First Real Kiss

“I know. But it got you interested, didn’t it?”

“The flowers got me interested. They made me think you could see into my soul. Then, when you helped dig the koi pond, that’s what hooked me.”

“More than offering to change your Bronco’s oil?”

“My parents think you can turn lead into gold.”

“Who says I can’t?” He pulled a sexy grin. “Fine. Let’s see. What else was on the wall? A few photos. We’d been on some trips and hikes, apparently, so there were candids of you and me in tourist clothes, a wedding photo—though I didn’t see that clearly—and another picture of us with your parents. They were on the wall near the kitchen window. And of course, there was the one with the three of us.”

“Three? As in with Jasper?” What kind of dog was Jasper? A Brittany spaniel, I wondered. “My journal from the Great Quake is right over there on my nightstand. I scoured it, and I never mentioned Jasper. That’s what freaked me out the most. I’ll show you the whole year. You’ll see.”

“No, the photo didn’t have Jasper. The photo was of us with a baby. Our baby.”

My ears muffled, and then rang with a high-pitched squeal.

But Luke went on, “In fact, that’s the thing that jarred me right out of the dream. I was staring at the picture of you and me and the baby—who was about nine months old in the picture, and I almost stepped on Jasper’s dog dish, and then I heard this baby’s cry, and I thought I’m a dad? And I freaked out and woke up to find myself in a hospital bed. I didn’t even find out if it was a girl or a boy. I have no idea. Sorry. When I came to, I think they said I’d been in the coma for several days at that point, but the dream …”

He paused, as he must have finally sensed my state of complete petrifaction. “Are you okay?”

“Your dream can’t come true.” I stood up, walked out of the room, down to my car, and drove off into the night, not even looking back at Luke. I couldn’t bear to see the disappointment in his face.

I could never give him that dream.