Page 54 of The Mr. Right Checklist

“Do you want me to take care of Molly for the day?”

“Thanks, but I’m taking her with me. She’s my fishing buddy.”

“Lucky Molly. Where do you go? Sugar Lake?” Sugar Lake is in Sweetwater.

“No. Too close to civilization for us. We like peace and quiet. We’re going to Lake Whatchacallit.”

“Did you say Whatchacallit? That can’t be real.”

“It’s a real lake, but it’s a fake name. When we were younger my brothers and I couldn’t remember the name of it, so it became Lake Whatchacallit.”

“That’s adorable. I love that you still call it that. My dad used to take me fishing. We never caught much, but we had fun.”

His brows slant. “Do you want to tag along? It’s an hour’s drive, and it’ll be a long day in the sun, baiting hooks and entertaining Molly. It might not be your cup of tea. It can be buggy, and there aren’t any public restrooms, but there are plenty of woods.”

If I’ve learned one thing about Fletch, it’s that he’s as much of a realist as I am a dreamer. I’m fairly certain he’s trying to prepare me, not dissuade me, but I can’t help teasing him. “Wow, you really know how to make a girl feel wanted.”

“You know I wouldn’t invite you if I didn’t want you to go with us.”

“Do I, though?”

“Who knew you were so high maintenance?” He gives me a quick kiss and clears his throat. “Miss Amor, Molly and I would be honored if you’d join us for a day of fishing.”

I lift my chin. “I don’t know if I should. You didn’t warn me that you were part octopus, and that makes me wonder what else I’ll find out about you if I let you take me to a remote location.”

“Part octopus? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play coy with me, Ryan Fletcher. Do you usually glom all over Molly the way you glommed on me?”

“I didn’t glom on you.”

“What would you call it?”

“Not that. I was . . .”

“Don’t even try to pretend you were spooning me, because you have way too many prongs to be a spoon.”

He plops onto his back. “Shit. I was glomming, wasn’t I?” He gives me a stern look. “What the hell, sunshine? What’d you do to me?”

“Me? Fess up. You usually sleep with a big teddy bear, don’t you? Where’s it hiding? Under your bed? In your closet?”

He laughs, and as he drapes his leg over me again, I catch sight of his feet. His second toe is bigger than his first, and it has a bulbous tip. “Uh-oh. Ken is defective. He needs to go back to the factory.”

“What? Why?” He follows my gaze, and I quickly look away from his foot.

“Nothing. Never mind.” I press my lips together.

He tickles my ribs, making me laugh. “Spit it out, sunshine.”

“It’s your toes! You’ve got a long second toe with a big ball at the end. I want to clip it off at the last knuckle.”

“Clip it off?” He lifts his foot and looks at it. “What’s wrong with having a longer second toe?”

“Look at it! It looks like it doesn’t belong with the others. Don’t you want me to . . . ?” I make scissor motions with two fingers.

“No. In fact, from here on out, you’re not going anywhere near me with scissors. Or knives. Or metal nail files.”

We both laugh.