Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 20595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 103(@200wpm)___ 82(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 103(@200wpm)___ 82(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
“Happy first day, Cheryl. Someone sure loves you.” He hands me the box and walks away. Confused, I shut my door and walk over to my counter. My pulse begins to pick up as it hits me. This is a gift. A day 1 gift. I see a tiny card and flip it over. It simply says.
You are worth a million of these. I hope you know it. If you don’t, you will.
Love Always
I flip the card over and over, looking for it to be finished with a hint at who or something, but that’s it. Air rushes into my lungs, and suddenly, I am ten again, waiting to open Christmas gifts. Ripping the wrapping open, I pull the top off the box and gasp. “Oh, my valentine.” It’s a brand-new MacBook Air Pro. Not just that, it has a stylus, and the front of the laptop has a red heart etched into it. It's magnificent.
I turn it on, meeting my mom forgotten, and I see it has already been set up for me. All I have to do is plug my backup drive into the side, and everything will be transferred. Holy moly. “Whoever you are, thank you.”
Would it be too much to ask for it to be from Nolan?
CHAPTER 6
NOLAN
THE NEXT DAY
DAY 2 OF THE FESTIVAL
I volunteered for this festival because I thought Cheryl would like it, but I am actually having fun helping these kids make enough Valentines to choke a horse. The kids are laughing and generally cutting up. I can’t help but think of what our children will look like because there isn’t a doubt in my mind that we will be having children. With that thought in my head, the air in the room suddenly changes. I look up and there she is. Staring at me with a look of something I can’t describe on her face.
Then she’s walking toward me. With every step, my blood pressure rises slightly. Why does she have to be so beautiful? So breathtaking?
“Hello, Ms. Cheryl,” I say, grinning widely at her. When she smiles back, I swear my heart stops beating for a second. I’ve got to get that under control before I do something crazy like die before we really get the chance to know one other.
“Hello, Mr. Nolan. What are you guys making?”
“Valentine’s!” several kids shout.
“Who has a special valentine?” she asks.
Five little hands raise, leaving one lone little girl without her hand raised.
“You don’t have a valentine, Clem?”
“No. No one asked me.”
“Aww, sweetie. Did you know that you can ask?”
“No.”
“Well, you can!”
“Will you be my valentine?” the girl asks a little boy beside her, turning away from Cheryl.
“I already have one, Missy, but I suppose one more won’t hurt.”
I watch Cheryl interact with the children until the last kid has left the tent. Without a doubt, I know that she’ll be an amazing mother. She cut out hearts from paper doilies and shows the kids how to link them all together with yarn to make a banner for the dance.
“You’re a natural,” I tell her.
“A natural?” she questions.
“With the kids. You’re a natural.”
“Thank you. I babysat a lot when I was younger,” she says. And now, I’m having inappropriate thoughts about her as a babysitter. I must have been staring because she suddenly starts swiping at her face. “Do I have glitter on my face?”
“Well, yes,” I say, standing and rounding the table to stand directly in front of her. I reach for her and wipe the offending flecks of glitter off of her face.
“Thank you,” she says, smiling up at me. I want her so badly. I want nothing more than to take her into my arms and kiss her senseless, but now is not the time, no matter how badly I want her.
Just as she is leaving the tent, Martin, the delivery boy, comes up to Cheryl and hands her a small box.
“Happy Day Two,” Martin says before brisky walking away, laden down with more Day Two gifts. Martin is gone before I can even say anything else.
She eagerly rips the wrapping paper off of the box. She gasps a little when she opens it. She pulls out a pair of earrings with an infinity symbol on them.
Infinity means forever, Cheryl. I am coming for you.
Patience is key in the game we’ve got going on, but one day soon the game will be over, and the rest of our lives will begin.
CHAPTER 7
CHERYL
TWO DAYS LATER
“From your secret Valentine.” The girl at the door says holding a bouquet of what looks like chocolates. Once again I open the note, and it brings me to tears. Peeling back one of the foils, I moan when the silky chocolate hits my tongue, and the burst of caramel follows. Oh, God. My hips are so gonna pay for this. I think to myself as I walk back into the kitchen.