“Thank you for bringing me,” I tell him again as we step out of the museum.
“Thank you for wanting to travel with me. I’m having a great time, and I hope you are too.”
“It’s the best,” I tell him.
Leaning in, he kisses me. It’s quick enough not to have everyone walking by shouting for us to get a room, but it still makes me dizzy.
After ending the kiss, he grins down at me as he swipes his thumb across my lower lip. “Where to next?”
I don’t even have to think about it. “Can we go to the Kris Kringle store?”
Tyler chuckles as he nods. “Yeah, babe. Let’s go enjoy some very early Christmas spirit.”
_______________
AFTER OUR VISIT to the Kris Kringle store, we chose a place to go for dinner. I don’t know if all the restaurants in town are this good, but if they are, it’s a wonder anyone cooks. I’d want to try everything on the menu at least once.
Pushing my plate away, I settle back into my seat and let out a breath. “Bavarian goulash is my new favorite thing, but if I take one more bite, I’m going to explode.”
Tyler grins at me as he finishes chewing a bite of his schnitzel cordon bleu. “I knew you’d love this trip.”
“There’s nothing about Leavenworth I don’t like so far,” I tell him. “If I weren’t so in love with Charlotte’s Cove, I’d want to move here.”
“Glad you’re in love with the Cove, because I know we’d miss our friends and neighbors if we moved here. I’m definitely down to come back for vacations though. Anytime you want to hop in the car for a weekend away, we’ll head here.”
I melt when Tyler talks about or makes plans for the future, because I love that he plans for us to be together. There’s not a shred of doubt in my mind about the fact that I want to be with him. I’ve fallen for him hard and fast, and it’s only a matter of time before the three words that dance through my head whenever we’re together come out of my mouth.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
____________________________________
ASHLEY
“YOU READY?”
I nod, hoping I don’t look like the nervous wreck I am inside.
“You’re sure your family will like this chocolate cheesecake?” I ask for what is probably the third or fourth time in the last hour.
“Babe, my dad’s a chocoholic, and my mom’s never met a cheesecake she didn’t like,” he assures me with a laugh.
“Well, what about your sister? Should I have made something different for her?”
“Eve’s like me. She’ll eat anything as long as it’s good. Don’t stress yourself out, baby. My family is going to love you, and your cheesecake is going to be a hit.”
“Okay,” I answer softly.
Earlier in the week I called Rob and had him look for the triple chocolate cheesecake recipe that’s been passed down through his family over the years. He poked fun at me when I told him why I needed it.
“Tell your man that since you’re making his family the world’s best cheesecake, he better do something equally as kickass for me when Karen and I get to town. As your family, I feel I’m owed something special,” he teased.
The last time I met someone’s parents, I was in high school. I’ve never liked anyone as much as I like Tyler, and I’m falling for him more each day. There’s nothing about him that I don’t like and the way he treats me is everything. Every day he makes sure that I feel beautiful, respected, and adored. There’s no doubt in my mind that there’s no one better for me than Tyler Jameson.
Smoothing down the front of my pale pink dress, I smile at him when he hands me Boo’s leash. “You carry this, and I’ll take the cheesecake,” he says.
Surprise, surprise, I get the easier end of the deal. I’d argue that I can carry a cheesecake but Tyler’s about taking care of me, which means he won’t budge. Taking the leash—which isn’t attached to Boo at the moment—I let him lead the way to the truck. An unleashed Boo trots along at my side, excited to go for a ride. When we get to the truck, Tyler sets the cake carrier on the front seat before he opens the rear door and whistles for Boo. She jumps up, making her silly howling noises of excitement as Tyler harnesses her in before he closes the door. Turning to me, he smiles as he sets his hands at my waist and helps me up into the truck. Even now that we’re together and he touches me every day—naked—he hasn’t stopped picking me up and putting me into the truck. It’s just another thing he does that makes me feel treasured.
The drive to Seattle doesn’t take long and during it Tyler tells me about places around town he thinks I’d like. My nerves are surprisingly steady, right until the moment I realize that we’ve turned into the driveway of what can only be called a mansion that’s sitting right smack on Lake Washington. I turn and look at him.