“Mmm,” I hummed. “True. Are you excited to go home?”
“Well, I was.” He smiled kindly before leaning over the table and whispering, “I’m wishing I had a little more time right about now.”
My cheeks heated with a blush.
This was the first time in a long time that I’d felt chemistry like this with someone.
And before I knew it, he’d be returning to Colorado. But that didn’t mean we couldn’t enjoy it while it lasted.
FOUR
ALISTAIR
“The perfect moment is this one.” - Jon Kabat-Zinn
“And the next thing I know, a moose is standing there next to my RV, my underwear hanging from its mouth like it was a dog.” A rumbly laugh rolled out of my chest as I told her my favorite camping story.
I'd recounted my funniest stories for the past two hours, trying to make her laugh. She did this adorable little snort thing, and I loved how it sounded.
She fought to catch her breath and dabbed at the corners of her eyes with her napkin. “Oh, gods. That’s hilarious. What did you do?”
“Well, I let him keep the underwear, obviously, but I just waited for him to go on his merry way. Moose are dangerous and I didn’t want to risk scaring him. That was the last time I hung up my wet clothes in moose territory, though.”
She chuckled. “You learned that lesson the hard way.”
“I did.” I sighed and finished the last of my cold Americano. “I loved the blueberry muffin, by the way. Do you do any baking these days?”
She tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. “You know, not really. I think it's one of things where I spent so long doing it that it’s nice to have time away from it. I still bake my kids their birthday cakes every year, though.”
She still made their birthday cakes.
With a stupid grin on my face, I stared across the table at Pam. She was beautiful. Funny. Interesting.
How in the world had I been in this little town for a month and not once had I run into her? I mean, our freaking kids were mutual friends.
I was leaving tomorrow and now I was dreading it.
Shit.
It was presumptuous of me, but I felt like we had some real chemistry.
She caught me glancing down at my watch. “Did you have somewhere to be or…?” I could hear the disappointment in her voice.
In reality, I was mentally calculating how much time I had left with this wonderful woman.
“Not at all. I was actually hoping you’d be up for a trip to the bookstore. Maybe some ice skating after that?”
Her face lit up with a bright smile. “I’d love that.”
“Good, let's get out of here then.” I rose from the table, gathering our cups and plates back onto the tray to return it to Brian.
“Oh, allow me,” she said and pushed out of her chair.
“No, no,” I insisted. “You get your coat on, and I’ll take care of this.”
Pam glanced up at me through her glasses. “Alright.”
When I returned to the table, she was bundled up with a green scarf wrapped around her neck, ready to head back out into the January cold.
