Page 16 of Chasing Sunsets

“I don’t know yet. I’m not really the type of girl who makes plans,” I say.

He considers my answer for a moment. “You don’t like having a direction? You just wing it when it comes to life?”

“Not always, but lately? Yes. I’ve come to believe that things don’t always have to follow a set plan. Spontaneity is the spice of life. I’m twenty-two years old and I want to live an adventure. So why not now?” I explain.

“A girl after my heart,” he says.

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much my philosophy as well. I like to keep things fun and interesting. There’s no need to take life so seriously.”

“How has that worked out for you so far?” I ask.

“Pretty well. You?”

I think about my tiny, temporary home and how happy I’ve been the past few months. “Same. It’s like I’ve been able to breathe for the first time in my life. I don’t even recognize myself.”

“Sounds like you didn’t like your past life very much.”

I shrug. “It made me who I am. I believe that everything you experience leads you to where you’re supposed to be eventually,” I say.

He grins. “Even a no-good boyfriend running off and leaving you in a strange place?”

“Especially that,” I say.

He nods. “So, no plan.”

“Nope. Planning is not something I find appealing anymore. I just have to wait and see if this becomes home.”

“Becomes home?”

“Yeah. I need to settle in and ground myself. Walk around barefoot and see if I connect with it.”

He leans on the table and studies me intently. “You’re something else, Tabby Harmony—you know that?” he asks.

“Have you ever been in love?” I ask, changing the subject.

His brows rise. “Nope. What about you?”

“I’m not sure.”

He chuckles as he pops the last of his taco into his mouth. “Bullshit. If you were in love, you would know it.”

“And how would you know that? You said you’ve never been in love,” I point out.

“Exactly! I know what it feels like not to be in love, so how could I not recognize it when it happens? Besides, I know what it looks like,” he says.

“What does it look like?”

“Well, I grew up watching my mom and dad love each other, and I’ve seen all my friends fall in love. I watched how they went from being perfectly reasonable men to losing their minds and their hearts to the women in their lives. The assholes are dropping like flies.”

“I didn’t have that, except maybe with my grandparents. I think they had a passionate love affair when they were young. I know my parents love each other in their own way, but honestly, their relationship feels more like a business partnership than a romantic one,” I explain.

His lips curl into a rakish grin. “Ah, so that’s why you came looking for me. You want a passionate love affair.”

“Looking for you? Who was stalking whom exactly?”

He leans over the table, so close that I can feel his breath against my lips. “Okay, maybe I was the one doing the looking.”

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