“Is she still standing there?”
He glances over where she stood before the kiss. “I think she’s fled.” He pecks my lips and asks, “Are you hungry?” Then takes my hand and leads me toward the entrance.
“Yes, I am.”
“Pizza?”
“My favorite, how did you know?”
“Meat-lovers?”
“With pineapple and mushrooms.”
At the coat check, he retrieves his hat, tucks it under his arm, then retakes my hand. I have to admit. I enjoy how comfortable my hand holds his. It’s like we belong together.
On the ride up, the elevator is full, so we don’t talk. But once we exit onto the tenth floor, he asks as we walk to my car. “Where do you live?”
“On the East side of town in The Woodlands in an apartment complex. I’m on the 4th floor, apartment #23. You can follow me.”
“Where did you grow up?”
“In San Bernardino. My dad worked at the airport. My mom stayed at home.”
“Are your parents alive?”
“No. My dad died a couple of years ago, heart attack, and my mom died a year later of a broken heart.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too.”
“Siblings?”
“Two sisters. They still live in San Bernardino. Belle and Ariel.”
He stops, and I roll my eyes, laughing. “My mother was a hopeless romantic. She named us after fairy tale princesses and told us we would marry our Prince Charming. Then Disney did its thief thing, and the rest is history.”
He laughs out loud, and the sound fills my heart. “And you’re marrying a thief that stole your life.”
I laugh with him. “It is rather serendipitous, isn’t it?”
Chapter 17
d’Artagnan
Watching her relaxed, laughing at the irony of our situation. “I’m curious why did you stop modeling?”
She rolls her eyes. “By the time I was eighteen, I was burned out.”
I tilt my head, “Burnout? So young?”
She smiles that sweet zinging heart smile and says, “I was discovered on a field trip into the city when I was ten and started modeling then.”
“Ah, that explains a lot. Cathy didn’t tell me your history.”
She stops, and I turn back to face her. “What has Cathy told you about me?”
I smile, “Your personality, but not the details of your life.”
