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“I’ve only been to fairs but never ridden on anything more exciting than a Ferris wheel or merry-go-round,” I shared, bouncing in my seat, jostling Nugget, sitting in the corner next to me. “This sounds amazing and something I’m not sure I would have thought of on my own.”

Yun-Sun passed the paper over to Ulysses, who took the crayon and tapped his chin with it. Then his face lit up as an idea struck him. “Rosie, do you remember that day, years ago, I picked you up, and we drove two hours to that place where you could swim with dolphins?”

Instantly, I knew what he was talking about. It was a memory I treasured. Not only had I gotten to spend the day with just Lysse, but then being able to see dolphins up close and personal was amazing. That had been one of the lowest days of my life after Papa Addy died, and I don’t really know if Lysse knew how much it meant to me he did that.

“Of course, I remember. It was the day I fell in love with you,” I admitted confidently, since I knew he loved me too.

My frankness seemed to catch Lysse off guard as he choked on the soda he’d just taken a sip of. “Really?”

Grinning, I nodded. “What can I say? You were my prince charming who came to rescue me from the depths of my despair.”

“Is that why you never told anyone what we did?” Lysse questioned.

“Some things a girl just needs to keep for herself,” I explained. “So, what idea did you have that connects back to that moment?”

“Ah…” he mumbled, trying to gather his thoughts. “Right, so I was thinking that we should go snorkeling. Take a trip somewhere where the reefs are full of fish and other things to see. You don’t need to be certified like scuba diving, and we can even rent the gear if we want.”

Our conversation was put on pause as our food arrived, and we dug in. I was grateful for the chance to take a moment and process the fact these men were not holding back when it came to these ideas. Here I was thinking that going for a bike ride on a path that wasn’t flat would be a thrill ride. Clearly, my ability to see life like everyone else was skewed. This was going to be the bigger battle—relearning what I was capable of. I needed to stop marking things as impossible and truly consider what would hold me back from doing things like snorkeling or riding a roller coaster.

The answer to that was nothing but me.

Vili licked his fingers clean from the chili dog he was eating and grabbed a crayon. “This idea not so thrilling but still an adventure.”

Gareth looked over his shoulder, frowning at what was written. “Vili… what exactly do you mean by go see whipped cream? Is there some kind of whipped cream factory or something you want to go see?”

Vili chuckled. “That be fun too, but Whipped Cream is ballet performed in Numoland. I saw it as a boy and feel that kitten would enjoy seeing it too. The show once traveled but now only found in Numoland.”

Warrick pulled out his phone, leaning close to me as he searched the name of the ballet. When he clicked on a video, it brought up a series of clips revealing the story was all about a baker and various sweets dancing across the stage. Everything looked so bright and colorful, something to truly make you smile while watching.

“I don’t think it’s possible there could be a ballet more suited to you than this, Care Bear,” Warrick commented, then looked up at the others. “Um… so are we required to do all these adventures as well?”

“I say no,” Vili voiced. “My hope was it would be me and kitten, alone. Well, Waffles and Nugget too.”

Gareth snatched the list and a different crayon from the table. “I agree with Vili, but I have something to add to that. Instead of just one, we write down two adventures, so we each get a one-on-one outing plus the group activity.”

Warrick snapped his fingers before pointing at Gareth. “That is one brilliant idea because I thought of something, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to share it with all of you. It seemed more of a Care Bear and me thing.”

Seeing how excited the guys all got about this change to the rules had me laughing. “This is ridiculous. We have the rest of our lives to go on hundreds of adventures.”

“Yeah, but these are going to be the most memorable since it will be the first adventures you get to experience,” Lysse reasoned. “Which means we need to make them count.”

“Right, because I will never remember all the ones after these. Come on, Lysse, you know better than that,” I scolded playfully. “Mind of an elephant right here,” I added, tapping my temple.

The paper made its way around the table twice so the guys could put down all their ideas. I was laughing so hard my sides started to ache, and my cheeks felt like they were about to cramp up. Just as my majestic unicorn milkshake to-go was set before me, Yun-Sun got a call. Instantly, I knew it wasn’t good as his serious face fell into place, and he got up from the table. The joy I’d been feeling, allowing me to forget the darkness that lingered on the edge of my mind, now became a rock in my stomach.

Nugget butted his head against my arm, pulling my attention away from Yun to look at him. Watching me carefully, Nugget cocked his head this way and that, trying to get a read on my emotions before crawling onto my lap. He licked my chin and leaned into me, offering all the support his little body could offer. Waffles’ head appeared from under the table where he’d been lying at my feet. Without any preamble, Waffles flopped his head across my knees and let out a heavy sigh.

To my surprise, my body took a cue from him, and I, too, sighed, releasing some of the tension built up in my body. Warrick took my hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. “No matter what it is, Care Bear, we’ll figure it out together.”

“What do you mean he broke in again?”

I realized I shouldn’t be yelling at this officer who was only doing his job. It wasn’t his fault that Randall showed up once more to the studio. How the security system and cameras didn’t go off or alert us to someone being there made no sense. Everything had been upgraded and codes changed to one that no one could figure out with a well-educated guess.

“Sir, I’m aware of the situation, and I understand why you’re frustrated, but the fact of the matter is that Randall Steele broke into the same building he tried to abduct Miss Thatcher from a month ago. Only this time, when he couldn’t find anything to tell him where she was, it appears he took it out on the building. I hate to ask you this, but it would be a great help if Miss Thatcher could come down here and tell us if he might have taken anything or if there is some meaning to what damage he did do,” the officer explained.

Rubbing my forehead, I growled out my frustration. The last thing I wanted to do of all days was to drag Bailey-Rose back into that moment. Her nightmares had finally started to lessen, and I feared if we brought her back, it would start all over again.

“How bad is the damage?” I asked.