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“This is all really amazing, Ryan, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I say as I lean in and kiss her. “I wanted to do something special for you so you can see how special this past month has been to me.”

She smiles, but there’s a sadness to her that I can’t help but notice.

The maître d' arrives at our table once again.

"Sir," he says. “I hate to interrupt, but I was wondering if you are ready for dessert."

I turn to Carina, and she smiles.

"Yes, we are ready for dessert. What are we having?"

The maître d' snaps his fingers, and another waiter rolls out a cart with a small stovetop and bowls of brown sugar, rum, bananas, butter, cinnamon, banana liqueur, and vanilla ice cream.

“Bananas foster? When did I tell you about that?” she asks as the waiter ignites the alcohol.

I laugh. “I took a guess. I was looking through one of your cookbooks and saw that one of them has a broken spine that opened onto Bananas Foster. The big bookmark was also a giveaway.”

I spoon a mixture of the syrup, banana, and ice cream and hold it up to her. She takes the spoon into her mouth and savors the flavors.

“Mmmm, that’s perfect.”

“One more thing,” I say as I point toward the view of the river.

Fireworks light up the sky over the river. Carina turns to me, her eyes as wide as saucers.

"Did you do that too?" she asks.

"Yes, I did. It’s too much, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. But it’s amazing. Everything about tonight has been amazing. There aren’t even any other people here. It must've cost you a fortune. You didn't have to do this for me."

"I didn't do it for you; I did it for us. Happy one-month anniversary,” I say as I wrap my arms around her.

"Well, if this is what you do for one month, what are you doing for a year?" she laughs.

"I guess we'll just have to find out."

CHAPTER 16

Carina

As the fireworks continue, Ryan takes my hand and pulls me closer. We watch the fireworks as he stands behind me, his arms enveloping me like a comfortable sweater. He looks down at me, and our eyes meet. His face becomes serious, as it had that very first night we met at the ball. We haven’t done much more than kissing since then.

I look away. While this date and Ryan have been unforgettable, I keep reminding myself that being with him should be treated as a job. The more I like him, the more I need to remind myself I’ll need to break up with him. The best thing I can do is to keep my mind straight.

It’s like Grandma said months ago—I need to protect myself.

I have such little experience to begin with, and the more I get to know Ryan, the more I have feelings for him. I know that for me, letting the relationship turn physical would be the point of no return.

He leans in and kisses my neck, and my entire body goes flush with warmth. His hand slides up my leg, and I want more, but I pull away.

“I’m sorry,” he says.

Later, on the drive home, he keeps his hand on my thigh. I can feel the warmth of his hand through my jeans. It makes me want to feel even more of him.

He squeezes my thigh, and I can tell he feels the same.

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