Page 16 of Run, Little Bunny

He’s close with his family too. Nice.

“This really is so cute of you. Thank you.”

“Anything for my little bunny.”

My cheeks flush, and I love it. I fucking love this strange man flirting with me, buying me gifts, and calling me little bunny.I really hope it’s Chad.

“See you Tuesday,” I manage and hang up. My heart is racing so fast.

“Anna!” my sister greets, opening the door of her house. Cam’s squeals and my parents’ voices spill out, mixing with the smell of Easter brunch. “Don’t you look cute in those bunny ears.”

I giggle, excited to tell her about yesterday. “You’ll never guess who bought them for me.” She cocks a brow as I step inside, homemade lamb-shaped cookies in hand. “The Easter Bunny.”

Her eyes widen. “The Easter Bunny?! What?!”

I glance hesitantly into the dining room where our parents are already in full gossip mode. Mom is talking about how nice the church service was with my aunt. We make eye contact, and she brings up how many nice boys there are at church, instantly earning an eye roll. The last thing I need is them getting riled up about another potential suitor. They get too enthusiastic every time I mention a guy, and I can already imagine their reactions.It’s way too soon to tell them about this, especially since I don’t exactly know who my potential suitor is.

“Shh!” I hiss. “Let’s not get them involved, okay?”

“He put an Easter basket out front of your apartment this morning?” she asks cautiously.

“Yep. It was really cute.”

Megan raises a brow, clearly curious. “How does he know where you live?”

“Oh my God.” I swat her arm, laughing. “I didnothook up with the Easter Bunny last night! I mentioned it to him at the bar.”

She gives me a skeptical look. “You shouldn’t tell strangers where you live.”

“Everyone at High Five seemed to know him,” I say, lowering my voice even more. “I still think it’s Chad Braun.”

Her eyebrow quirks. “Wait, you still don’t know?”

“I’ll find out on Tuesday. We’re going out.”

Her eyes narrow, concern flickering in them as she drops her voice to a whisper. “I’m not loving this, Anna. You’re sure it’s safe?”

The whispering feels like it’s drawing too much attention, so I nod quickly, forcing a reassuring smile. “It’s fine. I promise. I just want to make sure before Mom and Dad start planning the wedding.”

She snorts. “Fair point. But still, be careful, okay?”

I glance toward the dining room where Mom is already looking our way.Please don’t ask about this, I silently beg. I’m not ready for a full interrogation.

“Heard,” I whisper back, and we both straighten up. I quickly change the subject as we step into the dining room. “The book I’m reading … I don’t think you’re going to want to read it once I’m done.”

“Why not?”

“The chasing in the woods scene was really intense.”

Megan shakes her head. “Why do you like that stuff?”

I shrug, thinking about how fun it would be to reenact some of the scenes I’ve read.

14

“Chad, where’s my kiss?” Mom asks, moving frantically around the cramped kitchen in my childhood home. This house barely fit the six of us growing up, and now it’s almost bursting with ten. I set the bottle of wine on the counter and give her a kiss on the cheek. “One of these days, bring a girl instead of a bottle of wine,” she chides, shaking her head as she stirs a pot.

“One of these days, let me make a holiday meal at my house,” I quip back. I did offer to host Easter this year, after all. My place is bigger, with an open floor plan, but Mom refused to break tradition.

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