Then she reaches for the door handle.
“Okay. This already feels better.” She darts me a sidelong glance. “For one thing, at least I don’t have to worry about flashing the strip because I wore a dress to go ziplining.”
“Sorry about that.” I wince. “I was trying to be impressive.”
“Believe me, remembering a throwaway comment is a hell of a lot more impressive than anything else Vegas has to offer.”
I nearly sigh in relief.
I clear my throat and take her hand once more. “Come on. I have a little more planned than us standing in the parking lot.”
She laughs again, and more and more of my nerves melt away.
We amble through the garden, pausing to take closer looks and read labels along the path. Nothing about stopping to literally smell the roses screams adrenaline junkie. But you wouldn’t know by the way my heart is still pounding.
If this keeps up, I’ll have to add a more time to my cardio workouts so my heart is up for a life with her.
But it’s hard not to have your heart race when you’re standing next to a woman who makes every cell in your body feel alive.
Kathryn is so caught up by the beauty around us—and I’m completely focused on the beauty that’s her—we nearly miss it. The picnic I had arranged. Courtesy of another buddy who owed a favor.
Once again, her eyes grow wide as I help her sit down and start to unpack the basket. I pour her a glass of chilled prosecco—her favorite brand—and reach for the box of assorted cheeses. I set aside another box in the process and she gasps.
“Is that?—”
“Yeah.” Another smile pulls across my face. “It is.”
She turns to me. “You went tothatbakery?”
“You said it was your favorite.”
“But it’s also across town and always packed and—” she shakes her head “—this is too much.”
“It’s pie.”
“It’sthe best damnpie.”
“I know.”
She looks at me for a long second. Then shakes her head again, but this time she’s smiling.
“You’re making it very hard for me to keep holding a grudge.”
“Good. Then my plan is working.”
And it does. For real, this time. My plan works. My phone doesn’t ring. No one pulls me away. We eat. We talk. I fall a little harder with every passing second.
It’s easy. It’s all so damn easy. Especially for two people who’ve known each other a week and have had so much thrown in their way.
Once we’ve both had two much time, I can feel her gaze on me. Studying me. Like I’m a puzzle she’s trying to solve.
Then she shifts closer. A ladybug lands on her cheek. I reach out a finger, letting it slide along her smooth skin. She sucks in a breath as I capture the little red bug and gently set it on a nearby plant.
When I look back at her, I see it. The heat in her eyes that was there the night we met. The desire. The anticipation.
She moistens her lips before letting them fall apart.
I can read the question in her eyes. Like they’re asking, “Are you going to kiss me again?”
