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“It’s a gazebo. How sweet.”
They walked up the steps and stood in the middle so she could see all around her. It was larger than most gazebos he’d seen, easily holding the whole family although they didn’t gather there too often these days. Back when they were small, they’d had countless picnics on sunny Florida days.
Over the years, the trees around it had grown, the branches like a canopy. His parents had planted flowers around it, some of the vines climbing the trellised walls. When he was a kid, he’d thought it looked like something out of a storybook.
“My cousins have one exactly the same in Montana,” Grant told her. “The Anderson gazebos were hand-built, every piece carved with love. The gazebos are special to the family and all of the couples. There’s a saying that it will be true love when a couple comes here.”
She ran her hands up his arms, letting them rest on his shoulders. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes misty with emotion. He was feeling it as well, a lump lodged in his throat making speech difficult.
“This place feels like it’s magical,” she whispered. “Like it’s casting a spell.”
Their kiss was short but sweet. He’d wanted to bring her here to share something that was special to him and to his family. He’d hoped that she might feel the same way about it that he did.
“I love you,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion and his heart too full for his chest.
He was glad he’d never settled for less, that he’d waited for the right woman. He would have missed feeling this way. Nothing anyone could say had prepared him for how much he loved this one tiny woman standing in front of him.
He’d finally found it. True love.
* * *
Mia’s hunky law enforcement boyfriend could also be gooey and sentimental. Taking her to the gazebo had been - hands down - the most romantic thing any man had ever done for her. She’d felt the magic simply standing in it, surrounded by trees and flowers. It had felt like even the squirrels were in on it, dancing around like something out of an animated movie.
He’d admitted on the walk back to his house that he’d never taken a woman there before. Her emotions were so huge at that moment, she wasn’t quite sure what to do or how to deal with all the love that she felt for Grant. She wasn’t even sure how she’d come to this moment in her life, but here she was. In love. So much so that previously she wouldn’t have believed it could be this strong or wonderful. Now she could understand it when people talked about the magic of love.
She wanted to run around in a meadow full of flowers while singing and twirling, wearing a long flouncy dress. It made absolutely no sense whatsoever but neither did the fact that she went about her day humming songs either. She was just…happy.
They were relaxing in the living room, watching television later when her phone buzzed with a notification from her home security system. She opened the app to see a figure at her back door, trying the handle and then a window before fleeing. She hadn’t even had a chance to react. It was all over in a blink of an eye.
Grant had been watching over her shoulder, and now he was wearing a grim expression on his face.
“Fuck, this is crazy. We need to call the police.”
“I would, but what would we tell them?” she asked, as frustrated as he was. This was getting out of hand. “They didn’t do anything. They didn’t break in. They tried the door and the window and then left. I don’t think that’s illegal. The thing that gets me?—”
She broke off, not even wanting to put her thoughts into words. It was too disturbing to even think about.
“What gets you?” Grant asked. “What’s going on?”
She handed him the phone and then cued up the footage again in the app.
“I didn’t see his face, but I did see a glimpse of the t-shirt and jeans he was wearing. It looks just like an outfit that Kevin used to wear all the time.”
She had goosebumps on her arms at the mere thought that he might be sniffing around her home.
“Kevin is in prison,” Grant pointed out. “It can’t be him.”
“Are you sure? Are you sure he’d still in? Because you say that you hate coincidences, and that’s kind of a big one, don’t you think?”
“You’ve got me there,” he admitted. “Are you sure it’s the same t-shirt? Is it a common one?”
Mia pointed to the screen where she’d paused the video.
“It’s for a local restaurant that Kevin liked. They had live bands on the weekend. He loved to go there. I guess anyone could have jeans ripped at the knee, but that t-shirt isn’t common, especially down here.”
“I’ll make some calls,” Grant said. “As of Jason speaking with the warden, Fuller was in prison. Yes, he would be eligible to be out sooner than his actual sentence but not today. And then he’d have to figure out where you were and travel. I’d be leaning to a friend that might have access to Fuller’s clothes while he’s inside.”
“That could be it,” Mia conceded. “I wonder where he left all of his belongings. I never thought about that. He had a car, lots of clothes, and furniture.”
