Page 66 of Dear Pink

“Oh shit, polo bears,” I blurt.

“You remember,” she says and hides behind her hands for a second.

“I remember.” I pull her hands away and hold them. “Why didn’t you tell me it was you?”

“I made such a fool of myself, and you didn’t mention it when we met at the lake. I figured you didn’t want to relive the embarrassing moment . . . I don’t know.”

Her face turns bright red, and I lean in to kiss her, but a chair scrapes behind us and the moment vanishes.

“I should probably get home,” she says, rising from the table.

My heart sinks. I’m unprepared for the night to end yet.

“Wait. You need to know something.” She plops into the chair, frowning. God, I hate her frown. “Why do you have a sad face?”

“‘You need to know something’sounds like ‘it's not you, it’s me'type of conversation,” she says.

“Hannah, I had an instant crush on the mysterious elevator woman. I couldn’t get her out of my thoughts for days until I met you. Those polo bears made me laugh the entire week.”

“Really?” She lifts my hand and places our palms together.

“Really.”

“Sorry, I didn’t tell you,” she says.

“I get it.”

“You do?”

“Well, yeah. I’m an idiot. I should have realized the beautiful woman who made copyediting funny was you all along.” I stand and tug her out of the chair. We both glance at the older couple one last time. “Wanna go for a walk?” I ask.

“I have to train early tomorrow. It’s too hot to bike much past sunrise.” She throws away her empty cup and walks outside, tapping her Uber app.

I follow her. “We can bike together. I mean, I want to ride with you tomorrow.”

She puts her arms around my neck. “I thought you’d never ask.”

A black sedan comes around the corner and Hannah gets in. “Meet you at our usual spot at 6:00?”

“I’ll be there.”

The car reverses and then stops. The window lowers, and she hands me the napkin drawing. “Can you give this to the couple inside before you leave?”

I nod yes, and the car drives away.

I unfold the napkin. She managed to shave a couple of years off the pair. They resemble young lovers. There’s a note too.

–you are my sun, my moon, and all my stars

e e cummings

Oh, damn. I love this girl.

Chapter 18 - Hannah

5. I left $50,000 in your freezer. Yeah, I knew you’d never find it behind the peas. I contemplated adding a cooking class to the list, but I know that’s going too far. You must give the money away. You can’t keep a single cent. Give it to a charity, or hand it out on the corner. I don’t care. You decide. Follow your heart. Make it mean something.

We’ve already covered twenty miles when Gabe whips his head around to check on me. I falter for a second. I love drafting behind him because I get to watch his perfect ass. Plus, he constantly glances back, giving me a wicked grin. I’m slower, but he watches his speed and keeps my pace. I weave on my bike at the memory of him on top of me . . . his body pressed into mine and the dirty words he whispered in my ear.

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