Page 48 of Loyally, Luke
The path led along the forest’s edge away from town but in the direction of Cambric Hall. More private, he supposed.
“But I like all different sorts of movies. Adventure, action, historical, some biographies. The occasional rom-com, if it’s done well.”
For the real test, though...
“If you had to choose between watchingMission: ImpossibleorYou’ve Got Mail, which would you choose?”
“Mission: Impossible, hands down.” She tossed him a grin. “You get so many more movies, and Tom Cruise to boot.”
“Tom Cruise.” He pushed the name out through a good-natured growl. “But at least you chose wisely.”
She looked up at him, her eyes lit with her smile. “Nice reference.” His gaze shot to hers and she continued, “Indiana Jones?The Last Crusade?”
He may have just fallen in love with her on the spot. He frowned. She couldn’t be this perfect. “All right, what aboutStar Warsversus a Hallmark movie?”
She slowed her pace, turning toward him. “What’s a Hallmark movie?”
Shewasperfect. “You don’t need to know. Ever.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Well, now I have to find out.”
“Don’t waste your time and ruin the solid brain you’ve got for movies right now. Hallmarks are these predictable, sappy, romantic finger-food movies that basically use the same eight actors in three different settings with two basic storylines. If you’re interested in action, there is none. And if you’re interested in thoughtful romance, well, it’s few and far between.”
“And they’re popular?” Her laugh choked out. “Why?”
“Beats me.” He shrugged and thought of Penelope. Even Izzy fell for them sometimes. “You know how there are people in the world who prefer the sugar icing instead of the substance of the cake?”
“Oh dear, that sweet?”
“Worse.” He nodded, their path bringing them to the outside edge of downtown Crieff, where a small park diverted the road in two directions. “They all have the same sorts of things that happen to the folks to fabricate romantic tension. The guy wiping a smudge of food off the girl’s cheek, catching her from a fall off a ladder, offering hiscoat to her, their first kiss getting interrupted by a cell phone, reaching for the same drink at the same time, an undercover royal—”
“What?” She came to a complete stop.
“Yeah, that one is really far-fetched.” He rolled his eyes. “You’d think folks would know if a person was royal or not from the get-go. Well, folks like me wouldn’t because I don’t follow that sort of news, but the regular folks would.”
She started walking again, at a bit faster pace. Man, she really must not care for royals.
“I think since the royals are from make-believe countries that no one has heard of, the fact that they’re undercover works better.”
She cleared her throat and tossed him a narrow-eyed glance. “For not liking Hallmark movies, you seem to know a lot about them.”
“Three sisters.” He held up the appropriate number of fingers. “And even the most sensible one will binge-watch them at Christmas. It’s like some sort of magical hold on their psyche.”
Her laugh returned. “You’re not really keeping my curiosity down, you realize.”
They walked a little farther, the scent of baked goods and the sound of distant voices from the main street carrying to them over the cool breeze. Snow was in the air. Even in Skymar, Luke could smell it.
He glanced ahead as they started the climb up the hill. A large oak, like so many he’d noticed around here, branched out so wide the path had to detour a good ten feet to get around it.
“That’s quite a tree.”
She raised a brow and looked over at him. “It is.”
And he continued to display his utter brilliance. “We just don’t have oaks that big where I’m from. Maybe in the deep south, but not in my neck of the woods.”
“My brother used to say those are the best ones to climb.”
Luke nodded. “The branches basically create a stairway.”
