Page 18 of Sweet Bred

She chokes out a laugh, her cheeks turning rosy. “Stop.”

“Why don’t you believe me?”

She shrugs again.

“All right,” I say. “I guess I’ll just have to keep telling you until you do.”

Even though that makes her blush harder, she also looks pleased. And it finally feels like the perfect time to ask her what I’ve been wanting to ask.

“Can I take you out on a date, Juliet?”

She doesn’t answer right away, but the smile on her lips reveals her answer before she speaks. “I’d really like that.”

“How’s tomorrow sound? Wait. Forget I said that. How’s tonight?”

Her laugh rings out into the evening air. “It’s almost ten o’clock, Shaw.”

“Exactly. The night is young.”

“Don’t bakers have to get up very, very early in the morning?”

“Normally, yes. But tomorrow’s my day off.”

“Ah. I see. Well, coincidentally, tomorrow’s my day off, too.” She looks at me playfully as she considers my proposition. “What are we going to do if we go on this late-night date?”

“We’ll get some food. Do a little stargazing. Then maybe drive around a while, looking for trouble.”

She laughs again. God, I love that angelic sound. “Sounds like a plan. Is it okay if I run home first, though? I should probably put on some warmer clothes if we’re going to be out all night.”

“Sure,” I say. “Or you could just wear the sweatshirt I have in my car.”

Her lips quirk. “Oh? How good of a sweatshirt are we talking about?”

“It’s top-notch. You won’t ever want to take it off.”

“Consider me intrigued.” She tilts her chin up a little, her eyes beaming with sweetness. “Okay. Lead the way.”

6

JULIET

Shaw’s sweatshirt feels almost as good as a hug. It’s oversized and smells of him and is so thick and soft. I already know I’m not going to want to take it off when we say goodnight. I want to live in this sweatshirt. Sleep in this sweatshirt. Grow old in this sweatshirt.

We’re sitting across from each other in a big, cozy booth at a diner, one of the only places in Cedar Springs that’s still open this late. We’ve both eaten our burgers but we’re still working on our shared plate of fries. There are a few other people here, but it almost feels like we have the place to ourselves.

For the first time in a long time, I’m truly happy.

The past few weeks have sucked. First there was discovering the truth about Eric. Then there was the excruciating conversation I had with my parents in which I had to tell them the wedding was off without being able to fully tell them why. Eric begged me not to share his secret, and as hurt as I was, I didn’t think it was right to out him. But since my parents didn’t know the whole truth, they came to the conclusion that the wedding was off because of me.

So that’s been fun.

My motivation for coming out to the movie tonight was simple: I needed a bit of escapism. I needed distraction. I needed to do something other than stay cooped up in my apartment, weighed down by embarrassment and regret. It took an hour to convince myself that it was good for me to shower and put on real clothes and be around other people, but I eventually got myself out of my apartment.

When I first arrived at the park, I took one look at the packed lawn and started to second-guess my decision. It was overwhelming, and a little depressing, to see all of those happy people there.

But then I saw a hand waving. I saw Shaw smiling at me.

And suddenly I felt like I could breathe again.

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