This road was also familiar. It was extremely familiar. Her breath snagged in her throat. Was today Wednesday?

He swung into the bustling Farmers’ Market parking lot.

“The market?” She pulled her backpack into her lap and hugged it tight. “Why the scenic route?”

“I wanted to maintain an element of surprise. From the look on your face, I’d say I succeeded.” He grinned. “With my crazy schedule, I haven’t been to the market for weeks. It’s nothing fancy, but how would you like a hot dog and a bag of world-famous fries?”

Cruising past the line of buggies, she ran her teeth over her bottom lip. Her stomach rumbled but with burbling nerves, not hunger.

He squeezed her knee and unlocked the doors. “Sound good?”

“Sure.” Her voice wobbled. Did he notice? She unzipped her backpack and rooted for her shades, forestalling the inevitable and praying again for anonymity. She snatched her sunglasses from an inside pocket. Could she claim a hot dog allergy? A crippling fear of crowds? Get yourself together and go eat fries like a normal person.

He swung open his door and swiveled back. “Now, you like hot dogs, right? You know how to eat them?”

His tone was teasing, but his eyes shone like a puppy’s. “See, I knew that tiny fork would come in handy.” She slipped on the sunglasses and smooched his cheek. “Thank you for my surprise lunch.”

He sprang from the car and opened her door before she zipped her backpack.

Taking his outstretched hand, she followed him through the door closest to the Rotary Club’s hot dog stand, the centerpiece of the whole market. Occupying nearly every inch of the lunch counter, the noontime crowd happily munched frankfurters and sausage sandwiches. The combined odors of frying onions and sweaty bodies descended like greasy fog. She scrunched her nose, praying they’d take their dogs on the road.

However, the town’s favorite young doctor was ceded a prime spot, and he escorted her to the counter. He leaned on one elbow and crossed his legs. “Ms. Meadows, would you be so kind as to rustle up hotdogs while I fetch fries? That is, if you don’t mind ordering on my behalf?”

She shot him a look. “You’ll never let me live that down, will you?”

“Not in a million years.”

“Fine. How do you want it?”

“Surprise me.” With a wink, he knocked twice on the counter and vanished into the crowd.

After ordering two dogs with sautéed onions and a couple of sodas, she settled in to wait.

An old lady grazed her ankles with the wheels of a fully laden cart.