I nod. “Why did Minnie tell you about my Disney obsession?” I laugh.
“Because of what we’re doing tonight,” he says.
“Well, the airport is in the opposite direction, so if we’ve got a flight to catch, we should probably get an Uber.”
He laughs. The light changes, and we cross the street.
“When you first decided to give the dating app a try, you mentioned that you wanted to explore the city,” he says.
“Right.”
“Touristy things and not-touristy things,” he says. “Which made it hard for me to choose. There are lots of things I want to show you.” He glances at me sideways. “But if I have my way, we’re going to be spending a lot of time together, so we can go slow.”
My pulse races.Spending a lot of time together.I like the way it sounds.
I’m a little taken aback by how closely he seems to have paid attention to the silly little things I’ve said—mundane, seemingly pointless things.
Maybe this is how you fall in love. Maybe it’s not a big, grand gesture that sweeps you off your feet... maybe it’s the little things that are going to be hanging around long after the zips and zaps are gone.
Like listening. Caring about someone’s dreams. Doing what you can to make them happy. I suspect I’ve been falling inches in love with this man for quite some time.
Up ahead, I see one of Chicago’s most well-known attractions—the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier. I glance over at Miles as the wind off the lake whips up, tousling his hair, leaving it disheveled and sexy.
I want to run my fingers through it. My heart flips at the thought, the memory of the way he kissed me as fresh as if it happened only moments ago.
“Have you been here yet?” We slow down to allow for a crowd of teenagers to step in front of us on the sidewalk.
“No,” I say. “But I’ve wanted to.”
“Good,” he says. “There’s a lot to do here... Maybe we can bring the group back here next week after your successful grand opening.”
I glance over at his profile, admiring the sparkle in his bright blue eyes. “There you go believing in me again.”
He shrugs at me as if to say,It’s easy.
“Are we riding the Ferris wheel?” I ask.
“We can if you want to,” he says. “But... I planned something else I think you’re going to love.” He points up, and I see three screens on the outside of a building and a man standing behind a podium with the word “Flyover” on it.
Miles walks over to the podium and pulls out his phone so the guy can scan our tickets. Then we walk into what I think is a ride.
I stare up at it and realize—it’s just like my favorite ride at Epcot.
The second he clocks my realization, he says, “I sent Minnie my list, and she helped me decide.”
“You have a list?” I ask. “Like, an actual list?”
He pulls out his phone, clicks a few buttons, then hands it to me. I’m looking at a note in his Notes app with a bulleted list of places in and around the city under the heading “No Boring Date Ideas for Claire.”
“Full disclosure? I started the list when we were setting you up on app dates,” he says. “But I realized I was saving my favorite ideas because I wanted to be the one to do these things with you.”
I press my lips into a concealed smile, then hand his phone back. “Good. Because I can’t imagine doing something this cool with someone like Barry.”
He tucks the phone away. “Let’s never mention that guy again.”
“Deal.”
About twenty minutes later, we’re strapped into a ride by the shoulders. When it starts, we’re lifted up off the ground, our feet dangling in the air to create the feeling of flying while we’re surrounded by a huge, wraparound movie screen playing a video of an aerial view of Chicago.
