Page 23 of How We Loved

We walk up the stairs to the business, and he opens the door for me. “After you.”

“Hi, Maya. What can I get you, dear?” Susan, the ice cream shop owner, asks.

“You know I want a scoop of pumpkin,” I say with a grin.

Susan looks at Trevor. “And what about you?”

“I’ll do the pumpkin too. I guess I need to try it to see what all the hype is about,” he teases.

“You’ve never had pumpkin ice cream?” I ask with my eyes open wide, acting like he just told me he doesn’t need to breathe to live.

He laughs at my reaction, holding up his hands in defense. “Guilty. I love that my first taste will be with you.” He intertwines my pointer finger with his.

Susan hands us each a cone, and he pulls out his wallet.

I reach for my purse. “Oh, I have?—”

“Don’t finish that sentence.” He drops my hand and holds up his finger. “I got it.”

He hands Susan some cash, and a few seconds later, she’s giving him change.

“Thank you,” I say shyly.

“Anytime.” He winks at me. “Thank you,” he says to Susan, then heads toward the front door. “Want to go for a walk?”

“Sure.” I exit the door he’s propping open for me.

We take a few steps, and I pause to look at him.

“Well?” I ask, motioning to the ice cream. “What do you think?”

He takes a bite, then nods. “I can see why you like it so much.”

“Right?” I take a lick too. “It’s so good.”

“Oh, do that again. Lick it slowly like that.” He raises his eyebrows, making me laugh as I nudge him softly.

He winks, then reaches to hold my hand as we walk down the street and finish our ice cream.

We walk to a nearby park, where he throws away our wrappers from the cones, then leads me to a bench, where we sit to face each other.

“So, tell me, if we were to go to the movies, what would you want to see?” he asks.

“Don’t worry,” I reply. “I’m not one who only wants to see girlie movies. I have a lot of guy friends, and I’ve seen every shoot ’em up, bang, bang movie there is. Dalton’s last name is Wick, so you know he loves every John Wick movie made.”

He nods his head. “They’re all great movies, so I can see why. They won’t go watch the girlie movies with you?”

I let out a loud laugh. “No way in hell. Those I watch at home once they come out on Netflix.”

His grin melts my heart as he reaches to wrap his finger around mine. “I’d go with you.”

“Seriously?” My voice doesn’t hide my surprise, which makes him chuckle.

“Why does that surprise you?”

“I’m just excited, is all. The guys never want to go to those movies.”

“It’s because they don’t get to cuddle with the girl next to them while they watch. That’s the difference.”

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