What in the world has my girl this embarrassed? I reach out to take her hand. I don’t want her to be embarrassed or uncomfortable telling me anything. Ever. I want her to feel comfortable sharing every part of her life with me. I certainly had no idea such a simple question would elicit this respons

Rik answers for both of us. “You’ve both done an amazing job here. The atmosphere, the food, the ambiance, it’s all perfect. I thank you both for making my date with this remarkable woman memorable.” I nod my agreement and they ask if we’d like dessert. Rik tells them we have other plans, and we’ll

She slides her nose across my cheek to my ear. I feel her breath a moment before she speaks, and I can feel myself going hard underneath her. “I think you smell better than your mother’s brownies.” Yep, rock hard. I run my nose under her ear before responding. “Can I tell you something?” I whisper.

I turn and see Rik. He hasn’t seen me, but I see his nose go in the air and he starts sniffing. I duck behind a large plant, waiting to see if he’ll sniff me out. ‘Yes, let him hunt us.’ Artemis snickers in my head. I'm peeking around the planter trying to find him, when he grabs me from behind. “G

When Rik heads back to the car, I take a moment to look at my mother’s memorial. “I miss you mom. I really wish you were here so I could talk to you about everything that is going on. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what the right choices are. Dad is great, but he’s not you.” I close my eyes