She flashed him a cheeky grin. “You don’t need these to fuel your imagination for the rest of the day.”

He removed the condom and tied it off before tossing it into a nearby trashcan. “I suppose I don’t... But I was hoping to give the pair under my pillow a buddy.”

This made her burst into laughter. John smiled as he hitched up and fastened his pants. “You have a really goofy laugh,” he told her. “It’s kind of a raspy hyuk, hyuk.”

“It’s not,” she protested through the chuckles. She went back to the table of geraniums and found her bra. As she hooked herself into the garment, she leaned over to inspect the flowers.

“But I like it,” John said, standing from the bench and stretching his tired arms. He didn’t think he could last so long in a one-armed horizontal position. “It’s a laugh of honest joy.”

“I think your laugh sounds hearty.” Victoria tossed him his shirt and began searching for her own. She plucked it from the concrete and shook it out before draping it around her shoulders. “Like a Viking.”

As he slipping his shirt over his head, he began to chuckle.

“See? There it is,” she said, planting her fists on her hips and standing legs astride. “Ho ho ho!”

Seeing this lighter side of Victoria, made John’s insides light and warm. While she continued to do a terrible imitation of Eric the Red, he walked over to her and slid his arms around her waist. “I don’t sound like that,” he said in a low voice, pulling her close.

“And you do the menacing growl too,” she said as she tickled his beard. “Ho ho ho, I drink mead.”

Why would she want this to end in three weeks?

“I must take a shield-maiden for a wife,” Victoria continued.

John raised a brow. “Do I?”

She stopped talking to purse her lips. Another creeping blush settled in her cheeks. “What do you have planned for today?” she asked with a clumsiness he was used to.

To save her pride, he didn’t miss a beat. “I’ve got a child-free day, so I’m going to the gym.” He knelt his head to kiss her cheek. “Then I’ll probably pillage a nearby town and bathe my broadsword with the blood of Christians. You?”

Her wide smile, with its one dimple, returned. “I actually came to campus to grade papers. I have twenty-three left.”

“Well then, I should probably let you get to it.” He said the words but made no moves to release her.

Victoria worked around his arms, buttoning her blouse and stuffing the hem back into the waist of her skirt. “Just to be safe, I should leave first and then you can exit after a few minutes.”

Even though it was Sunday, she still worried. John took a deep breath. “Sure.”