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She looked up from her plate and scanned the table. Around us, a handful of conversations were going, and not a person was paying attention to us. Biting her lower lip, she pushed her plate away from her and set her napkin on the table. Then, to no one in particular, she muttered, “I’m gonna go get some air.”
As she stepped out the back door, she peered over her shoulder and tossed me the sweetest smile. The moment hit me like a freight train. The look was identical to the one she’d given me on our first date. I’d walked her to her door and watched her disappear inside, but not before she graced me with a smile that lit up my insides. Even then, I knew I’d revisit that memory a million times over.
“I, uh.” I threw my thumb over my shoulder. “Yeah.”
I rushed out of my chair, happily leaving my mom’s homemade tiramisu behind. That alone spoke volumes.
If Marigold was going, then I’d be right behind her.
Icould feel Liam’s gaze on me.
The slow perusal up my legs to the summer dress that dipped low in the back, all the way up to the pink scarf I’d tied in my hair. Every inch of me he surveyed prickled with awareness. He’d always loved when I wore dresses. Said it reminded him of spring fairs and cotton candy.
Out here, the perfect spring night had been poured out and painted right in front of me. Cotton candy skies, string lights dangling from tall planters surrounding Mama B’s new flower patches. The scent of fresh cut grass and honeysuckle wafting on the air, and Liam Wells’s heated gaze searing into my exposed back. I wanted to collect every detail of this evening, put it in a bottle, and stick a cork in it. That way I could keep the memories close and pull them out and relive them time and again.
“Walk or ride?” His low rumble crawled up my spine, leaving shivers in its wake.
I didn’t have to ask where. He and I were both feeling a little nostalgic. And that could only mean visiting one special spot.
In those first days, so long ago, when we were surrounded by so many Wells kids, it had been hard to find a place of our own. A place we could go to just breathe. And maybe make out a little. It didn’t take long for Mama B to catch on, because suddenly, she was insisting we keep an eye on Calla, and she may have teased about preventing teen pregnancies. It was beyond awkward at the time, but looking back, I could laugh.
Even after high school, we’d come back. It was an escape. A place where we could be ourselves with no pressure. It’s where Liam proposed. Probably for that very reason. Fewer expectations, less worry. Just him and me and our special spot…and Crew hiding in a tree nearby, capturing the moment for us.
“Ride?” I stopped and faced him.
“Yeah? We could take old Benson.”
A bubbly laugh escaped me. “No way is Benson still rideable.”
“Come on. Give him some credit, Goldie.”
Long ago, Liam had a bike we’d named Benson. I’d sit on the handlebars, and he’d pedal all around the neighborhood. It was an absolute dinosaur even back then, but now the thing had to be rusted to the core.
Even so, my heart warmed and my stomach flipped at the memories just hearing that name, Benson, evoked. “Where is he?”
“Hold on, I’ll get the old guy out.” He disappeared through the door of the shop, and a moment later, he was pushing the familiar bike toward me. And, wow, did Benson look great. The pastel yellow paint was unchipped. The white wicker basket was a little dusty, but otherwise pristine. My heart panged when I took in the sight of Liam with that bike. Like we’d turned back time, and young, sweet, baby-faced Liam was asking me if I wanted to ride on his handlebars down the road.
He threw a leg over the bike, then tapped the handlebars. “Hop on, Goldie.”
I scoffed, heat creeping up my neck. “Absolutely not. I’m not one hundred and twenty pounds anymore. I’ve birthed twins and have all the curves to show for it, in case you haven’t noticed.”
At the word curves, his attention slid to where the neckline of my dress dipped into a slight V. He licked his lips unashamedly, then continued down over my hips, to the hem of my dress, before he dragged his focus back up to my face. “Believe me, I noticed.”
My breath stuttered, and my mouth dropped open without my permission. Did he really just check me out? Like obviously, no pretending, no quick glances, but a slow drag down my body and back up? My walls had been crumbling for weeks, and whole portions were toppling now, as my skin heated under his stare.
“It’s good to know I can still make you speechless. Now get your butt up here before the sun sets and we lose all the day’s light.”
Tipping my head back, I surveyed the sky. God was going all out this evening. The canvas that stretched out above us was painted in soft, pastel hues, the horizon shades of rosy pink, apricot, and golden orange that gradually deepening into a rich, velvety purple. The colors blended seamlessly, creating a mesmerizing gradient across the expanse of the sky. My hands itched and my heart ached with the need to paint. I wanted a permanent reminder of this moment. One I could keep with me for eternity.
With a sigh, I lowered my chin and regarded Liam. “You’ll catch me if I fall?”
The question was more loaded than he knew. I was already falling. My mind was well on its way to that hopeful place where I could envision a future filled with happy, loving moments between the two of us. Where I could dream of telling the boys that we could be a family again. There, I could picture the four of us on road trips. Living together in Liam’s dreamy cottage. Spending our days playing board games with the boys and our nights slow dancing in the kitchen. But with every step closer to that paradise, a dark cloud followed. Thick and stormy and full of what-ifs.
What if we couldn’t make it work? What if three years down the line, we found ourselves back at square one? What if he broke more than just my heart this time? What if the boys’ hearts were casualties as well? What if it only felt like this now because I’d been celibate since the divorce and the man was gorgeous?
But in that moment, I shoved down every fear, every scary thought, and took a deep breath.
Hopeful. That was all I could be.
