Page 12 of Love Me Forever

"No, you were clearly occupied."

"I was talking to my cousin Reese. I’m trying to get her to be my CFO. I think she actually does want to work with me. She just needs a bit more persuasion, perhaps spoiling."

"Oh, how exactly will you do that?"

"I don't have a plan yet, but I'll concoct one when I go back to Chicago."

"You're a very interesting man."

"Thank you for the compliment." And it was. I never was the guy who stood on the sideline, happy with what life had to offer. Nope, I had to be in the middle of it all and making things happen. When I did that, it usually worked out for everyone else as well.

Bonnie looked absolutely breathtaking. I made no secret of drinking her in. She was wearing a dress under her open coat. From what I could see, it hugged her body, accentuating the curve of her waist beautifully.

When I returned my gaze to her face, she blushed violently. The tip of her tongue darted out, licking her lower lip. I was pleased with her reaction.

"We should go," she murmured, "or we'll be late."

"Lead the way. I have no idea where it is."

We walked along Main Street. It was sleepy even though it was only seven o'clock in the evening. How did people live in this town? What did they do for fun? I was legitimately trying to get a feeling for why Tim might prefer to stay here.

We arrived at the theater a few minutes later.

"Here it is. I love it so much," she exclaimed.

I looked at the old building, lifting a brow. "This isn't what I was expecting."

She chuckled. "You thought they had a mall with multiplexes, IMAXes, and such?"

“Something like that.”

Inside, it smelled old and musty.

"This is Jim," she informed me, gesturing to the old guy behind the counter, selling popcorn and tickets.

"They only have prepackaged popcorn," she said, wrinkling her nose. “It's a sin not to sell fresh, warm popcorn, don't you think? It's part of the experience of watching a movie."

"I agree."

"Hey, Jim," Bonnie greeted the older man.

"Bonnie, you're back again, and this time with another visitor."

He looked at me like I was an alien. I guess he didn't get too many visitors. I couldn't imagine why.

"We'll take two tickets."

"Okay. Anything to drink?"

"I want popcorn and two bottles of water," Bonnie said.

I looked at her suspiciously. She'd just told me how much she hated prepackaged popcorn.

I paid for the items quickly, and then we headed to the one and only auditorium—life in a small town. She was holding the popcorn to her chest, not opening it.

"Why did you want popcorn? You said you don't like the prepackaged kind."

"I know, but he makes more money like this. If we just bought the tickets, that would be what, twenty bucks?"

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