“How about this?” I suggested. “I come to yours and you come to mine.”
Max’s grin brightened. “I look forward to it.”
He grabbed my hand again and we continued to walk around the park. There were people everywhere, walking hand in hand like we were. I kept hoping for snow to come so we could have a white Christmas. My fingers were still crossed for that to happen.
“You know what else I’m looking forward to?” Max asked.
I looked up at him and smiled. “What?”
“It’s exam week, which means it’s my last week before break. I’ll have a whole month off and I can’t wait.”
“Lucky,” I grumbled playfully. “I wouldn’t know what to do with a whole month off. Then again, having my sister at thegallery helps. If I need a day off, she covers for me and vice versa.”
Max’s eyes widened as if an idea just popped into his head. “Want to go snowboarding with me one day this week? I won’t let you get hurt.”
“And how are you going to stop that?” I asked, laughing.
He shrugged. “Not sure, but I can certainly try. And who knows, it might be you carrying me down the mountain.”
Memories from when Jake had to do that with me popped into my head. After I got hurt, I was in so much pain, but Jake spent the entire afternoon trying to make me laugh until I could get to the doctor. No matter how hard I tried, I doubted I could ever forget about him. We had too many memories and too much history.
“If we survive our snowboarding date, how about the next one, we go to Thistle Meadow Winery and taste some wines? The chances of us getting hurt are slim to none.”
Max nodded. “Deal. I’m really looking forward to spending more time with you.”
“Same,” I replied. “And next weekend is the Mistletoe Mania Festival. It’s like Valentine’s in December. There’ll be carriage rides through the park and everything.”
“Wow, three dates in one week,” he teased. “How did I get so lucky?”
We strolled around the park for another hour until the weather started to get colder. The chills were almost unbearable which was strange. I loved the cold but wasn’t handling it well now. Max and I walked back to Main Street where our cars were parked.
We stopped at mine, and I shivered from either the cold or my nerves. I had a feeling he was going to try and kiss me.
“What’s your goal for us, Lydia? Like, what do you want us to be? I really like you and I want to see where our relationship can go.”
I shivered even more, and my teeth chattered. “I want to see where it leads us, too,” I said in all honesty.
He smiled. “Good. I was making sure we were on the same page.”
His gaze drifted down to my lips, and he moved closer. My pulse quickened, and I held my breath, but then my nose tingled, and I stepped back, turning my head to sneeze into my sleeve. The chills worsened and my face began to burn like fire even though I was freezing.
“Oh no, please say it isn’t so,” I groaned.
“What’s wrong?” Max replied.
He tried to move closer, but I held up a hand. “I wouldn’t if I were you. I think I’m coming down with the flu. My sister was sick with it a few days ago.”
Max snorted. “I don’t care about that. Why don’t you let me drive you home? You’re looking pale.”
I pressed the key fob to unlock my car and opened the door. “No, Max. Thank you for offering, but you can’t afford to get sick. It’s exam week and your students need you.”
His face was filled with concern, which made me admire him even more. “But I want to help you.”
I tossed my purse into the passenger’s seat and turned back to him. “You can help by not getting sick. That way, as soon as I’m better, we can go on our dates.”
Max’s lips tilted up in a small smile but I could tell he was worried about me. “I’m going to call and check on you, okay?” he said, backing up toward his truck.
I nodded. “Sounds good.”
