Page 33 of One Whopper of a Love Story

“Piranhas aren’t native to Texas. And I’m pretty sure catfish don’t eat people.” Who was I to judge unreasonable fears? I was the one who’d cut my head open because of a—this was a bad time to even think the word. I had a fish in one hand and my favorite girl in the other, who was terrified of the fish.

She sniffled. “I know that, but it doesn’t make any difference to my brain. I know it sounds stupid.”

“Hey. I don’t think you’re stupid.” I took one step toward the shore and quickly discovered a small problem. “I need you to hang onto me really tight because I have to let go of you long enough to unwrap the fishing line from around my legs.”

“Okay.” She hung on so tight that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to breathe deeply.

After unwrapping the line and taking the rod out of her hand, I dropped the fish into the bucket and the rod beside the tackle box. No longer distracted by the fish, I held her against me as I picked up the blanket and pulled it around her. “I am curious about why you agreed to come fishing with me.”

“I wanted to spend time with you doing something you like to do.” She used the corner of the blanket to wipe her face. “Sorry about messing everything up.”

“You didn’t mess anything up.” I kissed the side of her head, ignoring the fact that she smelled like the river. “Let’s get you home. Your place or mine?”

She giggled, as I hoped she would, since that question had been asked before. “We could pick up clothes from my apartment, then go to your house. Or is that too far out of the way?”

“Works for me.” The only problem with my idea was that to go anywhere, I’d have to let her go. I didn’t want to because holding her felt all kinds of right.

“You don’t think I’m weird?” Her whispered question sent puffs of breath tickling my neck.

“I think you’re weird in the most glorious sense of the word, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” I kissed the side of her head again. “I think you should have asked that question when you had that mermaid costume on.”

Her lips grazed my neck, and every nerve in my body danced a jig. “You’re funny.”

Maybe it wasn’t too soon to admit a few things to myself. Was there a timeline for falling in love?

Layla wriggled down and threw off the blanket. “Look! Tiny frogs. Maybe I can catch one.” She lunged toward a critter, then wiped her knees and tried again and again.

I crossed my arms and enjoyed the scene.

Fish scared her, which brought up all sorts of questions about her as a mermaid, but she loved frogs. She was simple and complicated, adventurous and hesitant, and smart and silly. I wasn’t sure how so many layers could be inside that short, beautiful woman, and I was excited about all the layers yet to be discovered.

As she ran toward me with her hands closed, I pulled another plastic frog out of my pocket.

She opened her hand and showed off the tiny frog she’d caught. After only a second, it hopped off and disappeared into the grass.

I set the plastic frog in her hand. “Seems like a good time to give you this.”

Biting her bottom lip, she stared at the frog a moment before meeting my gaze. “Only a few more until I collect all twenty-one. What happens then?”

“We’ll just have to see.”

A kiss. That was what would happen then, and I’d spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about it.

Waiting to kiss her wasn’t about her at all, and I appreciated her patience. If I could spend this much time with a woman without kissing her and still wake up every morning with thoughts of her in my head, I knew this wasn’t a flash of infatuation. My growing feelings for Layla were real. Very real.

Chapter 17

Layla

I waddled out of my bedroom with another outfit draped over my arm. “Okay, Lettie, be honest with me. I’m trying to decide what to wear tomorrow since it’s day twenty-one. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve counted those frogs today.” I stopped in the living room. “Is the mermaid outfit too much or...”

“Yes. It’s too much. You look like you’re about to fall over, and you don’t want doughnut glaze all over that costume. Weren’t you supposed to give that back to the company?”

“I did. This one is new. Ordered it online.” I held up the other outfit. “This one better?”

“That’s adorable. He’ll flip for the t-shirt with the frog wearing a crown, and those jeans fit you just right. I vote for that outfit. You just ordered that shirt too, didn’t you?”

“Yep. Do you think that he’ll kiss me on day twenty-one or that day twenty-one is the last day of talking only?”

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