Page 104 of Together Is Where We Belong

“Do you want to take Luke to The Chill Grill with me tonight?” he asked before he placed a barely there kiss on my neck.

Was he asking me out on a date?

No, he mentioned Luke tagging along.

“You wanna take us to dinner?” I asked, knowing the small town of Haven Valley would make assumptions.

“Yes, I do,” he said with such confidence.

“What time?” I asked as I brought my hands up to rest on his forearms, loving how his skin felt beneath my touch.

“How about you stay here and get ready, and I’ll go grab Luke from your parents and spend a little time with him before we pick you up?” he suggested.

I looked over at the digital clock on the stove and checked the time. It was a little after three now. That gave me plenty of time to get ready and start some laundry.

“Sounds good to me,” I said as I went to move out of the physical hold he had on me, but I’d never be able to get rid of the hold he had over my heart.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay here alone?” he asked as his breath tickled my neck.

“I’ll be fine,” I said as I cleared my throat so he wouldn’t know how affected I was.

“I’ll see you soon, firefly,” he said as he placed a quick kiss against the side of my head and moved away from me.

I watched him walk to the front door. He looked back at me, a bright smile on his face. He winked at me, causing me to smile before he left.

As soon as Leo closed the door, I raced over to it and checked to make sure it was locked.

It was.

I smiled at the thought that he’d made sure to turn the lock before he left. I locked the dead bolt and let out a heavy sigh.

Shaking the thoughts of what had happened a couple of days ago from my mind, I turned and went to my bedroom to search for an outfit that didn’t scream I assumed this was a date when it wasn’t.

After I started a load of laundry, I took a long, hot bath, and allowed the hot water to ease the tense muscles I had. I stayed in the water until it cooled before I got out and went to get dressed.

Since it was so hot outside, I decided to go with a flowy white skirt and paired it with a matching halter top. Instead of leaving my hair down, I curled it and pinned the curls in a simple updo. I sat on the bed and put on a pair of white wedges when I heard the doorbell ring.

Instantly, I went on high alert. My heart rate accelerated with every shaky step I took toward the front door. The bell sounded again just as I rounded the corner into the living room.

I looked through the peep hole and smiled.

Pulling the door open, I found Leo and Luke standing on the other side. Both dressed in jeans and button-down shirts paired with their cowboy boots. Leo and Luke both wore cowboy hats. But that wasn’t what caused my eyes to fill with tears.

In each of their hands, they held a bouquet of my favorite flowers.

Tulips.

He remembered.

“You look so handsome,” I said to Luke as I knelt in front of him.

“These are for you, Mom. Dad said they're your favorites,” Luke said as he held his bouquet out to me.

I looked up at Leo, who I swore blushed as he smiled down at me. “He did, did he? Thank you, handsome. Let me go put these in some water, then we can go to dinner,” I said as I stood and walked into the kitchen to find a vase.

“These are also for you,” Leo said behind me as I reached up and tried to grab the vase on the top shelf. He reached up and grabbed it with ease and set it on the counter in front of me.

“Thank you.” My cheeks heated as I moved around him and took the vase to the sink and filled it with water.