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She frowns as she accepts the bag and rips it open. Inside, there’s a small, shiny white box with the label of a local, family-owned candy store. Pricey place. My parents used to fill our Easter baskets with chocolate bunnies and lambs from there every year. I doubt Libby even remembers. I haven’t been there since they died.
My pulse thunders though my ears, blocking out everything else for a moment.
“Ohmygod!” Libby squeals, pulling me into the present. “What the…”
“They’re marshmallows, covered in peanut butter and chocolate,” Dex explains.
Inside the white box, six fat chocolate-covered marshmallows sit in two neat rows. Libby plucks one out of the box, biting it in half.
“You may have my sister for the afternoon, Dex,” she mumbles around a mouthful of the treat.
“I have something for you, too,” Dex whispers in my ear.
Tears sting my eyes. I couldn’t care less about treats. Dex remembered an off-handed comment about my sister and went out of his way to bring her something he knew she’d like. He could have brought me two dozen long-stemmed roses and I’d still findthismore romantic.
Who is this man?
“I’ll be home by dinner.” I glance at Dex to confirm.
“We can pick up dinner on the way back.” He glances at Libby. “Any requests?”
She raises two hopeful eyebrows. “Pizza?”
“There’s a great place right off the Thruway,” Dex says. “We might have to throw it in the oven by the time we get here, though.”
“That works,” Libby says. “Em and I are masters at reheating pizza.”
While they discuss toppings, I search for my hiking sneakers. “Aha!” I find them hiding under a fallen sweatshirt and shove them on my feet.
“I’m ready.” I return to the couch, leaning over the back to wrap my sister in a hug. “Call me, if anything…”
Anxiety churns in my stomach. Am I really leaving my baby sister alone for the afternoon?
She wriggles out of my hug and pats my arm. “I’ll be fine, Em.” Her serious eyes meet mine. “Really,” she whispers. “Go. Have fun.”
Dex grabs a notepad off one of the end tables and scribbles something, then rips off a page and hands it to Libby. “That’s my number. And that’s my niece’s number—Juliet. She and her husband don’t live too far from here. We’ll be about an hour away, so if anything urgent comes up, don’t hesitate to call them. Okay?”
Libby stares at the paper. Several smart-ass remarks seem to form on her lips but finally she nods and looks up at Dex. “Okay. I will. Thanks.”
That’s it. I’m done. If I thought I was smitten with Dex before, I was dead wrong.
It may seem like a few small gestures, but they meaneverything. His thoughtful actions prove he understands how important Libby is to me.
Dammit. I’m already falling in love with him.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
Dex
Outside,the cool air slaps me in the face. Maybe it’s too cold for an outdoor activity today? Nah, it’ll be warmer downstate. Hopefully.
We stop at the truck and I open the passenger-side door.
Emily leans up on her tiptoes. “Thank you,” she whispers in my ear.
“For?”
Her eyes seem to search my face, like she can’t put her thoughts into words. “You seem to understand…my situation.” She tilts her head toward the house. “Thanks for giving her someone nearby to call. Just in case. I…I worry a lot.”
