Chapter 62

Levi grabbed my hand and we started along one of the paths. My eyes flitted from one place to the next, trying to take in all the sights at once. Butterflies fluttered all around us. They were everywhere. On the flowers, the bushes, the visitors. It was pure magic.

I could feel Levi’s gaze on me, and when I turned to look at him, he had a worried glint in his eyes. “You like it?” he asked.

“It’s incredible.”

He relaxed and smiled. “I’m glad. I thought you’d like it, but I wasn’t a hundred percent sure. It’s a garden. With butterflies. Not exactly adventurous.”

“I don’t like adventurous. I like peace and quiet. And beauty,” I said without taking my eyes off him.

“So do I.”

We wandered hand in hand in silence, pointing out butterflies that caught our gaze. After a while we sat on a large boulder, watching the amazing surroundings. He held my hand in a firm grip, and I leaned my head on his shoulder. A rustle next to us drew our attention, and we both giggled when a tortoise crawled out from under a flowery bush, looking like it had just woken up.

“Hello, little friend,” Levi said, and the tortoise turned its head in our direction and gave us a little nod as if it had heard us.

Laughter bubbled up inside me, and I slapped a palm over my mouth, so I wouldn’t disturb the butterflies. Just then, a butterfly landed on my arm and I froze.

“Look,” Levi whispered. “It’s BB8.”

“Who?” I asked behind my hand, afraid to move and scare the creature away.

“BB8,” he repeated. “The cute little robot from Star Wars.”

“Did you just compare this beautiful butterfly to a movie robot?” My words were muffled behind my palm, but the crinkles at the corners of his eyes told me he’d heard me.

“It’s the colors,” he explained. “BB8 is white with orange circles, like your friend there.”

I moved my head slowly in its direction to get a better look. “It hasn’t got circles. The tips of its wings are orange, but I don’t see circles.”

“But it’s the same colors.” He pulled out his phone and tapped on it for a while before he turned the screen toward me, so I could see what he was looking at.

The robot consisted of a smaller sphere on top of a bigger one, and other than the colors, I couldn’t see the likeness. But the look on his face told me he really wanted me to agree, so I nodded and said, “Oh yeah, I see it now.”

He shoved his phone back into his pocket. “You’re totally humoring me, aren’t you?”

“Maybe.” I winked. My arm started trembling after holding it in that weird position for a long time. The BB8 butterfly didn’t approve and flapped away.

I flung my arm around Levi’s neck and pulled him close, not giving a damn if anyone looked at us. He came willingly and buried his face in the crook of my neck.

I burrowed my nose into his hair. “Thank you for bringing me here. I love it.”

He slid his arm around my waist and squeezed me tight. “Does that mean you’ll go on another date with me?”

“Does that mean this date is already over?”

“No!”

And it wasn’t. We stayed in the butterfly garden until it closed for the day and then he drove us back to my apartment. But instead of dropping me off and saying goodbye, he parked and followed me upstairs.

Inside, he grabbed the cooler bag I’d forgotten about, took my hand, and led me to the living room. He shoved the coffee table out of the way, grabbed a blanket from the bag, and spread it over the thick rug. Then he emptied the cooler, putting containers of stuff on the blanket. When he was done, he looked up at me. “I hope this is okay,” he said. “I know you like a quiet evening at home, and it’s not really picnic season, so I thought…” He made a sweeping motion with his hand over the feast. “Would you please join me?”

My hand flew to my chest. I couldn’t believe he already knew me so well that he’d come up with this perfect date.

“I’d love to.” I sank down next to him on the floor.

The food he’d brought looked fantastic. It was sandwiches, mini quiches, and fruit cut into smaller pieces. Nothing fancy, but it made my stomach rumble loudly.

“This is amazing, Levi.” I was touched by his thoughtfulness and generous nature. My throat closed up and my chin trembled.