Page 88 of The Friendly Fall

“Good,” she says, then turns back to look at the truck. “Let’s just hope that we can get out of here in one piece because it was a miracle that I even made it in.”

“Oh boy, this is gonna be fun,” I tease her, pulling her back in for another kiss. It’s not nearly as long as the first, but just as sweet, and I fight the urge not to get lost in her for a while.

“Come on,” Eliza says, her excitement exciting me.

“Okay, okay.” I laugh. “Lead the way.”

With ease that she probably doesn’t even realize, Eliza turns the truck around and bumps down the trail. My heart issoaringas I follow her. I feel dumb for not reading the letter in its entirety, but … the fact it led to this moment between us makes it that much sweeter.

She’s mine.

The thought brings nothing but happiness as I follow her across town, the sky growing dark as we pull into Granny’s house. I park behind her and kill the engine, climbing out. Part of me expects Granny to come out and greet us, but she doesn’t.

“It’s back here,” Eliza waves for me to follow her.

I trot to catch up to her and grab her hand. “Okay.”

She smiles up at me nervously. “Don’t get your hopes up. I triedreallyhard, but I’ve got nothing on your craftsmanship. It’s totally okay if you just want me to throw it away.”

I shake my head. “Never. I’ll keep it forever.”

Her green eyes soften, stopping me at the door of the workshop. “You mean that?”

My fingertips brush along the softness of her cheek, pushing the blonde hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “Yeah, I mean it.”

She smiles and turns the knob, tugging me in behind her. “I tried to conceal it if you came in here or something.” I watch as she goes over to the stack of wood and moves it over. I hadn’t noticed the structure behind it, covered with a tarp.

“That’s kind of big, whatever it is.”

“Yeah.” She blushes. “But I just made it according to the plans.”

I nod. “Okay, show me.”

She takes a deep, nervous breath—that makes me smile even harder. “Ta da…” Eliza tugs the tarp off, revealing a workbench. It’s …impressive.

Just like everything she does.

“Well?” she breathes. “What do you think?”

“This is amazing,” I say, stepping around the wood to take a look. “I can’t … I can’t believe how well you did.” I run my hand along the surface, the scent of freshly stained wood filling my nostrils. “Look at these corners,” I point out, noting that she rounded them perfectly.

She bites her lip. “Are they bad?”

“No, they’re …good.Really good.”

“Oh!” Eliza bounces. “So, you’re happy with it?”

“Yeah, of course I am.” I laugh, pulling her into my arms. “I can’t believe you built this for me.”

“It was my way of apologizing … and maybe asking you to be my boyfriend?” She tilts her head back and looks up at me. “I know it’s cheesy…”

“Nah,” I say. “I love it—and that, too.” I point to the engraving on theside.

Made with love by Eliza Kate.

She blushes a deep crimson. “It’s so silly. After I put it on there, I thought that it might be a mistake. Like, what if you didn’t like me, but you wanted to keep the workbench? That would besoawkward.”

I lean over and plant a kiss on the top of her head. “I’m pretty sure I’ve been dreaming oftheEliza Kate Willis being my girlfriend since I pulled her out of the hole in a rotten ramp.”

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