Page 348 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

"Hello."

"Hello."

She studies me for all of two seconds. "What?"

"What do you mean, 'what?'"

"You're smiling."

"I smile."

"Not like this."

I pull away from the curb before answering. "What does this smile look like?"

She pretends to think about it. "The kind that means you're hiding something."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Mmm-mmm."

She folds her arms dramatically. "I've spent months studying your facial expressions."

"I should've read the consent forms more carefully."

"You really should have."

I laugh.

"So where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

"See, I told you. Now I'm definitely suspicious."

As the road curves gently away from town, I follow the shoreline toward the lake.

She notices almost immediately and says, "This isn't the road to the cabin."

"No."

"And we’re not heading toward Frostholm."

"No."

She looks out the window again before turning back to me. "Should I be worried?"

I let her chew on that.

For a few minutes we drive in comfortable silence. The afternoon sun glitters across the water, and fresh spring leaves shimmer in the breeze that moves through the trees lining the road. Annette reaches over and slips her hand into mine. She doesn't ask another question. She simply sits there; her fingers intertwined with mine as though they've always belonged there.

The road narrows as we leave the highway behind, winding toward a small overlook above the lake. I pull into a gravel parking area surrounded by tall pines. The view stretches for miles. The water below catches the late-afternoon sun, turning it into liquid gold.

Annette looks around slowly. "It's beautiful here."

"It is."

She turns toward me. "So..."