Page 259 of Worth the Trip

Right there in front of customers, staff, Nana, his parents, my sister, God, and anybody else who had purchased admission through waffle cones.

His laugh met me when I pulled away.

“Hershey.”

“You’re late.”

“I’m eleven minutes early.”

“Same thing.”

“That’s mathematically offensive.” I smiled. “Missed me?”

“Terribly.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself in public.”

A grin spread across his face. “I support clarification.”

I narrowed my eyes.

He kissed me again, softer this time.

“Congratulations, my love.”

The teasing fell away.

I looked at the flowers. Lilies mixed with greenery and smaller white blooms, arranged simply enough that the gesture stayed more important than the presentation.

“You remembered.”

“I pay attention.”

“I know.”

Those two words carried history now.

Then he raised the white box. “Chocolate-covered strawberries.”

“You remembered those too.”

“I continue to pay attention.”

“And the bookstore?”

He lifted the bag. “Before you interrogate me, there ain’t a hidden message in this one. I saw something and thought of you.”

“That sounds suspicious.”

“That sounds like trauma from a bookmark.”

“That bookmark was emotional manipulation.”

“That bookmark was literature.”

“It had an agenda.”