Page 60 of Loving You

She is aware that I said I didn’t want to help, right?

It’s all a bit much for me, so it’s time to move this conversation along.

“Why don’t we just introduce them and let them take it from there?” It’s an easy out and common sense.

She drops the wooden spoon into the sauce and spins, her hands on her hips. Clearly, my assumptions are wrong.

“Just introduce them? How will they have a meet-cute?”

“A what?”

“A meet cute.”

“What the fuck is a meet-cute?”

I lean my hips on the counter next to where she’s preparing the noodles. I cross one ankle over the other, sip my beer, and wait for her answer.

“It’s the most important part of how two people meet, that first moment they notice each other. It sets the tone for their entire relationship.”

“What’s ours?”

“We don't have one, Miles, obviously.”

“So, it’s just for people who date?”

“Well, no.”

“Then we probably have one. What is it?”

She thinks for a moment, then goes back to stirring the sauce. “I suppose in our situation, we could have different ones. Do you remember the first time you saw me or met me?”

“No,” I lie quickly.

I’ve never told a soul the ice cream story, and I don’t plan to change that today.

“Well, the first time I saw you was when Tobias wanted to go to a hockey game in Wind Valley. I was visiting, and he begged Grandma Betty to take us.”

“Really?” I ask and take a sip of the beer she brought.

“Yep. He talked mostly about Hudson and how he was convinced he would go to the pros, but he pointed out you, Luca, a little girl, and your dad.”

There are only a few times I recall the four of us being together at one of Hudson's games, and that was the season after our mom died. It was Hudson’s last year; he’d already lined up a scholarship for college. Dad wanted us to get as much time together as possible.

The crazy part is that it was the same year I first saw Quinn.

I clear my throat. “Is that a meet cute?”

“No.” She laughs. “I guess not, since we didn’t even talk.”

“So, ours is the first time we talked? Wasn’t that … when you were talking to yourself on your phone down by the lodge?”

She adds the noodles and then moves to stand on my other side, mirroring my pose.

“Funny.” She smirks. “I was doing a live show on Instagram, and you ruined it.”

“I did not ruin it.”

“Um, I recall you asking your brother who the weirdo was. Everyone watching heard you.”

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