Page 99 of You Found Me

Nobody stood out as a threat. They hadn’t been followed. Nobody even knew they were here.

It was safe enough.

He led her toward the food trucks. “Let’s grab a bite and then do the flowers.”

“Okay.” Della’s eyes danced with excitement as she looked this way and that. “This reminds me of a county fair. I hope they have cotton candy.”

After hot dogs and cotton candy, which she ate with glee, they followed the path around the house and over a small hill.

Acres of sunflowers came into view, their vivid yellow and gold blooms nodding in the afternoon breeze.

“Oh.” Della’s slow smile brightened her face. “Oh. I love this. Have you ever seen anything so happy?”

She beamed at him, then let go of his hand. “Race you to the middle.” She took off, glancing over her shoulder. “Come on!”

He followed at a slower pace, at war with himself. Should he stay back and make sure nobody came close to her, or chase after her?

Della stopped and waved at him. “Hello! You going to let a girl beat you like that? What kind of Marine are you?”

His feet made the decision while his head was busy listing all the reasons he shouldn’t.

When he got close, she giggled and darted into a row of sunflowers.

Della stopped mid-row and spun to face him, her red curls bouncing. The smile on her face made his heart catch in a way he wished he could blame on the run. “This is so cool! Look how tallthey are. And so big! The ones at Sevens weren’t this gigantic. This one’s bigger than my head!”

She pulled one down and covered her face with the blossom, then peeked out from behind the yellow petals.

The laughter in her eyes was worth bending a thousand rules. “Glad you like it.”

She released the stem and raised her arms to the blue sky and twirled with her face lifted to the sun.

It was all he could do not to kiss her right there.

Before he did something stupid, Ward pulled out his pocketknife and cut off a slightly smaller bloom. “Here.”

Her face softened as she took the flower from his hand. “Thank you.”

He coughed. “Sure.”

She put a hand on his arm and looked into his eyes with an intensity that shook him. “I mean it. Thank you. I needed this. It’s…this is perfect.”

The air between them felt charged like the sky during a thunderstorm.

He should look away. He shouldn’t get this close to her.

Her lips parted, then closed, leaving whatever thought had just passed through her mind unsaid.

Della glanced down at the flower, and the connection was broken.

He stuck his hands in his pockets to keep himself from reaching for her.

She tucked the flower behind her ear. Yellow petals spilled over her brilliant red hair, and into her eye before the too-large flower teetered and fell.

Della chuckled as she picked it up. “Okay, this one’s a little big. Maybe I’ll just hold it.”

He gestured to the stalks around them. “It’s the last week. You’re allowed to take as many as you can carry.”

“Really? We can take them home?” She looked like he’d just offered her a pile of gold. “I can carry a lot, you know.”

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