Page 84 of First Love, Second Draft

He didn’t wait for her to start kissing him. He swooped in and claimed her lips, lifting her off her feet and making sure she knew just how much he meant that body, heart, and soul comment.

By the time he set her down, they were both out of breath and every grocery shopper in the store was clapping and whistling. Even his mom was smiling from next to the deli counter as she shook her head and rolled her eyes, muttering something like, “I should’ve known.”

“You know what I think,” Rachel whispered, burying her face against his neck. “We should get to the level where you introduce me as your wife as soon as possible.”

“You know what I think,” Matt whispered back, planting a kiss on the top of her head. “I should’ve worn the sling. Making out with you really did a number to my shoulder.”

She playfully punched him in the stomach. “You just make sure it’s in good working order by the honeymoon, okay?”

Honeymoon.

Matt pulled her back into his arms. Oh yeah. They were definitely getting married as soon as possible.

47

Grace:How’s the recording coming along?

Noah:What recording?

Grace:What do you mean what recording?

Noah:What do you mean what do I mean what recording?

Grace:You’re supposed to be recording stuff for the memoir!

Noah:Why do I have to record stuff when I can just walk over and talk to you about stuff?

Grace:You ever heard of multitasking? I need you to be recording more stories while I write, so I can listen to those recordings later and we can get this done as quickly as possible!

Noah:I thought you only had to turn in the first 3 chapters.

Grace:Now. But eventually I’m going to need to turn in ALL the chapters. And to do that I’m going to need more stuff!

Noah:So why don’t I come over right now and just tell you more stuff?

Grace:Because I won’t be here! Oh my goodness, why are you being so difficult?

Noah:Where are you going?

Grace:The animal shelter. I volunteer once a month and forgot until two minutes ago that this is my day to help out for a few hours.

Noah:I’ll come with you.

Grace:No! You need to be recording stuff for the memoir!

Noah:Why can’t I help you out at the shelter while we talk about more stuff for the memoir? Goodness, Gracie. Haven’t you ever heard of multitasking?

48

Three hours later Noah wouldn’t blame Gracie for being a little annoyed with him. He’d walked a dozen dogs, fed twice as many cats, cleaned more crates than he could count, and in all that time said zero stuff about anything to do with his memoir.

Which is why he’d swung through her favorite sandwich shop in Alda on the way home and was slowing to pull into one of the town’s little neighborhood parks right now. A little park that just happened to be his favorite park in Alda.

“What are you doing?” Gracie asked, her voice full of suspicion as she secured the bags of chips and sandwiches on her lap when he made the turn.

“Weather’s nice. Figured we could talk and eat our food while we work on the memoir here for a bit.”

Some of the happy endorphins from cuddling and cooing over kittens all morning must’ve still been circulating in her bloodstream. She didn’t argue. But she did keep shooting him a curious glance from the side of her eye as he followed the curve of the narrow one-way road that wrapped around the park. Other than a couple moms chatting on one of the park benches while their preschool-aged kids played nearby on a swing set, the park sat empty.

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