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She slipped the snow globe into her bag.

“Hi!” she said, opening the door. She took in the sight of him as he did the same with her, his gaze going immediately to her chest, raking down the length of her, over the silky fabric of her dress, and stopping at her ankles. He dragged his gaze back up, looking a little slack-jawed.

“Hi,” he said. He was wearing navy-blue trousers and a gray sweater with a white button-down, making his eyes look a brilliant blue behind his glasses. He looked nice. She caught a whiff of his cologne and the scent sank into her, strong and heady.

“These are for you,” he said, holding a bouquet of flowers out. She squealed and took them. He smiled as she pressed them to her nose, smelling the sweet scent.

“Shall we?” he asked. She nodded; after setting the flowers inside, she closed and locked the door behind her. The sun was heavenly and warm on her cheeks.

“What are we doing?” she asked, following him into his car.

“You’ll see.” He started the car, glancing at her. “You look pretty, by the way.”

“Thanks, by the way.”

He laughed, starting to drive. “Your hair, it’s different.”

She touched her hair, feeling a little self-conscious. “This is how it is naturally. I just always curl it,” she said.

“What! Why?” he asked, shocked by the news.

“It makes me look more interesting,” she replied. The only people who knew she messed with her hair were Bia and Charles, who had seen it in its natural state when she was younger.

“You are interesting,” he replied, genuinely confused. “Your hair has nothing to do with it, whether it’s wavy or straight.”

“No, straight hair is so boring,” she said. “I look like I have no personality.”

He looked at her like she was crazy. “Anyone who talks to you for two seconds knows you have personality. Some might even say you have too much personality.”

She laughed, stroking her straight hair, feeling airy. They drove out east, pulling into a small town and driving north until they reached a pond. It was surrounded by trees and had a little park at the front, where birds were flying and walking.

“It’s a duck pond,” Grayson said, parking. “I used to come here with my parents.”

He came around to her side to open her door, and she tried not to feel any type of way about it.

“You have to feed them this specific food,” he told her, pulling a little bag out of his pocket. “You can’t just feed them old bread because it fills their stomachs but doesn’t actually give them any nutrients.”

“Ooh. Fascinating.” She followed him, smiling, until finally they reached the water.

He held the bag of feed open, and she reached in, sprinkling some food in the pond. The ducks swam toward it, eating the little bits. They fed them until the bag ran out, but it soon became clear that Grayson was much more comfortable than Lucy was around animals.

A goose flew nearby, squawking, and she shrieked, hiding behind Grayson. She grabbed his arm, and he held it out, protecting her, even as he laughed.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “You’re safe with me.”

She held on to him a little longer than necessary, fingers wrapped around his biceps. He really did have fantastic arms. If this date went well, she was biting him the first chance she got.

After feeding the ducks, they walked up along a trail, which wound through the forest and up a small hill.

“I’ve never been here before,” Lucy said, looking out at the pond from a higher viewpoint. It sparkled in the sunshine, the branches of the trees bending with the wind. “It’s so pretty.”

“It’s prettier in the summer, when everything is green and lush,” Grayson said. “Right now, everything is still thawing from the winter, but at least it’s sunny.”

They walked on, stopping every so often to read the informational signs about wildlife and trees, absorbing interesting, fun facts and talking as they walked.

“Like I mentioned, I used to come here with my parents,” Grayson said. “But since the last time I was here I was about six, I didn’t remember the exact place, so I asked Charles. He told me my parents had been coming here since they started dating, way before I was born.”

“That’s so lovely,” she said, looking at his profile. “It’s all so lovely.”