I crossed the street and said hello to some dog walkers and there was a group of parents and prams with toddlers running amok. Which was fine. I’d take squealing and laughing kids over the screaming and crying kind any day. The sun was out, even though the air was a fresh reminder it was still winter. I shoved my hands in my pockets and waited, wondering what Hennessy had planned for us. His text message last night was short and sweet.

Meet me in the park across from the library at 11am. I have a surprise planned. Can’t wait!

Truth be told, neither could I. I was super excited about seeing him and what surprise he had planned, but the conversation we needed to have left me feeling a little anxious. But that all fell away when I saw him walking toward me with a takeout coffee cup in each hand and a stunning smile on his face.

“Hey,” he said as he got closer.

I had to do the breathe-in, breathe-out thing because of the effect he had on my not-automatic respiratory system. “Hey.”

He handed me a cup. “Soy.”

“Thank you.”

He was still grinning. “You look great today. Love the white. Haven’t seen you wear white before.”

I looked down at my white scarf, dark jeans, and white sneakers. “I wasn’t sure where we were heading, so I figured my cerise pink might not be appropriate.”

He grinned. “I like pink, and I don’t care. If you want to wear hot pink, wear it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied, happy he had no qualms about clothes and colours. After all, wearing bright colours against my drab uniform was my thing. “So, any clues about where we’re going or what we’re doing today?”

He bit his bottom lip, looking a little nervous. “I thought we could go to the New South Wales art gallery. There’s a new exhibit I’d love to see, but if it’s not your thing, I thought we could check out the—”

“Are you kidding? It is so my thing. It’s actually like a perfect thing, and the fact you thought of it without even asking me…” I stopped and studied him. “Did you ask Merry what my most perfect date would be? Or did your Truman-Show-perfect hologram program do some weird algorithm to find out what would be the best second date ever?”

He threw his head back and laughed. “No! I promise! There’s a Brett Whitely exhibit I wanted to see, and I just needed an excuse.”

“Oh my God, I love Brett Whitely!”

He smiled and let out a breath like he was immensely relieved. “Shall we?” He nodded toward the bus stop.

“We shall.” I was so excited, I was struggling to rein it in. He looked at me and I laughed. “Coffee and an art gallery. You’ve won me over already.”