Page 14 of A Simple Love

“What are you doing?” I gasped.

“My car is parked the other side of the trail. I’ll drive you home.”

“I can walk.”

He snorted. “Uh-huh.”

“You can’t carry me!” I protested.

“Feels like I already am,” he retorted.

“It’s too far.”

“Kassie, shut up. Just shut up.”

For a minute, I did what he asked, and then I peered up at him. “I’m not always a bitch.”

“Good to know.”

“Don’t leave.”

He glanced down, and I met his eyes. “Please.”

He smiled—it was different from his Hollywood red carpet or interview smile. His practiced, charming working persona smile I had seen all these years. This one was soft, warm, and lit up his eyes. It reminded me of the way he used to smile at me. It was my smile back then.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

He nodded. “Okay. On one condition.”

“Which is?”

“We talk.”

“Okay. But I⁠—”

He cut me off. “Shut it. I’m getting the last word.”

“I think you already did last night,” I mumbled.

“I’m not going to apologize for that.”

“I figured.”

“Hush, or I’ll drop you into the pond over there.”

I gripped his neck a little harder, and I felt his fingers squeeze my waist.

He chuckled all the way to the car.

And I stayed quiet.

7

OLIVER

She stayed silent all the way home. When we arrived, I rounded the car to her side, leaning down and picking her up, somehow not surprised at how easily that gesture came back to me. She always loved to be carried and I had liked to be her knight in shining armor, so it happened a lot when we were young lovers.