“The first date.”
“In my experience.” He returned his gaze forward, checked astreet sign, and made us take a turn. “The best first dates are goofy. Lighthearted. A little silly. They’re about clicking, seeing if you laugh at the same jokes, if there’s a spark there when you do, one that urges you to make the other person smile again. One that could lead to… more.”
“I have never experienced that on a first date,” I heard myself saying.
Lucas’s voice dropped when he spoke. “And I’m going to fix that.”
I looked down at my feet. “Maybe it should be you writing a romance novel.” I tried to joke. “We could look for a nice pen name for you, too.”
His chuckle rang in my ears, and I smiled in response. “I’ve never been good with my words, Rosie.” He came to a stop, his hand brushing my elbow. And only when I turned and met his gaze, he added, “But I make up for it with my hands.”
I thought my jaw fell open, all kinds of images—involving Lucas’s hands—invading my mind. And none of them had anything to do with him kneading dough. Or doing origami.
Before I could say anything, Lucas was spreading his arms and gesturing at the store behind him. “We’re here.”
My eyes jumped to the sign hanging above the door, and there was no point in denying my voice came out a little rocky when I said, “A record store.”
He opened the front door for me with a flourish. “Beauty before age.”
Ignoring how that comment didn’t make things exactly easier for me, I walked in, the characteristic scent of vinyl and cardboard triggering a succession of memories.
Before Olly was born and our mother left, Dad would take me to shops like this one. A different one every Saturday morning. We’d browse records for hours, each of us picking our favorite cover, the one we’d thought was the weirdest or even the one we deemed the ugliest. We’d never buy anything, though, but even that way, it had always been something I looked forward to.
Making my way inside with my head stuck in the past, I wasn’taware of Lucas trailing close behind me until he placed both hands on my shoulders.For the second time today, I mentally noted.
He pushed me forward gently, leisurely, moving us farther in. I felt his breath on my temple before I heard his words. “You okay?”
“I wasn’t expecting this,” I answered honestly.
“In a good or a bad way?”
I looked at him over my shoulder. “A good way, definitely a good way.”
That earned me one of his slow smiles. “Good,” he said before walking around me. “Because we’re here on a mission.”
Letting my hand move above a stack of records, I couldn’t ignore the rush of anticipation at his words. “A mission?”
Lucas pinned me with an all-business look. “You”—he pointed a finger at me—“are going to pick a record. Any record you want. And I’ll buy it for you.”
I frowned, but he waved that pointer finger, stopping me.
“My date, my rules,” he said, and I rolled my eyes. “You’ll pick a record, but pick wisely, because whatever you choose will be our soundtrack.”
My throat seemed to go instantly dry. “Our soundtrack?”
He nodded. “Lucas and Rosie’s Soundtrack.”
Oh boy. Oh man.
A cheer, loud and chaotic, erupted between my temples.
Lucas and Rosie’s soundtrack.
“That’s…” I trailed off, busying myself pulling a random vinyl from a box, just so I could take a deep breath and not look as elated as I felt at the idea. “That’s… kind of cheesy.” And I loved it. I really, seriously, thoroughly loved it.
“Cheesy?”he rasped.
I moved on to the next crate, my fingers grazing the edge of a record, and I’d never know what the heck came over me, but the need to tease him over it overwhelmed me. “Yeah, it’s a little cheesy. But cute, I think. I guess that after that one line about me falling out of heaven or something, I shouldn’t be surprised.” I glanced at him over my shoulder. “Maybe you’re just a littlecheesy.”