Page 281 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

"I've missed this," she says quietly.

"So have I."

Silence settles between us again. Easy silence. Not the awkward kind that needs filling.

The kind that comes when two people have finally stopped wondering whether the other one is going to stay.

After several minutes she looks over.

"So..."

"So?"

"You promised there were four stops."

"I did."

"We've done one."

"Barely."

Her eyebrows lift. "That wasn't one stop. That was an entire hockey team pretending they weren't crying."

"Liam wasn't crying."

"He absolutely was."

"He had barbecue sauce in his eye."

She gives me a look. "I'm choosing not to argue with that."

I look at her. “The next three matter." Something in my voice must tell her I'm serious.

Her smile softens. "Okay."

"I've wanted to do this for a long time."

"Show me your world?"

I nod.

"I've spent months learning yours."

She squeezes my hand.

"The hospital."

"Your apartment."

"Your favorite coffee shop."

"The lake."

"The cabin."

"The place where you buy cinnamon rolls because apparently, they're worth driving twenty minutes for."

"They are."