Page 135 of The Fake Out Flex

My arms erupt in goosebumps. "Wow." I feel a little dizzy. "I may need a few moments to let this sink in."

He smiles warmly. "Take all the time you need. I've dumped a lot on you."

After a few minutes of silence, I break it with, "Thank you."

His eyebrow arches. "For what?"

"For opening up to me. For sharing everything. It's not easy being vulnerable and honest."

"Tell me about it."

"You're pretty incredible," I tell him.

He squeezes my fingers. "You're pretty incredible, too."

He smiles at me, and I have officially fallen into a wow canyon.

Just when I think Fraser can't do or say anything to make him more incredible, he opens up even more and takes his incredibleness to a whole new level.

We watch Dawn push Oakey on the swings in silence until the little guy runs over and excitedly tells us about a puzzle he's working on. We spend the rest of the morning sprawled on the floor in Dawn's living room, watching Oakey put his puzzle together, helping from time to time.

I don't get to meet her husband, Tim, since he's at work. She proudly tells me about his plumbing business and their hopes of expanding their family.

I catch her up on old school friends since she's been missing in action and hasn't kept in touch with anyone.

We even take a few selfies—some with me and Dawn, a few with me, Fraser, and Oakey.

As we're leaving, Dawn says, "You'll have to come up again."

I reply, "For sure, I'd love that," and I mean it.

Who knows? Maybe by then, Fraser and I will be officially together.

I lean down to say goodbye to Oakey, and he looks up at me with his adorable big blue eyes. "Can you swing me next time you visit, please?"

"I would love that."

He barrels into me with a hug so strong, I almost topple over.

When I stand back up, Fraser is looking at me with a soft, tender expression, his normally intense eyes glimmering with a quiet joy.

"I'm so happy Dawn is settled and in a really good place in her life," I say as we begin our drive back down the mountain to Comfort Bay.

"So am I."

"Is that why you're reconsidering your aversion to small towns?"

"That's part of the reason." His eyes dart over to me. "There may be another reason as well."

"Oh. Oh."

I don't know what to say to that, so I stare out the window at the rolling hills, my mind swirling with all the revelations from the day.

"Where should we stop for burgers?" Fraser asks as we get closer to town.

"Bold of you to assume I'm hungry."

"Er, it would be bolder of me to assume you aren't. And I love that about you," he says, snuffing out the last vestiges of self-consciousness I have about my appetite…and my food choices.

---