Page 226 of Worth the Trip

Her laugh brushed my chest before she stepped back and lifted the insulated bag.

“I brought you something else.”

“Food?”

“Dessert.”

“You crossed the park to sell me ice cream too?”

“No.”

Something in that answer changed the moment.

She unzipped the bag and pulled out a pint with no printed label. Just a white sticker in her handwriting.

For Landon. Not for sale.

I read it twice.

Then looked at her.

“Hershey.”

“Taste it first.”

“I’m looking at the label.”

“Look later.”

“What’s in it?”

“Brown butter vanilla, peach cobbler pieces, cinnamon streusel, and a little salted caramel.”

My next breath stalled.

Mama.

Sunday afternoons.

A hot pan cooling on the stove while I cut the corner piece before dinner and rearranged the rest like geometry might save me from consequences.

“You called my mama.” Nolani pressed her lips together. “You called my mama.”

“She likes me.”

“That ain’t the issue.”

“I needed information.”

“What did you ask?”

Her fingers settled around my wrist.

“What you loved before you learned how to answer questions like a grown man trying to be sensible.”

Yeah.

That got me.