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“Same for me,” Caleb said.
The man nodded with excitement and darted back inside the truck. He put together their order quickly and then handed them each a to-go carton. “Emma Hart. I can’t believe it.”
She laughed with embarrassment. It was one thing to let Caleb witness the chaos at a concert. It was a completely different story to have him here watching her get treated like this on the street. When the man wasn’t looking, she pulled out some money from her jacket pocket and placed it in the tip jar, not missing how Caleb took note.
“You realize you tipped him fifty bucks, right?” he whispered.
Emma shrugged. “He gave us excellent service.”
A smile tugged at Caleb’s lips. “Yes, he did.”
They wandered down the street until they found a bench to sit on and enjoy their food. Every so often someone would recognize her and request a picture. After the third person left, she glanced at Caleb. “Sorry about that.”
“What do you have to be sorry for? I’m beginning to realize why you were so insistent on your sunglasses and hiding your hair. Sheesh, it’s a lot, isn’t it?”
She grimaced. “It’s too much, right? I can’t expect you to want to date someone who will draw this kind of attention.” Her hope started to fade away, quickly getting eaten up by the concern about Caleb. He hadn’t been shy about discussing his dislike for crowds. How could she ask him to be with her when this was going to continue to happen?
He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. “You want to know what I think? I think that people adore you, and they do for a reason. It’s not just the music or the performances. It’s the way you treat people. It’s the way you make everyone feel specialinstead of pointing out that they’re acting a little crazy. I admire that. It can’t be easy.”
Emma stared at him with surprise. “Really?”
He nodded. “I don’t think I’ve had to deal with anything nearly that difficult. The human race, in general, leaves much to be desired. Occasionally, there’s a good one in the lot, but most of the time…” He made an exaggerated sour face.
She laughed. “You’re so sweet. And I… I love you, Caleb.”
He sobered. “I love you, too.” He looked away, peering out into the night sky. “You can’t really see as many stars here, can you?”
“No… I think Copper Creek has this place beat,” she whispered.
“Do you think you would ever consider going back?”
She turned and studied him, not daring to hope he was saying what she thought he might be saying.
“To Copper Creek, I mean.” He turned to face her again. “Would you ever consider making it your home? I know that you have a life in LA, and you travel all over the world… but would you?—”
“Yes.”
He blinked. Then he blinked again as if he wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly.
She bit down on her lower lip. It wasn’t like he was proposing to her—though with the way she was feeling, she probably would have given him the same answer. Hot, white heat seemed to explode inside her. She wouldn’t be surprised if she looked like a ripe strawberry right about now. As much as she wanted to look away from him and focus on anything else, she couldn’t. “I think Copper Creek would be the perfect place to build a life.” She nearly told him that she could see herself building a life with him, but she thought better of it. No need to scare him off when she’d only just gotten him back.
“It would. Copper Creek is the best place to…” His voice trailed off, but she still caught what he murmured under his breath. “…raise a family.”
Emma tore her gaze away from him. Tensions continued to mount. There was so much she wanted to say, and yet she couldn’t. As hard as she tried, she simply couldn’t bring herself to add to what he was alluding to.
“When… do you think that would be possible?” he asked. “Because I’d understand if you’re too busy. And with winter setting in, I bet it wouldn’t be easy?—”
Her head snapped up, and she stared at him in surprise. He wasn’t talking about sometime down the road. He wanted her theresoon. Tears of happiness burned behind her eyes, threatening to escape. She’d cried far too much for her own good in the last twenty-four hours and even more over the last six months.
Emma moved her food to the side and framed his face with both of her hands, stopping him from his continued stammering. She stared him straight in the eye. “I would find out how to move mountains if you asked me to.”
One corner of his lips quirked upward. “I think we need to work on your poetic prose.”
She threw back her head with a laugh, and when she brought her eyes back to him, she was thrilled to see that adoration she’d grown used to when she’d been in Copper Creek. Emma captured his lips with her own, kissing him with every ounce of her own heart. When she pulled back, albeit reluctantly, that look of unconditional love remained.
Those were the eyes of a man who didn’t want to live without her. Those were the eyes of the man who wrote her a love song. And those were the eyes of the man she would marry.
He just didn’t know it yet.
