Page 11 of If Tomorrow Never Comes

The delighted smile on her face was so charming, it simultaneously made him second-guess himself and want to kiss it off her face. “I swear.” She pulled out her phone, tapped a few things on the screen, and handed it to him. “Look.”

He took her phone and saw a search page with several narwhal hits. He swiped through slowly, looking at images that did look awfully legit ... but the things people could do with Photoshop and AI these days was wild. But, oh God, there was one fromNational Geographic. And the World Wildlife Fund? Withactual videosof these huge beasts with massive spears sprouting from their foreheads. What did they do with the horns? How did they not poke each other or get them tangled up in seaweed all the time?

He had so many questions.

Too amazed to be embarrassed, he handed her phone back. “I wonder what else is real?” he said more to himself.

She leaned in as if to impart some great secret. “People who don’t like chocolate, that’s what.”

The happy, carefree look on her face was such a one-eighty from moments ago after she’d told her secret that he’d repeat looking like a fool a hundred times over just to keep it there. “Fine, I believe you. Since we’re skipping the chocolate shavings, can we eat now?”

May clapped and picked up a spoon. She scooped a healthy serving, watching the steam rise. She gently waved the spoon between them, blowing on it. Finally, she lifted the spoon and stopped an inch from his mouth.

His brows rose. “For me?”

She nodded.

He grinned and closed his lips around the spoon, his eyelids falling closed in an instant. The rich vanilla flavor and spongy texture were absolute perfection. “Oh my God.”

“Good?”

“So. Good.”

She went back and took her own heaping bite. Her chin tipped back as a groan slid from her throat. He clenched his jaw at the sound, frustrated his body immediately assumed the sound was directed at him. It only got worse when she gently placed her hand on his chest, nodding.

“We’re real good at this. We win for sure.”

He swallowed. “I, uh, don’t think it’s a competition.”

“No?”

“Nah. It’s just a class for fun.”

She didn’t seem to hear him as she went for another bite, more sounds coming from her lips that had his chest rising a little faster. He took in the very public space around them and scooted back a step, muttering to himself, “This was definitely a bad idea.”

Chapter Four

Jamie

May was staying at the Embassy Suites a couple of blocks away, so Jamie asked if he could walk her back. She agreed, and their conversation flowed easily over the next twenty minutes as they slowly,slowlymade their way. Did she want to prolong this evening as much as he did? She’d reached over to thread her fingers between his within seconds of stepping into the evening air, so he thought she might.

They arrived at their destination too soon. They could have walked around this town for days, and still, it would have been too soon.

She paused at the side of the building, which was partly shrouded in shadows and around the corner from the hotel entrance. It was almost eleven, and across the street several establishments were still going strong, music filtering through the doors as patrons came and went. His sister’s bakery was dark, having closed a couple of hours ago—but Frenzy, the brewery next door to it, would be serving into the early-morning hours.

On their side where they stood on the empty sidewalk, they were in their own little world.

He nodded his head across the street. “That’s my sister’s place, over there.”

“Yeah?” May squinted, probably trying to read the darkened sign, then burst out laughing. “Melt My Tart?”

He grinned.

“I never stood a chance during that argument, did I?”

In truth, he saw her point about cheesecake, even if he’d die before admitting it. He was just glad as hell he’d found an excuse to talk to her at the bar. “Would we call that an argument?”

“Discussion, then.”

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