AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She had to tear her eyes away and force herself to look at the menu. Despite her hunger, she didn’t care to pick out her meal. She’d rather either look at the man across from her all night or the beautiful colors of the stained glass in the restaurant.
There was a new kind of heat within her, and it had nothing to do with the temperature outside. She’d felt it in the hot tub too. She wanted him. She always had, but getting to know him made it all worse.
What would he be like in bed? Would he be as attentive and caring as he’d been for the whole trip? Would he whisper soft words to her while his hands caressed her most delicate areas?
“—do you think, Amelia?”
“Huh?” she blurted out. “Sorry. I was lost in space.”
“It’s fine,” he said. “I was asking if you wanted queso. I was thinking about getting it for us.”
That was the hottest thing he could have said.
“If there is ever a question about getting queso,” she said, “the answer is always yes.”
“Noted. I’ll get the large.”
Their food came out quickly and Amelia didn’t remember eating a single bite of it. She was far hungrier than she thought she was, especially after their stroll through the parks. She was done with her food long before Daniel was, but he seemed content to listen to her ramble about her last few vacations with her family while he finished eating.
“This was great,” she said as he paid the check. “You’re definitely going above and beyond as a fake boyfriend.”
“We have one more place to go,” he said. “If you’re up for it.”
“We saw two of the most beautiful parks in Charleston, plus had a fancy dinner. What else could there be?”
“Dessert. And it’s on the way back to the condo.”
“That is tempting,” she said. “Fine. I’ll take you up on it.”
She expected Daniel to find an artisanal dessert parlor nearby. Charleston was filled with those, but their destination took them farther inland than she was expecting.
“Wait a second,” she said. “I know this place.”
“Really? How odd.”
They pulled into a diner and ice cream parlor, one that Amelia had spent many hours in. Her family had often stayed in Charleston before discovering the condo, and because she had been too young to remember the name of the shop, the details of it faded into the background when their new summer vacation location became Folly Beach.
Its importance to her had faded away too, until now, when Daniel brought it back into her life.
“How did you . . .?”
“I can’t take all the credit. Your mom told me there was a diner-style ice cream shop that you loved. I hoped I picked the right one.”
“This is the exact place.”
“It’s the only one that’s been open long enough for you to come to.”
“Are you calling me old?”
“Kind of. Twenty-eight years can be a long time.”
She couldn’t even be mad. All she could do was look at the place that was long since forgotten.
“Do you want to go in?” he asked after a moment. “We could wait if you wanted to.”
“No,” she said. “I’m definitely ready to go in.”
From the moment she walked in, she was hit with a wave of nostalgia that made her eyes water. They used the same menus, had the same decor, and even had the same gumball machines that she remembered.
