Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 118693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 593(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Her eyes filled with happiness, then suddenly looked sad. “Sounds perfect.”
Jesus, why is she so emotional?
She clapped her hands together, her mood instantly changed. “So…you going to tell me where we’re going?”
I chuckled and shook my head. Grabbing her hand, I kissed the back of it. “Nope. You’ll find out soon enough.”
With a sweeter-than-sweet smile, she gazed up at me as we headed to the elevator. “Another surprise huh?”
I kissed her nose. “Well, I know how much you love them.”
“Yes I do, Mr. Ward. Yes. I. Do.”
The streets were lined with red and yellow leaves as I drove through town. This was one of my favorite times of the year.
“Salem? We’re spending the day in Salem?”
I could hear the excitement in her voice. “Well, when you said you hadn’t been since you were a little girl and it was one of your favorite towns, I thought why the heck not.”
She bounced in her seat. “How do you always know what I want to do?”
Laughing, I took her hand in mine. “Because I listen when you talk.”
Her head turned, and she stared at me with nothing but love in those beautiful baby blue eyes.
“I hope you like carnivals.”
“What? I love them! The carnival in Salem is amazing!”
There was no way I could contain the smile on my face. I loved making Rory happy, and I had the strangest feeling I needed to do that today more than ever.
Finn
What went wrong?
“Best candy apple ever!” Rory stated as we headed back to my car.
Laughing, I adjusted the giant stuffed animal in my arms.
“I still can’t believe you won that thing.”
“He underestimated my ability.”
Rory giggled. “You know they were secretly moving those targets, right?”
“Of course I did. Why do you think I stood there for so long watching before I knew I was ready to walk up and shoot ’em all down?”
Rory let out a contented sigh as we walked through the town.
“I love the fall. The smells, the sounds, the beauty of it. It’s my favorite time of year. No, wait—winter is. No. No, I think it’s fall.”
I chuckled and shifted the bear again. “It’s mine too. When I was younger, I always looked forward to going to all the fall fests. Apple cider.”
“Pumpkin carving!”
“Making scarecrows.”
Giggling, she said, “The smell of cinnamon in everything!”
I rolled my eyes. “Ugh…yes.”
A young man approached us, a huge grin on his face. “Good afternoon! Would you like to take part in tonight’s haunted-footsteps ghost tour?”
With a polite nod, I responded, “No thanks. We’re heading back to Boston.”
“It’s a lot of fun.”
“Nah, we’ve got plans this evening, but thank you.”
Rory took another bite of her candy apple before tossing it into a trash can. Facing me, she asked, “What’s the plan for tonight?”
With a wink, I stated, “You’ll see.”
She shook her head, and I held the door open for her as she slipped into the car.
“You like surprising me, don’t you?”
Leaning in, I softly kissed her lips. “I like to see your face light up and your beautiful blue eyes sparkle.”
Her grin faltered a bit before she kissed me back. “I love you, Finn.”
“Love you more, Éan.”
Drawing back, I shut her door, then popped the trunk open. I couldn’t wait to put the giant-ass teddy bear down. My arm was cramping carrying it all around.
The letter sticking out of my bag caught my eye. Smiling, I picked it up.
What I love about us…
The second I’d come across the time-capsule book, I knew I needed it for Rory. I’d written out two letters from the book so far. I was going to put this one in her bag in hopes she found it tomorrow. The other one I had sent to her mother to give to Rory on a certain date.
I placed the letter back in my bag and shut the trunk. Never in a million years would I have ever pictured myself buying a damn Letters to My Love book.
Laughing, I rubbed the back of my neck, took in a deep breath of crisp fall air, and made my way to the driver’s side of the car.
This weekend hadn’t turned out exactly like I planned, but I had a feeling things were only going to get better.
The lights of Boston held my attention while I waited for Rory to get ready for dinner. The only thing I told her was to dress nice.
My phone buzzed in pocket. Pulling it out, I frowned.
Wes: Whenever you have a free minute. I need to talk to you.
I hit his number.
“Hey, you free right now?”
“Sort of,” I replied, glancing back toward Rory’s bedroom. “Rory’s getting ready to go out to dinner. What’s up?”
“Mandy’s getting married.”
Oh shit.
Mandy and Wes had dated all through high school and college. When Wes had taken a job in New York City and asked her to marry him, Mandy told him no, that her dream was to take over her family’s restaurant in Boston. It had devastated Wes.