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“Infatuated? That sounds serious,” I teased.

“It is. Pretty much the biggest news around.”

“We could just walk over and announce we’re an item,” I offered, surprising even myself.

He tilted his head and shrugged. “I’m good with that plan. Do you think she can handle it?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” I slid out of the booth, grabbing the cheesecake. “For future reference, I’m a big cheesecake fan, and I don’t like to share my desserts, so this is valuable information.”

“Got it. Thank you.”

Landon pushed the door open as we heard Mickey holler to come again. With a little wave, we were on the sidewalk and walking toward my parents’ store. There was a part of me that truly wondered how my mother would respond. She needed to hold it together in front of him. I wasn’t sure he’d been in the presence of a crazy fan since before the accident. I didn’t need my mother setting him off.

Thankfully, the store was empty when we walked in. Mom looked up from the cash register, offering her standard welcome before realizing it was us.

“Welcome to… well, hello, you two. How are you?” Her eyes focused on our hands, wrapped in each other’s grasp. “Good, I see?”

So far, so good. She hadn’t fainted. Which, if I was honest, I’d been a little worried about. “We’re good. We just wanted to come by, let you know we’re working on building more of a personal relationship.”

“I was hoping for your blessing,” Landon asked, squeezing my hand.

Her hand fluttered to her chest, and she did actually take a couple of steps back. Just then, my dad walked out of the back, putting his arm around her to catch her.

“How are you two? I see you’ve been to Dina’s?” He pointed to the cheesecake in my hands. “Cheesecake is Tara’s favorite, Landon. In case she didn’t mention that.”

“She did. She also told me she doesn’t share desserts well.”

“Just desserts?” He raised his eyes and chuckled.

“Thanks, Dad. That will be enough.”

“I was hoping I could learn a little more about her. Maybe we could have dinner one night?” Landon surprised me by asking.

“That would be great.” My mother, focused again, gave a big smile.

We said our goodbyes and headed back to our cars.

“You’ve not been inside my house yet. Care to stop by? I even cleaned my room.” I racked my brain, trying to remember how much I’d actually cleaned. Imagine that being the thing that derailed us.

“I would love that. Will they be here for a while?” He pointed backward at the store.

“Yeah. They’re open until two o’clock today.” Winking, I got in my car as he followed suit. I checked my rearview mirror a few times to make sure he was still behind me. It took some self-control to stay under the speed limit. I couldn’t wait to get him alone again.

24

LANDON

As I pulled into her drive, I remembered dropping her off just the day before and wondering if she’d ever talk to me again. Thankfully, we’d moved past that. I wasn’t certain how I would’ve handled it if it had gone the other way. Turning the truck off, I followed her into the house. It was cozy. You could tell a family had lived there for years. The walls and hallway were dotted with family pictures, which, of course, I gravitated toward.

“Oh, boy. I forgot about these. Maybe we should get past our one-month anniversary before you see me with feathered hair and shoulder pads.” She shook her head. “I was inspired by the eighties. There’s no other excuse.”

“You look adorable, but this one is probably my favorite.” I pointed to a picture of her holding a stuffed Big Bird with her thumb in her mouth. She was probably three.

“Somehow, that one bothers me less than the one with the hair.” She chuckled, taking my hand.

We walked down the steps, into the basement. The house was bigger on the inside than I’d first thought. Flashing across my mind, I thought about us needing a bigger house when we moved in together. How crazy was it to think that after a few days?

“This is it. And understand when I said I cleaned, I might have just moved a few things around. I’m not the best at keeping things folded. Or hung up. I’m better at my place. Somewhat.”

I laughed at her, not caring if every piece of clothing she owned was thrown about the room. I was way more focused on the bed.

“Think we can spend some time on your bed?” I fluttered my eyes, being as cheesy as I could.

“I don’t know. It’s a twin. We might have to get really close.”

“I see you have a few copies of my books?” My eyes widened.

I knew it was probably more of her research, but it was still fun to tease her about it. I picked up the first book I’d written in the now infamous series. Seeing a pen on the dresser, I opened the front cover and signed it before putting it back down.

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