Paige shook her head, laughing. It was so like Sebastian to figure out exactly the right thing to say to get them off the hook. “More,” she said, wanting everything from him. All the good things. He gave her a sliver of melt-in-your-mouth chicken. “The food is delicious, but I meant more stories.”
“Have you ever tried peppermint schnapps?” His lips curving in a smile, he caressed her cheek, pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
She almost purred into his touch. “Can’t say I have.”
“Well, you won’t ever get the chance if you’re around a Maverick.”
She pushed his shoulder. “What did you all do?”
“Matt got hold of a bottle, and we all got drunk. The next morning all I could smell was peppermint. And even now, put some peppermint schnapps in front of me, in front of any of us, and we all get a little queasy.”
“I bet Susan thought overindulgence was the best cure.”
“Of course.” He stood, held out his hand. “Come on, let’s got for a walk. We can finish the strawberries when we get back.”
She let him pull her to her feet, holding his hand as they strolled, the sun warming half of her, his body warming the rest.
“And we can’t forget Daniel. He had the hots for this girl who lived a couple of blocks over. So we boosted him up her fire escape to get to her window.”
“Like in West Side Story?”
“Yeah.” He laughed. “Susan made us watch that musical too. But Daniel never got inside her window. Someone saw him out there and called the cops, thinking he was a peeping Tom. We had to head off the patrol car and keep them busy so he could climb down before they saw him.”
She hugged his arm, wishing she’d known him then. Parts of his life had been so terrible. But he had so many good memories too. Susan and Bob had given him that. Thank God they had rescued him.
She wanted to remind him of something good they had shared too. “Do you remember how we used to sneak into the library after it was closed?”
He laughed. “Most college students would be sneaking a joint. But we had to sneak into the library.”
“Yes, but all those books.” She made a happy sound of remembered delight. But it had been about more than just the books. It had been about being with him. “We had to read by flashlight.”
“And the security guard almost caught us.”
“Right. We had to keep scurrying down different aisles to avoid him.”
She’d fallen irrevocably in love with him on all those stolen nights.
He stuck his hand in his pocket, his other still firmly clasped around hers, and went silent. Against her side, she felt him tense. But just when she was expecting him to tell her a bad story about his mom or his dad, he pulled something out, holding it in the palm of his hand.
A small plastic dinosaur. A T-Rex.
“Susan gave this back to me this morning.”
Paige gazed up at him, waiting.
“My mom took me to The Field Museum in Chicago. I was probably six or seven. And she got me this little dinosaur.”
Her heart trembled for him. But she steeled herself for the worst.
“It was one of the best days I ever remember.”
* * *
Paige curled his fingers around the small memento. “I’m so glad you have this as a reminder.” Then she tucked the dinosaur back in his pocket. “Tell me all about that day.”
“I’d forgotten about it till Susan gave me this.” Susan had known the perfect moment to return the plastic T-Rex. And Evan suddenly needed to share his memory with Paige. Their afternoon together at the seaside had been so perfect. She’d loved his surprise trip. Of all the people in the world, Paige would appreciate this memory the most.
“We spent hours in the museum. We saw everything. It was near to closing time, and I wanted to see one last room before we had to go.” He remembered his excitement like a rush of adrenaline through his veins. Just one more, Mom, just one more. “I ran down the stairs so fast she couldn’t keep up. Then all of sudden she was sliding down the banister right past me. A guard stood at the bottom, and I was sure he was going to yell at her.” He’d actually been petrified for a moment, frozen to the spot. “But he high-fived her. Then he let her steady me while I slid down the banister too.” The guard had winked, put a finger to his lips, and whispered, Don’t tell.
Leaning against him as they walked, Paige squeezed his arm. “I love this story.”
“I do too.” He laid his hand over hers. “I remember how she looked. Happy. Even joyful. I’d forgotten all that.” There had been joyful times with his mother. But after she’d gone, he’d pushed them all deep inside, too busy demonizing her, blaming her for leaving him. “Sometimes we were so happy.”
He felt that happiness now. It seemed to blossom in his belly. Not everything had been bad. There had been moments of great joy. “Thank you for reminding me of all the good things.” There was so much he was so damn grateful to this gorgeous woman for.
He’d loved her pure and simple pleasure in watching the whales. Loved the way she closed her eyes and moaned as she savored every morsel of their meal. It had been so like her moans of pleasure as he’d made love to her.
She laid her head against his shoulder. “There are so many wonderful memories just waiting out there for us.”
Most of all, he loved that she could share this moment, this memory, and make him see that it was priceless. “Tell me one of your best moments.”