Chapter Eleven
The worldas I knew it shifted. My skin heated, and my mind drifted to someplace near heaven. I’d left Kevin’s house walking with my feet off the ground. The night brought dreams of happily ever after. The feeling from that one kiss lasted minutes, hours, days. I walked through work at the bakery the next day living off that kiss, the best kiss of my life, and never wanted to come back down toearth.
Even the next morning when I woke up, I couldn’t wait to see Kevin and relive that kissagain.
Avery smacked me on the hand with a wooden spoon when I cleaned the same spot on our kitchen table for several minutes. “Are you going to see himtonight?”
I tossed the sponge at her and grabbed my keys from the counter. “Probably. I’m headed over to the center to work with a group of patients. He’ll probably be there. Then tonight, he’s going to pick me up and take me out to look at some home décorstuff.”
“Wow. Moving fast there,girl.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m helping him with the house he’srestoring.”
“Riiiight,” Avery said before I could make it out the front door. Luckily I didn’t have to work at the bakery today, so I could avoid any furtherquestions.
When I arrived at the center, Kevin was up on a ladder hanging decorations. The therapist already had the supplies set out, so I went to work. Mr. Shelton glued construction paper together for a chain to go around the tree. I had the other patients gluing and cutting. They all were laughing and doing things they didn’t even know they could do. Kevin sauntered over and slid his arm around my waist. I leaned into him, but then I realized we were at the center and pulledaway.
“Where you going?” Kevin asked, keeping a hand on myarm.
“We’re in front of everyone,” I leaned in andwhispered.
“So?”
“So I didn’t think youwanted—”
“Anyone to know I’m mad about you? Guess again.” Kevin leaned down and planted a kiss on my lips. I couldn’t believe he was willing to show everyone we were together. Were we together? Had I officially broken up withEdward?
I shook off my doubt. After all, Edward hadn’t called or texted me since he sent my purse back to me in the mail, and Kevin was here. When he moved away from me, I snagged his hand. “Don’t go too far. We need you to help us with thetree.”
“I’ll never go too far fromyou.”
My insides were like little lightening bugs fluttering around. “Youpromise?”
He turned me into his arms and looked down at me in the sincerest way. “Ipromise.”
“Hey, you two, break it up.” Kaley charged in with a box and dropped it on the table. “Joe needs the staple gun. Where isit?”
“It’s in mytruck.”
One of Kevin’s workers busted through the main therapy door, his shirt drenched. “Hey, Kevin, need ya, man. There’s a problem in the bathroomagain.”
Kevin took off running but paused at the door and tossed his keys at me. “Do you mind getting it forJoe?”
“I’m happy to.” I snagged my coat and headed to Kevin’s truck. There wasn’t a staple gun in the tool box in the bed of his truck, so I checked inside, under the seats, and in the glove box. A paper with a Texas A&M logo sat on top of the owner’s manual. I opened it out of curiosity. Inside it said, “It is our great pleasure to accept youinto…”
I dropped the letter. An icy chill went up my spine and pierced my heart. With no staple gun but the heaviest piece of paper I had ever held in my hand, I made my way back inside the center. Kevin stood in the lobby with water stains on his shirt. He and Kaley werelaughing.
“There was no staple gun,” I mumbled. “But I found this.” I held out the paper tohim.
Kaley looked at it. “You finally did it? You’re leaving Magnolia Corners to go to grad school? That’sawesome.”
Kevin shoved the paper at Kaley and stepped toward me. “I canexplain.”
A lump rose in my throat. I stepped backwards. “I just realizedsomething.”
Kevin grabbed hold of my arms. “Let meexplain.”
“At least when Edward abandoned me that night, I expected it and I knew he’d return, so it didn’t hurt. This, though.” I choked on my words. “This is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. Wait, I have. When my fatherleft.”
