mouth.

"Oh my God. You are one of those rich people," she stated.

Curtis raised his eyebrows at her.

"Which rich people?" he asked.

"People who are so ridiculously rich that they do things like flying to another state just to have breakfast. If you wanted to take me out, you could have taken me to an expensive restaurant back home. I’m sure there are a lot that sell the foreign cuisine you’re talking about!"

Curtis chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess. But I don’t mind doing it, to be honest. I needed to cheer you up. Hell, I wanted to. And this seems like a good idea. Paris is a beautiful place, and I want you to see the most beautiful things this world has to offer. So yes, I am one of those ridiculously rich people, as long as I get to use that money to make you happy," he declared.

Lara blinked tears away.

"You know, when I first met you, I had no idea that you are such a sappy man," she teased.

He leaned down to kiss her hair.

"What can I say? I am pretty charming."

She laughed softly.

"Thank you, baby."

"You’re welcome, love. You feel any better?" he asked.

Lara nodded, her cheeks brushing against his chest.

"That’s the goal," he whispered as the jet landed.

Curtis took Lara to a Michelin starred restaurant, and the moment she stepped inside, Lara’s jaw hung open.

Her eyes had never been wider as she took in the beautiful, exquisite interior of the restaurant.

The place looked nothing like the restaurants she was used to. There were crystal chandeliers hanging above them, and the glow emanating from said chandeliers bathed the entire place in a soft glow.

The marble floors gleamed as a beautiful waitress walked them to their table — Curtis apparently, was a regular that didn’t need to call ahead.

Lara turned to face him.

"Tell me the truth, Curtis. Are you the owner of this place?" she asked as they sat down.

He laughed before he responded.

"Not at all. I just come here whenever I’m in town. It’s one of my favourites," he shrugged.

Lara shook her head at how beautiful it was. Her awe was impossible to hide, and the glow on her face made Curtis’s heart warm in his chest.

Lara reached across the table — draped in ornately beautiful linen — to squeeze his hand.

"It’s so beautiful. I think I might want to live here forever," she whispered.

Curtis laughed.

The waitress appeared again, and she took their order.

As they ate, Lara’s grumpiness faded away. She told Curtis how much she loved him, and not once did her mind wander over to the issue that had kept her awake all through the night.

In that Michelin starred restaurant, holding Curtis’s hand, Lara did not think about Mike and his murderous wife.

In that moment, neither of them existed in her world.