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“Why do I need a car?” She shrugged. “It’s a small town and I’ve
got a bike. And when it’s raining, there’s this guy who’s willing to
drive me anywhere I need to go. It’s almost like having a
chauffeur.”
“Really?”
“Uh-huh. And I’m pretty sure that if I asked, he’d even let me
borrow his car. I have him wrapped around my little finger.”
Alex cocked an eyebrow. “He doesn’t sound like much of a man.”
“He’s all right,” she teased. “He seemed a little desperate in the
beginning, what with all the freebies he gave me, but I eventually
got used to it.”
“You have a heart of gold.”
“Obviously,” she said. “I’m pretty much one in a million.”
He laughed. “I’m beginning to think that you’re finally coming
out of your shell and I’m beginning to glimpse the real you.”
She walked a few steps in silence. “You know the real me,” she
said, stopping to peer up at him. “More than anyone else.”
“I know,” he said, pulling her toward him. “And that’s why I
think that somehow we were meant to find each other.”
Though the store was as busy as ever, Alex took a vacation. It was
his first in a while, and he spent most afternoons with Katie and
the kids, relishing the lazy days of summer in a way he hadn’t
since childhood. He fished with Josh and built dollhouses with
Kristen; he took Katie to a jazz festival in Myrtle Beach. When the
fireflies were out in force, they caught dozens with nets and put
them in a jar; later that night, they watched the eerie glow with a
mixture of wonder and fascination before Alex finally opened the
lid.