Page 53 of Chocolate Cherry Cabin

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

Instead of answering right away, Hannah seemed to run through some sort of mental checklist. A fairly long one, he noted. But she finally said, “You come from a good place, even though you make me want to pull my hair out half the time.”

“Do you trust me?” he repeated.

“Sure, to scramble my mind.”

He laughed. Nothing came easy with this woman. And for whatever reason, he liked that. For all her people-pleasing personality traits, she sure could dish it out where he was concerned.

“I trust you to help Thomas.” She was watching him now, her eyes filled with approval and warmth. “I can trust you to be kind to my dog. And I just climbed into a plane without seeing your license, and let you fly me up into the skies, opening my world to a whole new perspective.”

Louis felt the impact of her words. As they moved forward in the lineup he faced her, his throat thick as he asked, “Is that a yes?”

She stood close to him, a flash of fire in her gaze. “You need to learn patience, Louie.”

“Patience hasn’t served me well in the past.” Especially with her.

“Trust takes time. I’m not quick to give it, and even more so when it comes to youandme. I don’t think I even know how much I trust you yet, but it’s obviously quite a bit. Give me time to figure this out. But if you’d rather race off to the next thing...” She stepped back, palms raised. “I guess it’s no big deal, Adventure Man.”

How was it possible to get it wrong with her almost each and every time?

He inhaled slowly, trying to calm his mind, adjust his pace. To be present, to accept the gift he had. This moment. This suggestion from a woman he cared about.

“So you trust me.”

“Yes, I do.” Then she rolled up onto her tiptoes and kissed him.

* * *

Louis led them to a picnic table with their grouper fish tacos and iced tea. Despite the nearby storm it was nice enough to eat outside as long as they didn’t linger.

Hannah wanted to ask about the dark clouds, but also wanted to show Louis that she trusted him. That she was okay being in the passenger seat and letting him be the boss.

As they dug into their lunch, she finally found herself unable to resist. “The clouds over there? Should we be worried?”

“I have an eye on it.” He seemed worried, though, as if the weather was doing something he didn’t like.

“You look concerned.”

He took several bites of his taco, then calmly asked, “Do you have to know everything about everything at every moment of every day?”

“How many times can you say ‘every’?” she quipped.

“Many, many times.” He grinned and polished off his first taco. “Come on, Hannah. You said you trust me. Put those words into action.” Despite the confidence in his tone, his eyes flicked to the sky, underlining the concern she saw growing in him.

Breathe. Enjoy. Relax. Go with the flow.She trusted him to stay grounded rather than to fly through a storm.

As she savored the tangy taco, the juices dripping down her hands, she allowed herself to be in the moment. A plane ride, a kiss and a picnic.

It was a date.

And she’d been the one to kiss him. She hadn’t needed to, she’d wanted to. And so she had.

She was pretty sure that helped make this an official date. Going on one date did not mean they were dating, but it felt like it might be getting close to that.

“Good?” Louis asked, gesturing to her second taco.

“Love it.” She took the last bite of her first and wiped her fingers on her napkin. “Would be even better with a margarita.”

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