Page 190 of Lost Track

“Fair enough.”

He took a seat beside her and brought the red binder with him.

He put it down in front of her and nudged it.

“Go for it. I know you want to get a closer look.”

She inhaled through her nose as she watched him warily. “I really do.”

He snickered at her. “Then go for it.”

They paged through the binder together. For the better part of an hour, he answered all of her questions. She laughed at the stories he told about the early days when Max hadn’t yet discovered the usefulness of the binders.

“Wait. So how many loaves of bread did he find under your bed?” she asked, her stomach hurt from laughing so hard.

“I don’t know. Like five.”

“Five!”

“See? You sound just as shocked as he did. I still don’t see the issue.” Dave drained his wine. “Do you want a refill?”

“Yes, please.”

He got up and opened a new bottle.

“Thank you.”

She looked up, unsure what he was thanking her for.

“Thank you for not making fun of me. It’s nice to be able to talk about this stuff without thinking I’m losing cool points.”

She made a very unladylike noise. “You point me at anyone who makes fun of you and I will knock them out. I know I sound very calm right now but inside I’m a complete rage monster. I’m not joking. Stop laughing.”

Dave bent over and rested his forehead on the counter, his shoulders shaking.

He eventually stopped laughing and refilled her glass.

“Do you know why my stage name is Sunshine Capone?” he asked.

“Actually, no.” She frowned and doubled back. “Wait. I saw some vloggers talking about it—”

“No, no, no. The public doesn’t know.” He rested his elbows on the bar. “In school I was always in trouble. Not like big, get kicked out kind of trouble. I was just enough of a shit that every teacher knew my name. I got really familiar with the principal’s office. But my way of dealing with that was to always be adorable. I always had candy that I shared, and I’d bring flowers to the principal, and I called all the teachers ‘sweetheart.’ It didn’t matter their gender, they were all sweetheart. But one day, I had gone too far. On my way to school I saw these beautiful tulips and I decided that those would be perfect for Principal Summers. So I dug them all up and delivered them right there on the playground.” He took a dramatic pause and pumped his eyebrows once. “They were her tulips. From her own yard.”

“Noo,” Sabine gasped.

“Yep.” He chuckled at the memory. “She was big mad. She said I was like a little happiness gangster. She was the first one to call me Sunshine Capone. I loved it. I decided that’s exactly who I wanted to be.”

“Oh my God, that’s amazing.” Sabine wiped her eyes. “That makes me love you even more.”

He smiled and his eyes wandered over her face. “I guess I’ve always had a thing for teachers.”

The blush crept up her neck to her cheeks and she tried a flirty wink. It probably wasn’t as effective as his winks were on her. But maybe she’d get there someday.

“C’mere,” he said, taking her hand and tugging her off the stool. “It’s time for your gift.”

She stopped moving to get his attention. When she got it, she pointed down the hall towards his bedroom. “You just gave me three in there.”

He threw his head back and laughed. He pulled her into his arms and continued to laugh as he held her. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

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