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He shoved his hands in the front of his pockets. “Then maybe you need a place here where you can think in silence.”
I smiled. “Maybe I do.”
“Let me show you something else. You’ll like this story.” He tugged my hand.
I followed him down the steps to the water’s edge. We were across from the White House. It looked tiny from this spot.
“Have you ever heard of the Cherry Tree Rebellion?”
“No. What is it?”
He wrapped his arms around my waist, locking them in place firmly against my body. I leaned into him.
“When they started to build the memorial some of the cherry trees needed to be sacrificed for construction.”
I glanced at the trees bordering the park. “But they’re so beautiful.”
“That’s what 150 other women thought too. They chained themselves to the trees and refused to move until the president agreed to have them transplanted instead of destroyed.”
“Really? I’ve never heard that story.”
“Really.”
He pressed his lips to my ear.
“Are you some kind of historian?” I teased.
“Just thought you’d like the story.”
“I do.”
“But?”
“Well, did it work? What happened with the trees?”
He chuckled. “The trees were dug up and moved to a new location. But don’t ask me where.”
I smiled.
We stood in silence. Our bodies melting into each other. I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want to break the spell.
“Emily, you will find your way in this town. It takes time being the new fish in an ocean of sharks.”
I sighed. “All my problems aren’t sharks.” I didn’t want to tell him my brother’s cycle had cracked through the protective bubble I created here. I didn’t want to talk about Garrett at all.
Garrett was a pain I carried with me. At times it was so deep, I didn’t think I could breathe. And the guilt I had for leaving him behind crippled me. I didn’t know how to move past it. I didn’t know how to move inside it. It was with me, hovering on the outer edges of my thoughts.
And he was here again in this moment. A moment that should be mine.
Vaughn rotated me toward his chest. I looked at his face in the shadows. I could feel the warmth of his breath on my cheek.
A new fire started under my skin. It was the way Vaughn looked at me. The anticipation was like a drug.
He threaded his fingers through mine. “Come on, I think I owe you dinner.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything again, but I am starving.” We strolled along the path next to the cherry trees. I would never look at them the same way again. “Thanks for showing me your secret spot.”
“It’s not so secret.”
