looked at me. Our eyes met and something sparked between us. I chuckled again and let out a sigh.
“Man, I needed that laugh.”
“Glad to be of help.”
There were so many things that just felt right. And right now, it felt amazing to just be in his company.
Truitt
AS WE WALKED along the shops at La Cantera, I carried Liliana up on my shoulders. She’d given up on the idea of walking about thirty minutes ago after we left Pottery Barn Kids.
“Truitt, you don’t have to carry her on your shoulders,” Saryn argued, for the hundredth time.
“She’s light as a feather, stop worrying so much, Saryn.”
Chewing on her lip, she focused ahead of us. When she was unsure of something, or nervous, she nibbled on her lip, and I knew to look away because it did weird things to my body.
“Are you dating anyone?” she asked.
The question had just flown out of her mouth and the moment she asked it she seemed to regret it.
“No.”
Her brows rose. “No?”
Laughing, I replied, “No. I haven’t really ever seriously dated anyone.”
That caused her eyes to go wide with shock. “Never?”
I shrugged. “I mean, I’ve dated one or two women, nothing that I would call serious.”
“Why not?”
I looked straight ahead. “I have a bad habit of comparing them to someone I once cared a lot about.”
Saryn’s gaze felt like it was burning a hole into me.
“What happened? I mean, with this person.”
With a slight smile, I looked down at her. “She started dating someone else.”
Saryn looked like her breath had caught in her throat, then she looked as if a million questions were running through her mind.
Liliana gasped and let out an excited giggle. I looked to where she was pointing and said, “Build-A-Bear? What’s that?”
“Someplace you don’t want to go. Keep walking, Truitt, for your own good,” Saryn stated.
“Pwease!” Liliana cried out and my heart melted on the spot. “Pooh Bear! Momma, pwease.”
“Oh no, no! I see it in your eyes. Truitt…”
Turning to look at Saryn, I replied, “How can you be so cruel? Listen to that voice!”
She shook her head. “Trust me, she’ll forget all about it.”
Liliana bent forward and pulled my chin up to look at her. “Pooh Bear! Pwease!”
Oh, God. How could anyone say no that. Those baby blues pierced right into my soul and damn near brought me to my knees.
“There is no way I’m saying no to that.” I walked straight over to the stuffed animal store. “Let’s get you a Pooh Bear, baby girl.”
Liliana bounced around on my shoulders. I reached up and took her down. She grabbed my hand and pulled me over to a bunch of bins.
“You caved, just like that,” Saryn said, a smirk on her face.
“Do you not see those eyes? They were pleading, Saryn.”
“Yes, I see them every day, and that is called manipulation, Truitt. You’ve just been had by a three-year-old.”
“What’s the harm in getting a little Pooh Bear?”
Her arms folded over her chest. “Okay, this is all on you, Mr. I Can’t Say No.”
I smiled and then focused on Liliana. “What do we do first?”
“We gets Pooh!” Liliana exclaimed.
Once she picked out the unstuffed, almost scary version of Pooh, we made our way over to a machine where they stuffed the bear. There was a heart that had a whole procedure with it. When they said to make a wish, Liliana took it very seriously. She had to clutch her chest and say a prayer so long that a line started to form. When I looked at Saryn for help, she made no attempts to move. I’d remember that for the future when she needed my help.
“Okay, let’s say amen and stick it on in there, Liliana,” I said, prompting her to wrap up the prayer.
She kissed the heart and pushed it into Pooh Bear.
After Pooh was all stitched closed, we moved over to give him a bath. Liliana was very thorough in her bathing skills. From there, I quickly learned why Saryn wanted to avoid this place. It was time to shop for clothes.
“Doesn’t Pooh just wear this shirt?” I asked, holding it up for Liliana to inspect.
“Yep!” she answered while she jumped up and down.
So we dressed him. Then she saw the outfit for Eeyore, then Piglet, and when I saw Tigger’s outfit, we were done for. Back through the line for three more bears. This time I made Tigger, and when it came time to make a wish on the heart, I quickly glanced around and made my wish.
If