Page 106 of Together Is Where We Belong

I told Luke to wait a second before he answered as Leo gave her our food order.

“I had the best time. We only have one more section of the castle to finish. It’s goin’ to be so cool once it’s done,” he exclaimed with so much cheer in his voice.

“When we’re done here, we’re going back to our house tonight,” I explained to prepare him that the adventure was over at his nana and papa’s house.

“Ahh man… Can’t we have one more night at Nana and Papa’s? I don’t want our adventure to be over just yet,” he said with a pout, and I looked at Leo for help.

“Yeah, Mom. Can’t we have one more adventure at Nana and Papa’s house?” Leo said with a smirk.

“I already took our stuff back to our house,” I explained and gave Leo a pointed stare.

“That’s fine. Grandma and Grandpa washed my clothes so I have somethin’ to wear,” Luke countered and poked out his lip. He knew that subtle move made it hard for me to say no to. Leo bent his head, poked his lip out too, and batted his eyelashes.

“Two against one. No fair,” I said as I shook my finger at them and laughed.

“Please, Mom. It’ll be fun,” Luke said as he clasped his hands together in his last attempt to plead with me.

“Fine. One more night won’t hurt,” I said to Luke, before I turned to Leo and asked him to make sure his parents were okay with it.

“Already done,” he said with a wink and a sly smirk.

“You planned this?”

“Maybe,” he said without elaborating.

Our food arrived, and we all dug in. I couldn’t help but wonder what Leo was up to. He seemed different tonight. Flirtier than he’d been before. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, so I tried to stay in the present.

After we were done with dinner, Leo paid the check, and we left just as the sun began to set. On the walk back to his truck, Luke skipped in front of us. Leo wrapped his arm around my waist, and I leaned into his shoulder. Content to just be in the moment. Just the three of us.

On the way back to the ranch, I slipped my wedges off my feet and propped them up on the dashboard, then took the pins out of my hair so I could feel the wind in my hair. I laid my head back on the headrest with a smile on my face as I took in the beauty of the land as we passed it by. I glanced over at Leo who had one hand on the steering wheel, the other laid palm up on the seat beside him. Taking a chance, I slipped my hand in his as I looked up at him to gauge his reaction. He looked over at me with a smirk. That smirk. I loved that look on him. The surety of that smirk did something to my insides that I just wasn’t ready to name. He stared over at me for a beat before he braked a little harder than normal. I looked over to my right to see the stop sign and let out a laugh as I shook my head and chuckled to myself.

I stared out the window the rest of the way to the ranch lost in thought. Once we were through the gate and parked in front of the house, I went to put my feet down, but Leo’s voice stopped me.

“Hang tight here. I’ll be right back.” I gave him a questioning gaze that he ignored as he left the truck running and ran around the back and got Luke out of the vehicle.

He returned five minutes later sans Luke, and I wondered what he was up to.

Leo hopped back into the truck and put it in drive and drove around the back side of the house.

“What’re we doing?” I asked as he continued to drive past the barn.

“I thought it’d be nice to spend some time with just the two of us,” he replied.

“Where are we going?” I asked, but I knew the answer before he responded.

The only thing in this direction was the Confession Tree. My heart beat rose in my chest as he continued to our destination.

“You haven’t figured it out yet?”

Oh, I had. I just didn’t know why he’d want to go back here. While we’d had some good times sitting under this tree, the last moment we were there alone ended in heartbreak.

I didn’t reply, my throat clogged with emotion as I saw the tree off in the distance.

Leo parked underneath the long branch we used to sit on all those years ago and got out of the truck. As he rummaged around in the backseat, I sat there unable to move.

I jumped as my door opened.

“You ready?” he asked. I looked over at him, and he smiled brightly as he held out his hand to help me out. Reluctantly I grabbed it, not bothering to put my shoes on. The grass was cool beneath my feet as he led me to the back of the truck. He’d put the tailgate down and spread out a navy-blue sleeping bag in the back and had pillows against the back of the truck. A lantern illuminated a bright glow as his hands went to my hips, and he lifted me up so I could climb in the back. I turned and sat and slid up the back of the truck, crossing my feet as I got settled against the pillows.