Page 171 of The Romance Adventure

Thinking back to the night Lally and I stayed up talking, she shared so much about herself, but most of it was alone—solo hikes, the solo business venture, being single after Ross betrayed her, living on this island by herself. Granted, she has friends and has talked about her family, but largely, it’s just her.

And now me. Part of her independence is genuine and part of it is stubbornness—I’m confident of this because it takes one to know one—but I also think another piece of it is fear. She wants to do everything on her own, but why?

A question forms in my mind, but I’m not sure how to ask it, and depending on the answer, I don’t want to ruin this moment.

After taking another look at the website, I scoop her into my arms, smother her with kisses, and say, “Thank you for making the website. It’s perfect and I love it.”

“You’re welcome. Now, as payment, I’ll take another kiss or ten and might ask you a teeny tiny favor.”

“Yes, to the first. For the second, what’s the favor?”

“Will you help me with the Manatee Jubilee?”

“I can’t say I’m particularly fond of Lola after she drenched me with water.”

“It’s for the town. We’re looking for sponsors and I happen to know a guy with a new business. It’ll help get the word out. You can think of it like advertising.”

“Sure.”

“That was the teeny part. The tiny part is they requested each sponsor to donate a sum of money,” she explains the tiers and then adds, “and I need to obtain another nine-hundred and fifty dollars for a total of a thousand.”

“Who donated fifty?”

“You.” Biting her lip, she smooths her finger on my chest.

“I can cover the rest,” I say without hesitating.

“That’s very generous of you, but there are the bronze, silver, and gold sponsor levels and I have to adhere to them.”

“So, we need to go around town and raise money?”

“And we can make calls.”

The things we do for love.

The burn in my chest is undeniable. I love this woman...even when we meet later in town and head over to the other nearby islands in our fundraising efforts.

We stop at the Tropical Popsicle and she tries to get me to try something called acai.

“What is it?” I ask.

“It’s a fruit made into sorbet.”

“Sherbert?”

“It’s like ice cream. You’ll love it.”

“I can’t even say it.”

When we get to the front of the line of the little shop, Lally orders first. “I’ll take a layer of acai and coconut, please, plus all the toppings.”

When it’s my turn, I say, “I’ll try the same.”

“And there I thought you were Brazilian,” she teases.

“Half Brazilian. Haven’t been there since I was a kid. Does acai come from Brazil?”

“Sure does. They have some pretty amazing exports. Coffee, beef, extremely handsome men.”