“Like a giant black egg?”
“Not a giant black egg. The world’s largest Czechoslovakian egg.”
A grin lit up her face and something warm and comforting spread through his chest. He had made her happy after all, and the complete satisfaction that gave him took him by surprise.
“So you like it?” he asked.
“I absolutely love it. It’s perfect.” She wiped her cheeks and sucked in a breath. “I want a photo.”
“Then a photo you shall have.” He walked back to the car and grabbed his phone. “You stand over there,” he said, pointing to the sign in front of the egg.
She moved closer to it, but before he could snap the photo, the elderly woman gestured for him to stop.
“You go on over there with your wife,” she said, walking over to him. “I’ll take a picture of you two together.”
Wife? He started to correct her, but then he glanced over at Libby and the word soaked in.
Wife.
Last night and this morning he’d pretended be her groom, but today there was no wedding dress to give them away.
“Oh,” Libby spoke up. “I’m not—”
“Don’t be silly, Lib,” he said, handing the elderly woman his phone. “Let’s get a photo together.”
Libby gave him a strange glance, but he just wrapped an arm around her back, his hand resting on her hip. They fit together perfectly, and Noah didn’t want to let go of her after the woman finished snapping several photos of them.
“You two are so cute,” the woman gushed, her face beaming as she handed the phone back to Noah. “How long have you been married?”
“We’re not—” Libby started to say.
“We just got married,” Noah interrupted. “We’re on our honeymoon.”
She clapped her hands in excitement. “Howard!”
“What?” the elderly man asked, sounding annoyed as he walked around the giant egg and stared up at its apex.
“These cute young things are newlyweds!”
Libby gave Noah a confused look, but he just grinned.
“Mealy heads?” Howard asked. “What the hell are mealy heads? Is that some kind of cult?”
“Newlyweds,” his wife shouted in disgust. “Turn on your hearing aid!”
He fiddled with his ear. “What?”
“They’re newlyweds. They just got married!”
“Married? Well, why didn’t you say so?”
“I just did!” she groaned, then smiled at Noah and Libby. “You two look very happy.”
Noah smiled and glanced at Libby, who still had that same strange expression on her face.
“Are you on your way to your honeymoon?” the woman asked.
“Yes,” Noah answered before Libby could respond. “I had to bring my Libby to see the giant egg. She’s a huge fan of omelets.”
The woman’s brow lowered in consternation.
Libby started to giggle.
The woman shook her head and wandered off toward her husband as Noah glanced down at Libby, aware that he was still holding her close. “Do you want to walk around the egg?”
A mischievous look filled her eyes. “Why not?”
He could have pulled away, but decided to see how she’d react if he continued to keep his arm around her as they began to walk. She snuggled closer.
“It’s cold.”
He rubbed her upper arm with his hand. “You should have gotten a coat instead of this sweater.”
She shrugged and walked around the back of the egg, happiness lighting up her eyes. “So they made this as a draw for tourists.”
“According to what I read on the Internet.”
“Is it working?”
He laughed. “We’re here, aren’t we?”
They walked around to the opposite end. “I like omelets, was that the best you could come up with?” She laughed.
“Well, you do.”
“So what’s next on the agenda?” she asked, her eyes dancing.
He stared down at her in wonder. How could he have spent the better part of five months with this woman without realizing how perfect she was for him? But he hadn’t been ready back then. He’d still had some growing up to do. God knew, he still did.
“Well?” she asked, shivering.
“You look like Rudolph,” he said, tapping the end of her red nose and wrapping his coat around as much of her as he could. “You really should have gotten a coat.”
“I thought keeping me warm was part of your job description. Isn’t that why you have your arm around me?” she asked. “So you don’t deliver me home with a raging case of pneumonia?”
He forced his smile to remain in place. “Yeah. That’s exactly it.”
They walked back around to the front of the egg. “It’s really kind of incredible, don’t you think?” she asked. “That an entire town came together to create something so impressive.”
“If you think a giant black egg is impressive . . .”
She turned, her chest pressed against his as she looked up at him. “Of course it is. It’s the world’s largest egg.”
“World’s largest Czechoslovakian egg.”
“But that’s not what makes it impressive. People cared enough about their town to try to save it. Someone dreamed it up and designed it. A man donated his time to make it. Then the town came together and painted it.” She pivoted and stared up at it, thoughtfulness in her eyes. “Have you ever cared about anything enough to devote yourself to it like that?”