Page 96 of Gunnar

“Thank you, so much, Gunnar.”

“Any time, Alexandria. I want you to be comfortable here.”

He says it plainly, like it’s obvious.

We pull out of the strip mall and back onto the road. The buildings thin out, then cluster again, and a few minutes later we’re passing onto the main street of a small town.

I sit forward without thinking. “We’re in town.”

“Figured you’d want to see it,” he says. There’s a shift in him—quieter, like he’s not entirely sure he’s got this right.

“I do,” I say, looking out at the line of cafés and boutiques and bakeries. “It’s so pretty here.”

“Guess it is,” he says.

He pulls into a parking spot and leaves the engine idling.

“I’d take you into all these places if I could,” he says, glancing at me, “but we’re going to have to compromise for a while.”

I nod. I get it.

Then his expression changes. “Tell me—how do you like your coffee when you’re not having it shifter-style?”

“I—” I hesitate.

“Go on,” he says, a hint of a grin breaking through. “You like a load of ridiculous stuff on it, don’t you?”

“Okay,” I say, giving in. “I would really like a pumpkin caramel spice latte.”

He repeats it slowly, like he’s committing it to memory. “Pumpkin. Caramel. Spice latte.”

“Yes.”

He claps his hands. “Right. That’s it.”

Then he’s out of the truck, heading toward an impossibly cute little café on the corner.

I watch him go.

He looks out of place here—too big, too solid for a street full of pastel shopfronts and delicate signage.

Heads turn as he passes. Conversations falter for a second, then pick up again once he’s gone by.

Mine, I think, and the thought burns through me.

A minute later, he’s back.

My heart jumps at the sight of him—ridiculously handsome in that red and black plaid shirt and jeans, while everyone else is bundled up in coats and scarves against the cold.

He’s carrying two coffees on a cardboard tray and he bounds back into the truck with an easy, unthinking movement.

“There you go,” he says, handing one to me.

I ease the lid off and inhale.

“Smells amazing,” I say.

He glances at me, watching my reaction. “Worth it, then.”