Niklas shrugged. “There are plenty of photography options, I’m sure.”
“And you’d play for the San Francisco…Giants?”
Niklas laughed and squeezed me against him.
“Even at the top of my game, I don’t think the Giants would consider me,älskling.They’re baseball, not hockey.”
I smiled a little as the flush crept up my neck. “I guess we’ve already established my lack of knowledge about pro sports teams.”
He kissed me again, this time on the tender spot below my ear. “Like anything else, you just need the right partner to guide you.”
I swallowed. He made our future sound so easy, but I knew it wasn’t. Not for me, at least. I could live in Niklas’s privileged fantasy life for a whirlwind summer. The long term was another story.
He let go and started back up the stairs. My break was apparently over. My eyes fixed on Coit Tower, looming above them. The steps weren’t multiplying in front of me, were they?
As we reached the top, I leaned back against the railing, huffing. Niklas pointed at a bench that faced the bay, half-covered by the shade of a tree.
“Come on,” he said, tugging at my hand. “Just a little further. I promise.”
He winked, and I let myself be led. We crossed the sunny little parking lot. I plopped down on the hard, wooden slats, and Niklas handed me the water bottle. I took a swig and passed it back to him. Niklas stuffed the metal container into his backpack, the bench creaking under his weight. He reached around my shoulders and stroked my arm absently, looking out at the bay.
I closed my eyes and let the California sun sink in. The suggestion about living in San Francisco hadn’t been offhanded; I knew him better than that by now. A future with Niklas felt easy, and I couldn’t decide what that meant. I could fall into that future right now. He felt right enough to make me second guess my promise to myself to never, ever put off my own goals for a man again.
That was the real danger.
Was I setting myself up for the same relationship trap I had with Brad? I gave up traveling with Veronica for Brad and a consolation job at a mall photo studio. What was I willing to give up for Niklas? I didn’t want to find out.
Tomorrow at this time, we’d be on a flight to Detroit. The idea of splitting from him was building, a storm growing darker as it approached.
What would it be like to run away with Niklas? I looked out into the bay in front of us, dotted with islands, the Golden Gate Bridge grey and misty. My mind went blank. Beautiful San Francisco felt as exotic as Italy. At least Stockholm had Michigan trees. San Francisco’s trees looked like something out of a children’s book, with hard, wide leaves and enormous flowers.
Niklas shifted to get a better look at me.
“What is it?” he asked softly.
But I didn’t want to tell Niklas what was on my mind, though he could probably guess.
“Come on,” he said, his hand leaving my arm to poke at my side. “‘Fess up. It looks like you’re hiding something.”
I twisted away from his fingers and shook my head. “Not now.”
This time he didn’t try to tickle me. He leaned back on the bench and pulled me onto his lap.
“It’s almost here, Caroline,” he said, his voice low in my ear. “I want to talk a little before we get on that plane tomorrow.”
I frowned. When we didn’t talk about the end, I could at least pretend it wasn’t going to happen. I felt my body respond to his, but I didn’t give in.
Instead, I turned to him with a little smile. “I’m thinking about getting my phone out and finding a restaurant myself.”
Niklas raised his eyebrows. “What about Coit Tower?”
I looked over at the old stone tower. Beautiful, but all I could think right now wasmore stairs.
“You better hurry up. I’m giving you ten minutes before I go eat dinner myself.”
“Is that a challenge?” he said, nipping my ear. “You know how I feel about challenges.”
I smiled. “After this summer with you, I’m starting to realize just how much I like challenges, too.”
