They sat there for a moment, the truck running, neither speaking. It wasn’t until she cleared her throat nervously that he reached forward, arched an eyebrow without breaking eye contact with her, and turned off the vehicle. She hadn’t answered, but he was still taking everything and anything as a ‘yes’.
“You think you’re so smart – don’t you?”
“Maybe I just know my girl…”
“I’m notyourgirl…”
“Yet.”
“What?” she asked, that single word catching her up as they got out of the truck.
“You left off a word,” he chuckled lightly as he tossed her a wink, walking around the bed of the pickup. “You should have said ‘I’m not your girlyet’… because I think we both know better.”
“I know you’re annoying.”– and clever,she thought wildly, biting her tongue.
“And I know just how to push your buttons,” he tossed casually from behind her as she marched forward without him, almost like she was trying to lose him, making a beeline for the nearest storefront. As she yanked open the door, he caught it, and their eyes met once more.
“Go away,” she hissed under her breath. “I need to get a few things.”
“Stay forever?” he replied, almost questioningly, deliberately goading her. “I promise to be somewhat good – and I’ll even hold your hangers and whatever lacy unmentionables you want to buy.”
“I’m not buying lacy unmentionables…”
“Sheer? That’s cool, too.”
“I’m not buyinganyundergarments in front of you.”
“That’s fine. I’ll buy them for you someday…”
“Someday?” she retorted, moving toward the shoe racks in the distance. “You mean that frigid day in hell when the world ends?”
“No, our wedding day.”
She stopped in her tracks and whirled around – almost colliding with his chest. She put her hands up to brace herself from touching him, but he caught her wrists with a swift movement. His hands were warm, calloused, and large… and her breath caught as he slid them up to her hands, pressing her palms against his chest.
“Who knew I’d be interested in mixing marriage with the apocalypse?” he whispered reverently as his eyes softened, before dropping to her lips. “Somedaydoesn’t have tomeantoday… and just because you’re not ready to give this a chance, doesn’t mean that I’m not standing here, waiting patiently.”
There was a note of something in his voice that stopped the sharp remarks in her throat from escaping. She could clearly hear the hope and see the longing in his eyes, making her nervous and almost skittish. Joe never looked at her like this… ever. Again, zero game from Jack – he was just here, tossing around comments as facts, despite how outrageous and preposterous they were in her mind.
“Why me?” she whispered painfully, her voice soft and fragile despite the sounds of the busy department store around her. The intercom was paging for a price check, someone else nearby was complaining about the wheel on their cart, and another person was telling their child to behave… but Heidi was lost in Jack’s eyes and the crazy words he bandied about like it was nothing. “Why are you even saying things like this to me?”
“Why not?” he answered just as quietly, his eyes searching hers. “Everyone deserves someone to treat them good, to make them happy, heck – to bring a smile to their face… and I just happen to be a guy who’s willing to tackle a lucky girl that I met on the road by sheer coincidence.”
“This is crazy.You’recrazy…”
“I think you’ve said that before,” he replied, giving her a soft half-smile. “I didn’t deny it then, and I won’t now. Maybe that’s me – a crazy guy who believes in happily ever afters and a little fairy tale magic.”
“What aboutthisremotely strikes you as ‘fairy tale magic’ or ‘destiny’?” she asked, unwilling to pull her hands from his chest despite the turbulent feelings his words were creating in her. “We’re nothing.”
“Everything starts somewhere, if you try hard enough,” he murmured and made a slight motion with his head. “I’mgonna get a few things for Mimi while I’m here, so take your time, and I’ll go get us a shopping cart.”
“I could leave you here, take off and run away,” she tossed easily in a hushed breath, almost taunting him as he released her hands, stepping back. “I’ll just leave…”
“I’ll miss our conversations.”
Heidi did a double-take. She did not expect him to say something like that or to give in so easily. She had expected him to say ‘No, don’t go’or make some snide comment about how he had the keys, or ‘It’ll be a long walk’… but none of that happened. Instead, he looked almost sad, almost like his words were true – that he would actually miss their conversations, banter, arguments, and her nitpicking.
“We fight all the time,” she corrected, needing to have the last word.
