Page 101 of If Only In Our Dreams

“Shut up,” he snorted, eyes dancing.

And I had to kiss him then, because he was perfect, perfect, perfect.

And he deserved to be loved.

Deserved to be kissed.

Especially in public.

Especially where people could see.

Robin was a little on edge, but for the most part, he remained mostly relaxed while we finished up at the mall. He’d stopped offering to pay after the second time I stared him down, and so, I was more than a little pleased with the wide selection I’d bought him—and his compliance. Everything was in black, because while I wanted him to be warm, I certainly had no intention of changing him.

“Babe you bought me like an entire new wardrobe,” Robin laughed as I hauled his bags in my arms. Normally the weight wouldn’t bother me, but I really had irritated my back a bit earlier, and the strain was making my arms begin to shake. I was doing my best to ignore it, but it was hard not to be frustrated when the last thing I needed right now was my back acting up.

Robin, once again, to his credit, immediately reached out and snatched the bags away from me. We were halfway to the escalator, which made me nervous in general. The idea of accidentally blocking my view with the bags, therefore making it difficult to know when to step off, made me incredibly uncomfortable.

Robin sensed this, clearly, because he went on ahead with a chipper hop to his bow-legged step. When he stepped onto the top step, he twisted to grin at me. “Coming?” he hummed, waiting expectantly as I took a hesitant step onto the moving steps.

“Thank you,” I murmured, cheeks a little hot.

Robin shrugged, arms laden with bags, his solid body brushing against mine as he leaned back fractionally to comfort me. “No problem,” he said, tipping his head back even more so he could grin. He righted himself quickly though, so as not to make me more anxious.

When he carefully leapt off the steps he was quick to shift out of the way so I’d have time to move as slowly as I liked.

My heart fluttered as Robin stepped into line with me the moment we were both on solid ground. It felt second nature to slow my pace so he could keep up as we headed toward the parking lot where my van awaited.

We were only half an hour from the Christmas Market.

It popped up in November each year and stayed till the week before Christmas. Robin had mentioned wanting to visit it the first day he’d come to my office, and I was more than a little giddy at the prospect of taking him.

Tomorrow was the Pie Festival.

Which meant it would be unwise to stay up too late.

Not that I was going to let that stop me.

The girls were with Mama till tomorrow morning and the relay race—and I had…plans.Plans that I was more than a little excited to see Robin’s reactions to.

On the car ride to the market, Robin had about a thousand adorable questions.

He asked me about college. About New York. Asked me about my favorite foods, my favorite book I’d ever written, my favorite TV show.

He said the most brilliant, most hilarious things sometimes.

Especially when he was telling me stories, like…the time that he’d seen a guy cut someone off at a red light—and the stranger had nearly gotten rear-ended because of it, then gotten out of his car and thrown a fit. “Some dudes are assholes,” Robin told me with a pumped-up, angry little frown. “I mean—I’m small. I can’t be small and have small dick energy. Fuck that.”

And.

“I think I’d be a bridezilla if I got married.”

And.

“You ever wonder what that pole that kid licked inA Christmas Storytasted like?”

We’d recently seen that movie in the theater, so I understood why it was on his mind.

My favorite little tidbit of conversation, however, was when he asked me another adorable question. It wasn’t anything anyone had ever asked me before. It felt poignant in a way none of the others had.

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