Page 28 of Then Came You

“How come?”

“Well, let’s see. For one, I’m not a big fan of worms. Secondly, it looks—and you might hate me for this—boring. Thirdly, even if I caught something, I wouldn’t want to have to clean it. I prefer to go to a seafood restaurant and have it served to me on a platter with a side of fries.”

He stopped walking, planted his hands on his hips, and gave her a mock scowl. “Let me correct you on a few things. One, you don’t have to use worms to catch fish. Two, it’s never boring. And three, I can serve up a fish dinner that would rival that of any seafood restaurant around.”

“Is that so?” Her eyebrows were raised, and she was smiling. “Sounds like a challenge.”

“I’d be glad to show you the error of your ways. You’re welcome to come fishing with me anytime.”

“Would I have to touch worms?”

“Not a one.”

“If I caught something, would you clean it?”

“Absolutely.”

“And you’ll cook it too?”

“With pleasure.”

“What about the fries? I can’t eat fish without fries.”

“If you cut the potatoes, we’ll have fries.”

“Wow. It sounds too easy.”

“Does this mean you’ll accept the challenge?” He waited and watched a series of emotions cross her face. Please say yes.

“Challenge accepted.”

He suppressed the urge to pick her up and swing her around. Instead, he held out his hand. “Let’s shake on it.”

She hesitated, and then she slipped her hand into his and shook it.

Connection. He’d been right about that. Her hand was small and soft, and it felt just right tucked in his. She let go too soon and looked away.

Just then, Rocky and Cocoa sprinted toward them, tongues hanging out and tails high in the air. Do dogs smile? Sam swore that both dogs were smiling as they raced up to their owners.

Then he glanced at Gillian and saw she was smiling too. Such a simple gesture, yet so meaningful. Sam decided that he wanted to see more of her smile and that he wanted to be the one to put it there.

Chapter 11

Two days later, Gillian and Lauren were sitting outside, eating lunch at the sandwich shop across the street from A Latte Books.

“Tell me everything!” Lauren said.

“There’s not much to tell. We took the dogs to the dog park. End of story.”

“You left out the middle of the story.”

Gillian laughed. “We talked.”

“About…”

“Books and fishing mostly.”

“Fishing?”