His eyes softened. "That look."
Johanna frowned. "What look?"
"The one where you stop overthinking and just enjoy yourself."
The tenderness in his voice caught her completely off guard.
Suddenly the pie wasn't nearly as interesting as the way he was looking at her.
Like seeing her smile was somehow his favorite part of the day. The thought settled somewhere deep inside her chest.
Before she could dwell on it too long, she sat her fork down.
"I have a surprise."
Blaze immediately looked interested. "I'm listening."
Johanna smiled.
"I booked us a honeymoon suite in the Poconos next weekend."
His eyebrows shot upward. "Are we planning to elope?"
She laughed. "No, silly but it was the only room they had on short notice at the discount rate."
For some reason Blaze looked ridiculously pleased by it.
"We used to talk about going and I just thought..." Johanna shrugged lightly. "It might be nice to get away. No wedding planning or fire emergencies. Just the two of us.”
His expression softened immediately.
The teasing disappeared.
Blaze reached across the table and laced his fingers through hers. "As long as I'm with you, I don't care where we go."
Her heart gave an embarrassing little squeeze.
Naturally, she ruined the moment. "Oh, well if that’s the case, I heard there's a flea-infested motel about ten minutes from here."
Blaze barked out a laugh loud enough to turn heads from nearby tables. The sound was impossible not to join.
By the time their laughter faded, tears had gathered in the corners of Johanna's eyes.
Blaze squeezed her hand.
"I'd love to spend the weekend in the Poconos with you."
A smile tugged at her lips. "Yeah?"
"Absolutely."
Then his grin returned. "Just as long as you promise not to put me on skis."
Johanna laughed. "Deal."
"Good. Because I plan on surviving this relationship."
She rolled her eyes. But her hand stayed exactly where it was. Wrapped securely inside his.
