This dog.
He’s the best.
Almost as much as his owner.
Chapter 11
Dane
Amanda brought me my favorite cookies.
I’m so startled when she pulls them out as we’re floating in the middle of the lake that I almost drop an oar.
“Lorelei said you like them,” she says quickly.
Ah.
Right.
She asked. This isn’t Tinsel magic. “I do. They’ve always been my favorite. Next to Lorelei’s snickerdoodles, anyway. Thank you.”
“You got me a ring. Cookies seemed like the least I could do.”
That ring has been taunting me all day.
While we were driving back to Tinsel, she kept looking at it. While I was fixing the mixer, she kept looking at it. While we were lining up for the town picture, when she wasn’t talking to the people around us, I caught her looking at the ring.
Always with the softest of smiles.
I wanted to know what she was thinking, but I didn’t dare ask.
In case I didn’t actually want to know what she was thinking.
Chili’s happily settled in the center of the canoe between us. He opens one eye and squints at me.
Calling me out on starting to like Amanda as an adult person who’s sometimes impulsive, sometimes insecure, always entertaining, and rarely rude?
Or is he asking if he can have a bite of my cookie?
Could be either.
I bite into the cookie and a sigh ofthis is blissslips from my lips.
There’s a lot I don’t miss about Tinsel.
But this cookie?
“I talked to Pia a little about the wedding cake, but it looks like I should call her back and tell her we want a cake of cookies,” Amanda says.
Like this is real.
Like we’re actually having a wedding.
Of course we’re talking about it like it’s real. She’s going dress shopping with her mom in two days. We have an appointment with Pia on Friday to talk about flavors. It feels real because weareplanning a wedding.
We’re just not following through with it.
Probably.
