He’d have to overcome things she’d once known about him that had changed.
“Listen,” he said as they walked past the baked goods to get to the freezer cases. “I think we should—I mean, if you want to do this, I think we should start with a blank slate.”
Molly glanced up at him. “A blank slate?”
“Yeah,” he said, his hands starting to sweat. “I’m not the same person I was when we were eleven or twelve.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Are you?”
“Not at all,” she said, nodding him toward the correct aisle.
Hunter turned and started scanning the cases. He needed a lot of butter pecan ice cream to get him through the next week. “What do you think?”
“I think we can try,” she said. “I don’t know how to turn off my memories.”
“Right,” he said. “But you—I mean, you can’t make judgments based on who I was then. You have to go on right now.” He spotted the butter pecan and practically dove for the door. “Could we at least try that?”
“Sure,” she said, pacing past him to the next door down.
With their preferred ice cream flavors in hand, Hunter led the way toward the picnic supplies and picked up a bag of bowls and a box of plastic spoons. He grinned at Molly when he caught her gaping at him, and he lifted the spoons. “I thought we could find somewhere to overlook the city and sit on the tailgate to eat our ice cream.”
“I don’t see why you need a bowl,” she said with a smile.
“Good point.” He put the bowls back and they headed for the check stand. Twenty minutes later, he pulled up to Hawk’s Overlook and swung the truck around before backing in. The conversation had been easier on the way up the mountain road, and Hunter wasn’t sure why.
He got out of the truck and went around to the tailgate. After lowering it, he swung their ice cream into the middle of the gate and turned to help Molly up.
With his hands on her waist, he said, “Jump,” and she pushed off the ground. She giggled as he set her on the tailgate, and Hunter couldn’t remove his hands from her body. He stayed right where he stood, one of her knees pressing against his hip.
Their eyes met, and all Hunter could think about was kissing her. If it was any other woman, he’d have smiled and leaned a little closer. He’d have asked if he could kiss her, and if she’d said yes—he’d never had a woman tell him no—he’d kiss her right here, right now.
Forty-five minutes into their first date.
Wait, he thought. Is this a date?
Would Molly think it was?
Her fingers touched his collar, and Hunter’s blood started to boil right inside his veins. He ducked his head instead of leaning closer, using every ounce of his self-control not to speak the question in his mind.
“The ice cream’s going to melt,” Molly said, her voice quiet and like music to his soul.
He backed up, and the temperature cooled. He worked not to clear his throat, and he managed to stay silent as he swung himself up onto the tailgate too. She got their quarts out of the plastic bag, and she ripped open the box of spoons. After handing one to him, she said, “You know, I thought you were going to kiss me.”
“I was thinking about it,” he admitted without looking at her.
“I know,” she said. “You’ve looked at me like that before.”
Hunter didn’t know what to say, so he simply opened his ice cream and took out a spoonful of semi-melted butter pecan from the edge. The sweetness and creaminess made his whole body rejoice, and Hunter looked down at the city. “I love this spot. I’ve really missed this.”
“No mountains in Massachusetts,” Molly said.
“Definitely nothing like this.”
They ate in silence for a few minutes, and then she said, “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“It’s fine,” he said. He scooped another bite, but he didn’t put the ice cream in his mouth. “I suppose it’s unrealistic for me to think we can do anything with a clean slate.”
“We were best friends for a lot of years,” she said. “You were my first boyfriend, Hunter. We were together for a long time.”
“I’m aware,” he said, and he didn’t think there was a day that had passed where he hadn’t thought of her, at least while he’d been in Colorado.
“I would’ve kissed you,” she said.
“I think that’s the problem,” he said. “I’m acting on nothing