Page 73 of The Wedding Hoax

“What was your favorite snack? When you were a kid?” Harry asked as he stared at one of the machines.

I thought about the question for a moment before I responded, “Sour cream and onion pretzels.”

“What?” Harry’s eyes went wide. “Your favorite snack as a kid was pretzels?”

“What’s so wrong with that?”

“Everything!” Harry laughed as he shook his head. “That’s like saying your favorite snack as a kid was popcorn.”

“I mean, popcorn is pretty good.”

“Whatever.” Harry chuckled again. “My favorite snack when I was a kid, just for the record, was dipping barbecue chips in queso. Because if you’re going to eat an unhealthy snack, you might as well commit.”

“Gross.” I frowned. “That sounds like it’d be a salt bomb in your mouth.”

“Uh, you’re the one eating sour cream and onion pretzels. I don’t think you get to judge anyone when it comes to salt bombs in their mouths.”

“Yeah, but my salt bomb was delicious.” I smirked. “And that makes all the difference.”

Harry smirked back before he pulled out his wallet. He then swiped a card against the vending machine’s reader and punched his selections in the keypad.

I watched as a few items fell inside the window–a bag of pretzels, followed by a bag of barbecue chips, followed by two bottled waters. When everything was said and done, Harry grabbed for the treasure trove of snacks, then motioned toward me.

“Let’s head back to the lobby.”

* * *

Harry and I sat side by side as we waited for any updates on my mom’s surgery.

I’d practically inhaled my pretzels in the meantime, downing the bottle of water soon after.

It was hard to concentrate on anything, my brain foggy with worry. The only thing I could think about was my mom on the operating table and whether or not the surgeon knew what they were doing in there—

“Hey.” Harry’s voice cut through the noise in my brain.

“Hey.” I offered him a small wave. “How’s it going?”

“Pretty good, considering you never offered me a single pretzel.” He smirked. “I was just about to offer you a few chips but by the time I looked back over, all the pretzels were gone.”

“Sorry.”

“No need to apologize.” He waved a hand between us. “I’m just happy that you were able to actually eat something. I was worried about you.”

“You were worried about me?”

“Yeah. I had a feeling you didn’t eat anything for breakfast. And with how you’ve been so laser-focused on your mom this morning… I just wanted to make sure you had everything you needed.”

“Thanks.” I let out a tired sigh. “You’re right. I have been kind of all over the place. Or I guess, stuck in one place.”

“It’s hard. Caring about people. You always run the risk of getting hurt.”

“That’s why you mostly avoid it, right?” I joked. “Except for Paul. And maybe your family, but only on a really good day.”

“And you,” Harry added, his eyes locked on mine. “I care about you, Simone. And I think I always will.”

And I think I always will.

I wanted to say something, but I struggled to find the right words. Was Harry really saying that he was going to care about me, even when this was all over?

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