Page 119 of Power Play

Ryan laughed. “I’m picking you up at seven.”

“Where are we going?”

“The fairgrounds.”

My eyes widened. “The end-of-summer carnival?”

“Yeah.”

I stared at him. “You’re taking me to the carnival?”

“That’s generally what ‘fairgrounds at seven’ implies.”

Something bright opened in my chest. “Like a date?”

Ryan’s smile turned slow. “You need me to call it one?”

The question made me nervous again, and he saw that too.

“We can call it whatever you want,” he said.

“What are you calling it?”

“I’m taking a woman I want to spend time with somewhere she told me three months ago she loves.”

I stared at him. “You remember that?”

“You were drunk on peach wine at the Bennett house and spent fifteen minutes explaining why carnival lights make everybody prettier.”

“That sounds humiliating but very truly me.”

“You also said funnel cake was proof humanity deserved another chance.”

I covered my face. “Oh my gosh.”

Ryan laughed and pulled my hands away. “Seven.”

“You planned this before today?”

“Yeah.”

My heart did something stupid. “Why?”

His expression softened. “Because I wanted to.”

The answer carried no assignment or obligation. Ryan simply wanted to take me somewhere.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

I smiled. “Seven.”

His dimple appeared. “Wear shoes you can walk in.”

“That instruction feels personally offensive.”

“I watched you wear heels to a bonfire.”