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“Tons. An incredible amount, actually.”
Before he can look too scandalized, I add, “I’m a middle school teacher. I hear all the rumors. And most of them are true.”
“So does the kissing tree have special powers like the book?” He lifts an eyebrow.
“You know the book doesn’t have any powers—it’s just the belief that it works that makes it special.”
He shakes his head. “But no one knows that for sure.”
“So you’re a believer now?”
“I’m reserving judgment. I want to get a look at this famous tree.”
I park the car at Cherry Creek Lake, and we stroll to the kissing tree. Fortunately no one’s there right now, so I don’t have to face the embarrassment of someone thinking Oliver and I are there for our own kissing reasons. If one of my students got ahold of info like that—or, heaven forbid, photographic evidence—I’d never live it down.
“I found it!” Ollie says, pulling a metal lockbox out from behind the kissing tree.
“Great! Is it another combination lock?”
“It is.” He holds it out to me. “Should we check the previous clue for the code?”
“Yeah. I left it in the car.” I take two steps in the direction of the parking lot. Oliver doesn’t move.
I swivel back to him. “Are you coming?”
“It’d be a shame to waste the trip.” He gestures at the tree. “Test the powers of the tree?”
I laugh, thinking he’s joking.
His feet don’t budge. “You’re not interested? I could’ve sworn you were at least a little bit interested.”
Oh, I’m interested, but I shouldn’t be. I have a puzzle to solve and a sister to save from a lifetime of bitterness.
But Oliver’s waiting.
“I’m notnotinterested.” I take a single step toward him. “But what about all that pretend kissing we’ve been doing for the hunt? Aren’t you sick of kissing me yet?”
He barks out a surprised laugh. “No. Can’t say I’m sick of it. Don’t think I ever could be.”
I take another step closer. My heart is in my throat. “And this kiss would be…real.”
He takes a deep breath. “Amelia, they were all real.”
My body moves faster than my brain, and suddenly I’m in his arms, kissing him and knowing that this time it’s really us. Our thoughts. Our feelings. Our reality. No more pretending. When we come up for air, I look around for the lockbox, which I managed to drop and lose track of when we entangled ourselves.
I pick it up from the ground. “Okay, we’ve still got to open this thing.”
We head back to the car, and Oliver puts an arm around me. It’s warm and comforting, and I’m absolutely not letting myself think about what that kiss and his arm around me could mean to the future. Together? Apart? We live in two different states. I can’t leave Felicity and the boys. I draw in a steadying breath and tell myself to stop spinning out. It was a very nice kiss. But it doesn’t have to be more than that. It can’t be. And I can live with that. Can’t I?
We get in the car, and I hand the lockbox over to Oliver and grab the previous clue. Maybe something about the number of words per line like before, or maybe the number of letters in certain words, or maybe the number of “E’s,” or some other letter will make up the combination.
“Hey! I got it open.” Oliver flips the button, and the lock unlatches with a click.
“How?”
“I rolled them all to zeroes, and it opened.”
“I thought treasure hunts got harder closer to the end, not easier.”
