Andrew giggled and clapped his hands. "Magic!"
A tingle went down my spine. Magic? Of course I possessed magic, but how did he know that?
"Sorry," Ryan said, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's the name of his favorite book.Magic the Unicorn."
My heart flipped. There was no possible way this was a coincidence. It was yet another sign of us being fated.
"He probably wants me to read it to him again, even though I've read it twice already today," Ryan went on. "We can readMagicat home later, okay, Andrew?"
But Andrew wasn't thinking aboutMagic the Unicorn.As he glanced into my eyes with a sort of childlike knowing, I could tell he was thinking about Ulysses the Unicorn.
"Hey, I know this is kinda sudden, so feel free to say no," Ryan began. "But the crowds are finally clearing up, so... would you like to accompany us at the festival, Ulysses?"
I smiled. "I would be utterly delighted."
3
Ryan
Where hadUlysses even come from? I closed my eyes for one minute, and the next the man of my dreams was just standing there, as if he magically appeared from the sky.
Speaking of magic, I didn't know why Andrew was thinking about it. Had Ulysses reminded him of it somehow?
Well, whatever. I wasn't about to waste my time worrying about all the reasonswhythings happened. I decided to live in the moment and enjoy thembecausethey were happening.
I stood up and began packing away the picnic blanket and snacks. Before I got two seconds into it, Ulysses reached over to help me.
"Please, let me assist you," he said.
"No, it's okay, I've got it," I insisted.
He let out a huff of breath that reminded me, for some reason, of an ornery horse. "Indeed not. I am a grown, capable man and will not just stand by looking pretty while you do all the work."
My jaw fell open in surprise. Ulysses pounced. In the span of time it took me to stare at him agape, he'd already finished packing up everything neatly.
"Now where shall I put these?" he asked.
"They go in the bag in the back of the stroller."
"Ah." Ulysses gently cleared his throat. "Is this the stroller of which you speak?"
I was confused by his question until he lifted the entire stroller off the ground with one hand. Or should I say, what was left of the stroller. I gasped. I'd been so embarrassed by the incident that I hadn't given it a second glance after retrieving it from the bottom of the hill.
"Oh no." I groaned. "It's broken."
The front half of it was smashed and the front wheels were busted. It was totally unusable. It was no longer a stroller but a piece of large junk.
Ulysses must've seen my defeated expression because he put a calming hand on my shoulder. It was warm and firm, and it made my heart clench.
"Fear not," he said. "These contraptions are available for sale in many places, are they not? Unless this one holds some sentimental value to you?"
Despite feeling crappy, Ulysses's highly proper way of speaking brightened my mood and made me chuckle. "Nah, it was just a stroller. But I don't think I can afford to buy another one right now." Usually I didn't like to admit my financial situation to anyone, much less a stranger, but Ulysses didn't feel like a stranger. Even though we just met, I felt a strange bond between us, like the strong yet invisible thread of spider silk.
"Stoyer go bye-bye," Andrew said.
"Indeed," Ulysses said. "Then I shall dispose of this promptly. We must go and purchase another."
I wasn't sure if he heard me properly. "Er, I don't even have my wallet on me…"
