“I hope so.” She peered into his eyes. “Zoe too?”
“Zoe too. She’s tough.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “What about you?”
Anne tilted her head to one side. “What about me?”
“What doyouwant?”
She took a breath and looked out at the horizon. “I haven’t asked myself that in a long time. I’ve been so focused on surviving. I still am.”
“Think on it,” he said, squeezing her hand. “I’ll get you that malasada. Custard?”
Anne grinned, letting the tension of their conversation fall away. “Yeah.”
Noah walked over to the shop and came back a moment later with two malasadas, each of them fried golden-brown and sparkling with sugar. He settled down beside her and handed her one of the pastries.
“Cheers.” She tapped her malasada against his.
“Cheers.” His grin was soft, and she fell in love all over again looking at the lines around his eyes. They radiated out like rays of sunlight. Whatever she had put him through in the past, he’d still found plenty of reasons to smile.
Anne bit into her malasada, and it tasted like the best days of her childhood.
Noah’s phone rang.
He glanced at the screen, muttered a quick apology, and answered.
“Hey. You okay?”
He listened for a moment, his expression serious.
“I’m on my way.” He gave Anne an apologetic look as he disconnected the call. “Will you come with me? I can drive you home after.”
“What’s going on?”
“One of my foster kids needs a ride.”
“Yourwhat?”
“I’ll explain on the way.” Noah stood and offered her a hand.
They took their malasadas back to the truck.
“So… you’re a foster parent?” Anne asked as she buckled her seatbelt.
“Yeah.” He started the engine and pulled onto the highway.
“How long have you been doing that?”
He thought for a moment. “About four years now? Mostly teens. There aren’t enough people willing to take them in, so they end up institutionalized. I’ve helped keep a few of them out. The twins have been with me for almost a year now.”
“That’s a long time.”
Noah shrugged. “It’s not hard.”
“Right.” She grinned at him. “Teenagers are notoriously easy to parent.”
“They bike to and from school. I drive them to the beach or something on the weekends. We trade off making dinners. It’s no big deal.”
“It is, though.”
