She easily slipped her hand into his, and they gradually made their way back to the town square. “I love this town,” she said. “It’s exactly perfect.”

He squeezed her hand. “I’m glad you came.”

“Me too.” At her car, she pulled her key fob out of her pocket and unlocked it. “I’ll see you in about an hour.”

He stepped forward and brushed her cheek with his fingertips. The vibration of his touch radiated down to her toes. He looked down at her for what seemed an eternity, his green eyes growing ever darker. Finally, he lowered his lips and gave her a gentle kiss. The butterflies woke back up and started fluttering in her stomach.

“I’ll see you in about an hour,” he echoed as he raised his head and opened her door for her.

Thankfully, Cynthia was just a few blocks from the hotel. She grabbed her suitcase out of the trunk, pulled up the hotel’s app on her phone, and used the login Dahlia gave her, accessing the room number and digital key. She kept her sunglasses on as she strolled through the lobby, thankful she didn’t have to stop at the front desk, and went straight to the elevator and then the third floor. When she got to her room, she heard the lock disengage.

As soon as she unpacked, she called Dahlia. “I had no issues. Thank you again.” She could hear baby Theo in the background, squealing at something.

“How did it go?” Dahlia asked.

A silly grin covered Cynthia’s face. She put a hand against her cheek. “He kissed me. As soon as he saw me.”

“Girl! I expect details soon!”

“You bet.”

She hung up and rolled her head back and forth. While she waited for the shower to heat up, she wandered over to the window. Her room looked out over the river. She looked to the left, pressing against the glass to see as far as possible, and spotted the park where they’d had coffee this afternoon. Well, Rick had coffee, she had a nap. Such a small amount of time together and she’d wasted it sleeping!

She got into the shower, determined to wash away the fog of exhaustion. After drying her hair, she reapplied makeup, then slipped on a pair of gray jeans and a shirt the color of burnt copper. Not knowing the evening temperature in early April in Kentucky, she grabbed a sweater just in case.

Rick had texted her his parents’ address, and a quick check told her she had about a ten-minute drive. She looked at her watch. She should get there right at the hour mark. With a smile, she let him know she was on her way and headed out of the hotel.