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Two knuckles drift along the blush heating her cheek on my trek to tuck some stray hair behind her ear. “You like when I touch you?”
She nuzzles against my palm. “Very much so, especially when it seems like you can’t stop yourself from doing it.”
“Probably because I can’t. It’s a force I’m done fighting against,” I confess freely.
Her shiver has me pressing our upper halves flush. “Much easier to surrender. Your impulse to do so makes me feel cherished.”
“That reminds me, I have something for you.” My fingers blindly dig for the box. “I was waiting for you to get off.”
She giggles. “That sounds dirty.”
I grab her ass with my free hand. “You hear what you want. Put those filthy ideas on pause for a few, okay?”
Harper’s eyes widen when the small package comes into view. “What is it?
“That’s for you to find out.” I raise my flattened palm higher to give her better access to the proffered item.
She removes the lid, only to immediately drop it once her present is revealed. “No, you didn’t.”
It’s suddenly hard to swallow. “Yes, I did.”
Her watery gaze searches mine. “Is thisthe locketfrom Memory Lane?”
The mention of her beloved antique store spreads warmth through my chest. She used to drag me there at every available opportunity just to browse the shelves. I was all too willing to watch unfiltered glee brighten her expression at whatever random trinket she’d deem worthy. We shared several unforgettable moments between the dusty aisles.
“It is,” I confirm after pulling myself from the reverie.
“But why? How?” She shakes off the fumbled questions. “I mean, when did you buy it?”
“The same day you spotted it in that case. It was the easiest decision I’d ever made.”
Her bottom lip trembles. “That was way back when.”
My head bobs to a sullen tempo. “I was planning on giving it to you for your nineteenth birthday, but I fucked that up.”
“Um, wow.” A mixture of gratitude and old wounds strain her unsteady voice. “Wasn’t it expensive?”
“Doesn’t matter. I wanted you to have it.” Even a shmuck like me could recognize that the heart-shaped pendant was meant to be hers. The gold necklace and I have that in common.
“I can’t believe you did this, and kept it even after we broke up.”
Prickles attack the back of my neck and I rub at the sting. “Guess I was holding onto the assumption that I’d be able to give it to you someday.”
“More optimism? Maybe I’ve been selling you short.”
Which bodes very well for me. “Open it and see what’s inside.”
Harper unclasps the tiny closure. Fastened on the left is a faded picture of us. Shock hitches her inhale as she gets swept into the past. “Oh, I remember when you took this.”
The captured memory is from a sunny afternoon during Knox Creek’s summer festival. I was giving her a piggyback ride as we wandered the grounds. She clutched on tight with her cheek pressed against mine. Our matching smiles were untroubled and dedicated to young love. We had the entire future sprawling ahead of us. There wasn’t anything to block our happily ever after. At least not yet.
I clear the bitter reminder from my throat before it can spoil our reminiscing. “We were really good together, huh?”
Harper sniffs, her focus still on our unblemished history. “We really were.”
“Do you think we can be again?” I allow vulnerable honesty to plead from my stare while grasping for her fingers, locking our palms together. “The space on the right is blank, just waiting for an updated photo. If you’re willing to create more memories with me. There’s a pint-sized addition to consider too. I hear she’s pretty irresistible, though.”
“She must get that from her daddy.”
