“I helped build this bridge,” Michael says.
I stop. “Seriously?”
He ducks his head. “I mean, I tried. I was only ten at the time. My dad’s buddy was designing it and asked us to help. My dad provided the wood, and I spent three months of the summer working alongside him.”
“That’s so cool.”
He leans on the railing, watching the water move swiftly beneath our feet. “It was my first time really working with my dad, and I smashed my thumb more times than I can count. But in the end, I would have done itagain for the satisfaction of the work.”
I run my palm along the railing. I get that.
“That’s why I want to take over my dad’s business. I love it.”
It’s admirable that he has already found what he’s passionate about and is preparing for the future. I have no concrete plans for after graduation except possibly more school.Yay.
“Juliet.” He turns and takes one of my hands. The tingles I thought I left in the pizza shop jump up my arm, playing connect the dot with my pores. “I like getting to know you. Will you give me another date? Another chance to figure out who you are?”
What he’s asking for is so simple. Another date. Another chance.
I push down the urge to run fast and far.
His thumb rubs the back of my hand, and my body melts. Right now, I’d promise him just about anything.
“What if you find out you don’t know me, and all you get is a smashed thumb?” I ask, tacking on a thinly veiled warning.Caution: pursuing any hint of a relationship with me is not safe.
He lifts a shoulder only to drop it. “What’s meant to happen will happen.”
I purse my lips. What will happen is I will run, or he will. Those are the only two options.
“That sounds an awful lot like you believe in fate.”
“I didn’t think I did until I met you.” His eyes glisten.
My face cracks, and I let out a sound somewhere between a snort and a sneeze. I cover my mouth.
“Sorry.” He scratches one of his red cheeks. “That sounded a lot less cheesy in my head.”
I grin. “Maybe it should have stayed there.”
He laughs, and already I can picture myself doing whatever it takes to hear it over and over again.
“So you’ll give me a chance?” His face grows serious.
I promised Karli I’d go on five dates. That’s the mostI can guarantee him. It’s hardly enough to fall in love. I can keep the castle walls barricaded around my heart for that long.
“You get five dates.”
His brows furrow. “That’s very specific.”
It is.Crap.I play with a strand of hair. “I have a thing with numbers.”
“Cute.” His smile reaches his eyes and also some dark, dusty corner of my heart. “I can work with that.”
That’s what I’m afraid of.
Chapter 11
Michael
