Page 41 of Where Sea Meets Sky

She covered her eyes dutifully, smiling excitedly. He parked the truck on the street a few doors down from the museum and looked over at her to make sure she wasn’t peeking.

“Okay,” he told her. “I’m going to get out and open your door. Keep your eyes closed, please.”

She laughed, and he got out and hurried around to her side of the truck.

“Careful, careful,” he said as she turned toward him. “Take my hand, find the step with your foot—great! Now find the ground with your other foot?—”

“I hope you appreciate that I’m doing this in heels.”

“Oh, I’m incredibly impressed, don’t you worry.” He paused to lock his truck and then began to lead her along the sidewalk toward the museum.

“This is scary.” She didn’t look scared, however, she looked delighted.

“You can trust me, don’t worry. I’ll make sure you don’t run into anything.”

“Or step into anything?”

He laughed. “Yeah, that too. Almost there. Just a few more sidewalk squares… okay. Turn this way.” He gently placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her in the direction of the museum. “Now open your eyes.”

Faith’s eyes opened and she gasped.

“I remember you telling me that you missed museums,” he said, feeling like that puppy was bouncing around in his chest again. He really, really wanted her to be happy with the surprise. “So I found this one and got us tickets to their special exhibit.”

She blinked at the building. She wasn’t smiling, just kind of staring, and he couldn’t read her expression. He wondered if she was simply surprised, or if perhaps she didn’t like it for some reason.

“Thank you,” she stammered. “It’s so thoughtful of you.”

“You’re so welcome,” he said, meaning it sincerely. “We should go on inside, since they close in a couple of hours. I want to make sure we have enough time to explore.”

She nodded, looking back at the building as if in a daze. He felt an impulse to take her hand, but he resisted it. After all, they still didn’t know each other that well, and he didn’t want to be too eager on the first date—especially since he wasn’t sure how she felt about the place where he’d taken them.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Faith walked next to Ryan, their footsteps echoing slightly in the vast room of the museum. She was entranced by everything she’d been seeing. Picturesque displays were paired with innovative interactive exhibits, and she was drawn in by everything. She always felt a kind of hushed peacefulness when she was in museums, as if time stopped there. She never felt rushed in a museum, and now that she’d been taking care of herself and had so much more energy overall, this museum experience was particularly wonderful for her.

It was so sweet of Ryan to take me here,she thought as she gazed up at a spinning globe, on which the cities of the world were lighting up and then dimming, over and over again as the globe spun, performing a kind of visual dance of lights.This place is amazing. It makes me feel even more at home in my new life.

The special exhibit that Ryan had brought her to was particularly fascinating. It had captured her attention the entire time, and she’d moved slowly through it so as to be able to read everything on the displays.

She’d been amazed by how high-quality the museum was, despite the fact that it wasn’t in any kind of a large city. It came very close to being the same quality as the museums in Boston.

As they moved past the spinning globe, she caught sight of her and Ryan’s reflections in a skyscraper model made out of mirrors and glass. Seeing the way he was trailing behind her slightly made her realize with a jolt that she hadn’t been paying much attention to him during their time in the museum. She’d spoken to him now and again and they’d shared a few smiles, but for the most part, she’d been wrapped up in her own little world. She always felt a little reverent in museums, and she’d been wandering from exhibit to exhibit almost in a trance.

She turned around to look at him, wanting to apologize for her unintentional rudeness. She certainly hadn’t meant to ignore him, but it had happened by accident. She didn’t want him to think that she wasn’t interested in him. She’d loved knowing that he was near her as they went from room to room. It had made the whole experience sweeter, knowing that he was close by and that he had brought her there because he knew she would love it.

As soon as she turned around, however, she froze. He was watching her, his eyes on her face with an intent expression. It was clear from the look on his face that he was more than just a little attracted to her. Her face heated as she fully recognized his deep interest in her for the first time.

“Sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to ignore you. I’m just so thrilled by everything.”

“Are you?” He stepped closer to her, smiling. “I wasn’t sure. I was really hoping this place would make you happy, but you’ve been looking very serious.”

“I have?” She laughed. “I guess that’s just my thinking face. I am really happy.”

“Good.” He looked down at her, his eyes glowing with a tender look.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she said, “Thank you, Ryan. This really means a lot to me, that you brought me here.”

“Anytime,” he said, and slipped his hand around hers.

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