Page 94 of Next Time We'll Fall

“Do you remember that time we went and got photos at that fair and it was just you and me? And then we were staring ahead, and you turned to me, and you gave me a kiss on the cheek, and I kind of blushed, and we laughed, and you made a comment to me?”

“Oh, what did I say?”

“You said something like,Maybe the next time we’re in this booth, we’ll have fallen in love. Do you remember that?” I ask him.

He shakes his head. “Not really.”

“You’d had a couple of beers, and I always wondered if you had said it because you meant it or you’d said it because you were drinking.”

“Fine,” he says. “I do remember.” He grins. “And I didn’t say it because I was drinking. I said it because I was hoping you’d say,I’m in love with you already.”

“What?” My jaw drops. “I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah. I was hoping that I’d say,Maybe next time, we’ll fall for each otherand then you’d say,But I’ve fallen for you already. And then we’d kiss, and everything would just be cool, and, well, obviously, that’s not how it went.”

“I didn’t know that,” I say, grabbing his hands and kissing him lightly on the lips.

“You have nothing to be sorry about, Juniper. We have the rest of our lives to make each other happy, and we have a date to go on, hopefully tonight.”

“What’s the date?”

“You’ll see.” He grins at me.

He looks down at his watch and groans. “But I should head back to work because there are a number of animals waiting to see me. And I think Sarah is going to quit if I keep taking time off and disappearing from the office.”

I start laughing then. “I should head down to Salty Pages and make sure Sage and Rosie are doing okay.”

“Your cousins are all right, you know?”

He squeezes my hand as we go walking.

“What do you mean?”

“They kind of convinced me that I needed to man up, and I’m glad they were so direct because they were right.”

“Wow, I didn’t even realize that.” I stare at him. “Damn. They’re good girls.”

“They are. They’re crazy, but I love them.”

“Yeah.”

“They are crazy.” He laughs. “But I’m sure they are going to be absolutely fantastic in whatever they decide to do next in life.”

“I hope so.” I grin at him.

I decide not to tell him that their plan is to move to a rich town and meet billionaires because maybe then he’ll think they’re gold diggers, and I don’t want him to think that.

“Anyway, what’s the date you have planned?”

“It’s a secret, darling. If I told you that, well, then I’d have to kill you.”

I hit him in the arm, and he bursts out laughing.

“Kill you with kindness, I mean.”

“Very funny.”

He stops then and pulls me into his arms. He leans down and kisses me hard, and I reach up and run my fingers through his silky hair. I feel his hands running down the sides of my body as he brings me into him. I can feel his heart racing as he kisses me. Our tongues intertwine.