Light was too bright when Nicole opened her eyes. She sat up and had a dull ache in her head. She felt a little sick, but it wasn't too bad. She got off the couch. The living room smelled like fresh laundry. She walked towards the washroom and found Ashton inside, folding his clothes and softly humming.

"You know," she began, making him jump. His gaze darted to the clothes he was folding and he slid them off the towels he'd stacked on the washer. "I knew you had to do your own laundry, but it's weird actually seeing you do it." She glanced down at the clothes he'd moved, but couldn't really see them.

He smiled at her, his hands still busy folding. "Well, I have to do it. Mom doesn't stop by once a week or so to wash my stuff. It'd be nice but it doesn't happen." He shrugged and picked up the towels. She backed up so he could get out. He walked into his bedroom, and she followed. He began stacking towels in his bathroom. She watched and when he noticed, his cheeks turned red. "What?"

She shook her head. "Just watching."

"Oh." He pushed past her and quickly came back, carrying more fresh laundry. He stuffed them in a drawer before she got a good look at what he had. She followed him back to the washroom and he took out several shirts, dropped them on the washer, and began folding.

After he'd done a couple of shirts, she nudged him over and corrected his folding. "They get wrinkled like that." She finished the first shirt and realized he was watching her. She turned to him. He had one hand on his hip and was leaning on the dryer with the other hand. His amusement came through his smile. She felt herself blush a little and went back to folding. "Um, what?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I just never thought about you folding my clothes before."

She smiled a little. "What did you think I might be doing at some point after I move in after we get married?"

He shrugged, his eyes shining. "Baking?" She turned to him, hands on her hips. He laughed. "Okay, so maybe not just that, but I'd kill for some good homemade cinnamon rolls." His eyes seemed to see something she couldn't.

She went back to folding his clothes. "Well, maybe I'll make you some tonight."

His eyes lit up. "Really?" She smiled at him and looked up at him through her lashes and nodded. He grinned. "Sounds good." He watched her fold for a while longer. She finished the shirts, and he picked them up. She followed him across to his bedroom where he put them away. "So, I'm free the rest of the afternoon."

She nodded. "I think maybe we should go ahead and start packing. You know, make sure we got what we need before we leave so we don't get there and realize we left something."

He sat on his bed, bouncing a little. "I was just going to do that tomorrow." He kept bouncing and she raised an amused eyebrow. He grinned at her. "What?"

She just laughed and shook her head. "What should we do, then?"

He flopped back and stared at his ceiling. "Mmm, I don't know. Maybe get what we need to make the cinnamon rolls. In case you were wondering, I don't bake much. Like, ever."

She laughed and joined him. "Do you have a recipe? Or do you know what that is?"

He gasped playfully and reached for his pillow. He hit her gently with it. "Take that back. Of course I know what a recipe is!" She giggled. He squinted at her and pursed his lips. "It's like a set of pictures, right?"

She took the pillow from him and hit him with it. He laughed and rolled off the bed. "You know what it is!" She laughed and joined him on the floor. He tried to take the pillow back, but she didn't let go. He laughed and tugged it free. She jumped up and got his other one and hit him with it.

The pillow fight kept on until feathers began coming out of one. They collapsed in giggles onto the floor. Ashton finally stopped laughing long enough to check the pillow he held. Feathers were coming out of the end opposite the one he held. He tossed it to the side. "Oh, well."

She sat up. "Sorry about your pillow." She tossed the one she held onto the one he'd tossed.

He grinned at her. "Don't worry about it." He pulled out his phone. "I'm going to find you a recipe for those rolls." After a few minutes he handed his phone to her. "What about this?"

She read it. "Looks good. I love America's Test Kitchen. Theirs are always the best." She handed his phone back. "So we just need to get everything you don't have."

He read it and pursed his lips. "Hmm. I only have water and salt." He shrugged and stood. He offered a hand as he stuffed his phone back in his pocket. Nicole took his hand and stood. "How do you feel?" His eyes roamed her face.

She gave him a small smile. "Small headache, but I'm okay."

He kissed her forehead and took her hand. "I'm sorry."

She shrugged. "It's okay."

He shook his head. "No, it's not. Norman shouldn't have done that. I can't prove anything, so I can't say anything, but don't accept any drinks from him again. Okay?"

She smiled. "Trust me, I learned my lesson." She gave Ashton a peck on his cheek, and they headed for town.

---

Mrs. Downs put a suitcase in the trunk and closed it. Ashton got in and slid across the seat to Nicole. She offered him her hand and he began tracing little circles on her palm. She shivered and he smiled. He kissed her palm and placed it in her lap. She loved it when he did that. She'd said that the night before while they were waiting for the cinnamon rolls to bake.

"Those were amazing cinnamon rolls," he breathed into her ear. He'd told her a dozen times after he ate his first one the night before last. After the second one, he jokingly told her that now he knew why he was keeping her around. She'd swatted his arm, but she laughed.

Now she was grinning. "Good." Her eyes grew round. "Ooh, I forgot something!" She hopped out as her dad started the car. She came back with a disposable pan with a lid. Inside were more cinnamon rolls. He grinned, his mouth already watering. "I baked them this morning," she told him.

He reached for one. "Awesome," he said as he picked it up. He bit into it. Perfect. The short ride to Norman's house was quiet except for the sounds of chewing. She'd passed the pan around and everyone had one. He counted the ones left. Twelve. She'd made extra for Norman. He guessed it was the right thing, but if he didn't want his, Ashton was taking them.

The car stopped. Norman was waiting with a frown at the end of his driveway. His luggage waited at his feet. Nicole leaned over and whispered in Ashton's ear, "Where's his fun? I think he forgot to pack it." He laughed with her.

Mr. Downs popped the trunk and got out to help Norman. A minute later the two got in and they were on their way to Columbia. Nicole reached across Ashton and offered Norman a cinnamon roll. He just stared at them. "Homemade, huh? Well, I'll try one, but I'm not a fan of those things."

Ashton wanted to take it away. If he didn't like them, why bother? He frowned and took another one. "They're really good," he told Norman while the man sniffed it. "It doesn't bite, either," he whispered with a grin.

Norman wrinkled his nose at Ashton and took a bit. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment. "This is far better than the junk in the can, but I still don't care for them." He offered the roll to Ashton once he finished his. Ashton took it and ate around the bite. He didn't want Norman's spit in his mouth. He must have noticed because he whispered to Ashton, "I don't have germs." He grinned and Ashton popped the last of it in his mouth, even the part Norman had bit.

The ride went on mostly in silence to the capital. Once they were a little bit outside of the city Ashton began calling hotels and booked two rooms at a Clarion. He directed Mr. Downs to the hotel. Ashton got them checked in and handed out the room keys. A bellhop helped them bring their luggage up to the rooms.

---

Once everyone was settled in, Ashton and Mr. Downs went car shopping, leaving Nicole, her mom, and Norman at a bridal shop to look at dresses. Norman sat in a chair near the dressing rooms while Nicole and Mrs. Downs went through the racks. He looked bored. Once Nicole had a few choices, she went into the dressing room. After trying on five dresses, she found one she loved.

The bodice was satin covered in sheer lace. It was strapless, but the lace came up a little into sleeves. The skirt was the same satin and lace used for the bodice. Sequins highlighted the floral pattern. The bodice was fitted to the waist and then the skirt was full.

She admired herself in the dressing room mirror for a minute before stepping out. Her mom grinned at her. "Beautiful."

Norman looked at her in a way she could only describe as a leer. She felt heat come up into her cheeks. "Ashton will love that," was all he said. He cleared his throat as his eyes raked over her.

"I love this dress," Nicole said, looking back at her mother.

She stood. "How much is it?" Mrs. Downs checked the tag on it. Her eyebrows rose. "Not as much as I thought, but it's still a lot."

"Oh."

She smiled at Nicole. "It's okay, sweetie. Go change and we'll get this one." She hugged her daughter. Nicole released her went to change.

---

Norman's glances kept making Nicole uncomfortable, but she wasn't going to tell him anything. She didn't want to be the reason Ashton lost his job. They'd need the money once they were married. It still got to her. She decided she'd tell Ashton when he and her dad came back.

Once her mother had made a note of the dress and they'd walked back to the hotel, she wanted to spend time with Ashton. She didn't want to spend another minute with Norman. But when they were waiting for the elevators, Norman turned to her. "Want to go find something to do?"

"Um." She looked at her mother.

Mrs. Downs smiled and nodded. "Go ahead. I'll call you when they get back."

"Okay, then," she answered Norman as she turned back to him.

He smiled at her. "Great."

They walked out and began walking in a random direction. "Where should we go?"

He shrugged and took out his phone. "Let's see what's here." They stopped on the sidewalk. While he stared at his phone, Nicole watched everyone walking around with crossed arms. After a moment, she looked at him. His focus was on his screen as he scrolled it. He glanced up and noticed her looking at him. "Whatcha looking at?"

She frowned. "Nothing. I'm waiting." She hoped her impatience would come through in her words.

It must have, because he frowned and looked back at his phone. "I'm working on it, okay?" It was a couple more minutes before he looked up again. "So, nearby there's a theater and a bookstore and this mini-golf place that I think we'd both like to go to."

She thought a moment. "I guess we could go to the theater. What's playing?"

He began walking. "It's a block away, so we can just go and see," he said, impatience bleeding into his words. She followed him with a small smile.

They reached the theater in silence and went inside. There wasn't anything playing they could agree on, so they went to the mini-golf courses. Nicole didn't know how to play, so Norman showed her how to play.

"You need to hold it like this," he told her on the first hole, showing her his putter. "And you swing it gently, like this." He demonstrated. She nodded. "Okay, let's try hitting the first ball." He went first and made the hole in two shots. "Your turn."

She placed the ball and lined it up. It took her a moment to remember the way she was supposed to hold the club and swing it. Norman stood behind her and held the club. His breath was in her ear and his hands covered hers. She hit the ball and made a hole-in-one.

She laughed and turned to Norman. He was grinning at her. "You beat me," he said. "How does it feel to do it?"

"Awesome," she replied with a smile.

They were standing really close, and his smile grew smaller until it was gone. His eyes kept going to her mouth and back up to her eyes. He swallowed and leaned a little closer. She just stared at him, a little surprised. When he leaned a little closer, she turned away. "Let's go to the next hole."

He followed her through all 18 holes, and they left. Mrs. Downs still hadn't called. Nicole checked her phone again. Norman sighed. "If Lover Boy isn't back yet, we still have time to kill," he told her.

"I guess." She sighed and they walked side by side down to the bookstore. There was a coffee shop in front of the building. They decided that if they still had time to kill after looking around a while, they'd stop and get a coffee and a muffin.

Fifteen minutes later they were sitting in one of the book aisles, facing each other, propped against the shelves, and laughing. "So," Norman continued, fighting laughter, "the guy jumps the fence and the yard has a dog, only he didn't realize it. He popped up, laughing at me because I didn't follow him over. I just pointed behind him with a smile and his disappeared. He turned in time to see the dog snarling at him. He barely made it over the fence without being bit and gave up." He dropped his hands to his lap.

Nicole laughed. "Wow." She shook her head. "Nice first day." She sighed. "I remember my first day of work. I started out at Walmart and the first thing I had to deal with was, this customer claimed she'd found a CD in the freezer, and I got a lecture on how I shouldn't put things where they didn't go, it was my job to make sure they were in the right place. It took thirty minutes to explain that I didn't work in the food or music departments." Norman shook his head, grinning. "So," she began, gesturing to the shelves around them. "What books do you read, or do you read them?"

He nodded and rested his head on the books behind him. "Well, I love James Patterson. Don't tell the other guys, but I love the Women's Murder Club series."

She burst out laughing. It took a minute to stop. "Wait – you're serious?" She sobered up. "Um, okay. I don't like anything that, um, weird, but I do love, like . . ." She glanced around at the shelves. "Ah, here." She stood and pulled a book off the shelf a little bit down from them and resumed sitting. "This one. This is one of my favorites."

He read the description and his eyebrows shot up. His eyes went to her. "Really? Huh." He handed it back. "I never took you for the murder mystery type."

She shrugged as she returned the April Henry book to the bookshelf. "Everyone has to have that one book genre that's their thing, right?" She returned and sat. They sat in silence for several minutes and finally she said, "Maybe we should go get those coffees and muffins."

He nodded and stood, offering her a hand. She took it and he held it a few seconds too long. He turned and walked away. She followed him back to the coffee shop. He ordered a tall hazelnut latte and muffin with chocolate chips. She ordered a French vanilla latte and blueberry muffin. They took a table by the window.

They ate their muffins in silence. After that they left. Nicole sipped her latte as they walked down the sidewalk. Norman kept stealing glances at her. His hand brushed hers. She moved her hand but didn't give any other reaction to it. They had gone down a few shops when his fingers wrapped around hers. She yanked her hand away, glaring. His cheeks turned red as they stopped, and she turned to look at him. "What are you doing?" she asked in a steely voice.

He flinched and sipped his drink. "Um." His hand wiped the foam from his upper lip, and he refused to look at her. He eventually glanced at her. She glared at him. He winced. "I was, uh, just." He shook his head and started walking quickly. She matched his pace. After a block he stopped and looked at her. "Look, I don't know what came over me, but I'm sorry."

She softened her glare. "I have Ashton. He's all I want. If I weren't lucky enough to have him, you might have had a chance, but I am. Besides, don't you have Trisha?"

He looked at her sharply, something in his face that hadn't been there before. "Well, yeah, but we've been on the verge of breaking things off for a while now. I don't know how much longer we'll last." He heaved a sigh, sadness settling on his features. "We've been having more and more problems lately."

She frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. Ashton and I aren't having problems, but I can imagine what you guys are going through."

He gave her a brief, forced smile. "Thanks, Nikki," he said, voice hoarse. He turned and kept walking. She walked by his side the rest of the way back. When they were nearly to the hotel, her phone rang. "Hi, Mom."

"Ashton and Dad are back. He can't wait to show you his new car," her mom said.

"Well, we're almost there. Like, about to walk up to the door."

"Okay." Her mom hung up.

Norman downed the last of his latte and tossed the empty cup in the trash as they passed. She did the same. Ashton was waiting for them in the lobby. He looked excited, but his eyes darted back and forth between her and Norman. She rushed over to him, kissing him. "Where's the car?" she asked excitedly.

His enthusiasm came back, and he took her by the hand, sprinting to the parking lot with her in tow. He slowed and stopped when he reached a 4-door Dodge Charger. He was grinning at her and held out the keys to her.

She let out a breath. "Seriously?!"

He nodded. "Go ahead – let's take her for a spin." He briskly walked around to the passenger side and hopped in. She squealed as she got into the driver's seat. They buckled in and she started the car. She smiled when she heard the slight purr. "Awesome, huh?"

"Oh, yes," she responded, passion in her voice. She carefully backed out and drove out of the parking lot and onto the road. She drove around for a little while, aimless, while Ashton fiddled with the radio. He blasted a station that was playing the latest hits. They sang loudly and off-key to nearly every song.

After a while, he directed her to pull into a Wendy's. She did and they got out. He got them each a chocolate Frosty and they sat inside the restaurant to eat them. "So you and Norman hung out," Ashton said after several bites. "How did that go?"

She was a little surprised to hear jealousy color his words. "Yes, we did. There wasn't anything to do at the hotel, so we went mini-golfing and hung out at a bookstore. That's it."

He frowned but didn't say anything for a little while. "Did anything happen?"

Her heart sped up. Surely he didn't know anything. How could he? Still, she knew she had to be open and honest with him. It was just hard. "No, not really," she said hesitantly. Ashton froze and looked at her, eyes narrowed. She shrugged. "He tried to hold my hand, but I told him off over it. He won't do it again, trust me." She gazed into Ashton's eyes.

Finally, he nodded once and went back to eating his frosty. "Okay." They finished and went outside. She went to get into the driver's seat, but Ashton stopped her. She turned and he backed her up into the side of the car. He kissed her. It lingered. She smelled his aftershave and smiled. Her hand went behind his neck and the other rested on his chest.

He pulled away a moment later, breathless. She knew how he felt – she felt the same. Her eyes were still closed. "I love you," she murmured as her nose ran along his jaw.

"I love you," he whispered near her ear. He kissed her cheek and backed away. She opened her eyes and found him studying her. "You can drive back." The corner of his mouth turned up. "I just wanted to kiss you." He walked around the car while she tried to hide her smile.