Page 56 of Johnathan

He laced his fingers through hers and they walked side by side down to his truck.

“So, where are we going for this alone time?”

“I picked up dinner from Sal’s.”

“Burgers and fries?”

“Yep. Pickles for you, none for me.”

“Perfect,” she laughed. “And where are we enjoying this picnic?”

“Figured we’d eat down by the lake, under the stars.”

“The lake?”

Shit. He’d known she would be nervous around the water, but he wasn’t an asshole. They wouldn’t be sitting anywhere close enough that it would be dangerous.

“At the park. Where we can see the lake, but are at no risk of accidentally ending up in the water.”

“You remembered.”

“You told me something important. Of course I did.”

“Well, now I think a picnic at the lake sounds exceptionally romantic.” She looked down at her lap. “But I don't think these pants are very picnic friendly.”

“I keep a change of clothes in the back. You’re welcome to any of my clothes that you may need.”

Abby’s laugh filled his truck. “I have to know. Do you honestly have a kink for seeing women in your clothing?”

He shook his head. “Women, no. One particular woman? Yeah, I’ll own up to that being a huge turn on for me.”

“Ah, you’re one of those guys.”

“What?”

“You know, a possessive guy who loves to see his woman walking around in his clothes.”

Fire sparked in John’s eyes.

“Is that how you see yourself? As my woman?”

“Do you see yourself as my man?”

“Yeah, baby. Yeah, I do.”

“Can we talk about what happened this afternoon?”

Abby set her drink down, running her fingers over the napkin on her lap. They’d been sitting in the park for the better part of an hour, and she was hoping the night would never end. But she could tell he was waiting for a chance to bring up that afternoon. Abby wanted to brush it off, but she also wanted to show John that she trusted him to understand.

“It was just a bad reaction on my part. Seb shouldn’t have bothered you. Although, I’m glad you came and I got to sneak a kiss.”

“I don’t think that’s all it was, baby. You looked like you’d been sleeping, but I knew it wasn’t that long between when I got the call and when I made it to your apartment.”

“I was in my bed crying when you came over.” Her confession was almost inaudible to her own ears, she wondered for a second if he’d even be able to hear her. But from the look of horror on his face, he didn’t miss a single word she’d said. “That’s probably why I looked like such a mess. I was hiding under my covers.”

“Why?”

“It was Emma.”

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