Page 124 of Whispers and Wildfire
“That is a scary thought.”
She laughed. “Hey.”
“You’re a handful, Melanie Andolini. But it’s possible I’m a little bit crazy about you.”
“It’s possible I’m a little bit crazy about you, too. This wasn’t what I expected when I moved back to Tilikum. I was just trying to pick up the pieces. I didn’t think you’d be there to help.”
“We don’t even need to pick up the pieces of your old life. We can just sweep them into a corner and be done with them. Start fresh.”
She smiled. “I’d like that.”
“Me too.”
I kissed her again, intoxicated by the feel of her mouth on mine. We enjoyed the cool water for a while, then made our way back to our towels to dry off in the sun.
Eventually, we ran out of snacks. That meant it was time to head back to town. Spending half the day swimming in the sun had left us both hungry, so we stopped at the Zany Zebra for an early dinner.
I held the door open for her, and the scent of fries spilled out into the evening air. Melanie started toward the counter but abruptly stopped in her tracks and spun around.
“Oh my gosh,” she whispered. “Is that who I think it is?”
There were people at most of the tables, but it only took me a second to see who she was talking about. Hank. “Yep, that’s him.”
“Him?” Her forehead creased in confusion. “I was talking about Jenna.”
I looked again. “Holy shit, that is Jenna. She’s here with Hank.”
Melanie’s eyes widened, and she grabbed my arm. “I want to look. Can I look?”
Hank and Jenna were sitting across from each other, sharing a milkshake. Neither of them cast even the slightest glance in our direction. They were too busy staring into each other’s eyes.
“You can look.”
She slowly spun around to look then turned back to me.
“Oh my gosh,” she whispered again, her eyes still wide. “They’re so cute together.”
“Your whisper is louder than you think, secret agent Mel. Let’s go order some food. Everyone else in the restaurant is starting to look concerned.”
“Sorry, my mind is just a little bit blown right now.”
I took her arm and led her to the front counter to order. Hank and Jenna still didn’t seem to notice us despite the way Melanie was openly staring. She was many things, but subtle was not one of them.
The cashier came over and I ordered our dinner. Right as I was paying, Melanie grabbed my arm again.
“They just kissed over the table.”
“Good for them,” I said, my voice low. “Will you be quiet about it?”
“Sorry.”
Once our order was in, I moved her down the counter to wait—away from Hank and Jenna. I tried to block Melanie’s view of them, but she kept leaning over to look.
It was hard not to laugh.
Finally, our food came out. I grabbed the bags and dragged her out of there. We got in the car and my stomach rumbled at the smell of burgers and fries.
“That was crazy,” she said as she fastened her seat belt. “Who would have thought?”
