Couldn’t.
But as Stevie tilted her head, that soft smile on her mouth, Iris found she was curious about this surprise, curious about what Stevie had planned for this next romance lesson.
And, if she was being honest with herself, she wasn’t actually sure she was in the mood for Lush, for searching for someone to fuck in a sea of nameless faces.
She didn’t really want nameless tonight.
She wanted a friend. The kind of friend who wouldn’t ask her about her love life or give her I actually know what’s best for you looks like Claire had been doing lately.
And Stevie was just such a friend.
If they ended up having sex at the end of this fake date, then so be it. Iris certainly wouldn’t say no to that. She’d never admit it to Stevie—and definitely not to Claire or Astrid or even Simon—but her night with Stevie was the best sex Iris had ever had.
“Okay,” Iris said. “Fine. What’s this surprise you have up your sleeve?”
TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER, they turned into a driveway with a sign welcoming them to Woodmont Family Farms. The sun was just starting to dip below the trees, turning everything golden and soft.
“We’re . . . going . . . strawberry picking?” Iris asked.
“Not quite,” Stevie said, smiling as she parked next to a tiny house with a sign on the front porch that said Farm Office. “Ready?”
“I’m not sure,” Iris said, laughing.
Still, she got out of the car and let Stevie take her hand—this was a romantic date, after all, so what the hell—and they walked along a dirt path through a copse of trees. Iris continued to guess at what they were doing.
“Scavenger hunt?” she asked.
“No.”
“Vampire hunting.”
Stevie laughed. “Intriguing, but nope.”
“Damn. I’ve always wanted to fall madly in love with a vampire.”
“I’ll do some research for next time.”
“You’re pretty confident I’ll say yes to a second date,” Iris said.
Stevie just smiled at her. Soon, the trees thinned, and they broke through to a field, an endless swath of summer green.
And there, about a hundred feet away, a woman in a pair of dusky rose-colored coveralls stood next to a hot-air balloon.
“Oh my god,” Iris said, neck craning to take in the giant inflatable. It was huge, much bigger than she’d ever imagined a hot-air balloon would be, the body a beautiful rainbow of colors.
“Surprise,” Stevie said softly as Iris gaped.
“I’d say so,” Iris said, then turned to look at Stevie. “For real?”
“For real. Have you ever been on one?”
Iris shook her head. “I’ve always wanted to though.”
“Same.” Stevie squeezed her hand.
Iris grinned at her, her foul mood from earlier evaporating like fog under the sun.
“Stevie Scott?” the woman asked as Stevie and Iris approached.
“That’s me,” Stevie said. “And this is Iris. Are you Laney?”
“I am,” Laney said. “Welcome to Woodmont. You two ready?”
Iris swallowed. “I think so?”
Laney smiled. “It’s natural to be nervous, but you’re safe, I assure you. Go ahead and step into the gondola while I get things ready on the ground.”
“Thanks,” Stevie said, then pulled Iris toward the balloon’s gondola, which was truly just a giant wicker basket, a propane tank on top, flame filling the balloon.
They stepped inside, Stevie keeping hold of Iris’s hand even once they were situated in a corner. They didn’t talk—Iris found she was actually speechless. She’d never done anything this extravagant on a date before. Grant liked to wine and dine, but he took the term literally, and his idea of a perfect date was a night out at a nice restaurant and an expensive bottle of pinot noir.
“I mean, wow,” Iris said as Laney finished whatever she was doing and the basket lurched a bit.
Stevie laughed. “I know, it’s a bit over the top. But I figured, if a character in a romance novel was trying to woo another character, they’d probably do something a bit more dramatic than dinner and a movie.”
Iris laughed. “True. And Briony is chasing Tegan at this point.”
“See?” Stevie said softly, smiling at her. “Perfect.”
She held Iris’s gaze for a second before looking out over the field, and Iris felt suddenly off-balance. Then again, Laney had just stepped into the gondola, causing it to rock a little side to side.
“Okay, here we go,” Laney said as she fired up the tank even more, then pulled in the weighted bags holding the basket down. Soon, they were lifting into the sky, and Iris couldn’t help but squeal a little and grip the sides of the basket. The ground got smaller and smaller, the trees, the crops, the white farmhouse.
“Oh my god,” Iris said, watching as her entire world turned on its head. “This is amazing.”
“It really is,” Stevie said. She let go of Iris’s hand, then moved behind her, caging her in between her arms as she rested her hands on the basket’s sides. She set her chin on Iris’s shoulder, and Iris leaned her head against hers. She couldn’t help it. It felt so natural, so . . . normal.
“A-plus on the romance,” she said, her words a little shaky as they ascended higher into the sky.
“Oh, I’m just getting started,” Stevie whispered, her breath tickling Iris’s ear.
Iris shivered, shook it off. “You’re not proposing, are you?”
“I wouldn’t do that to you.”
Iris turned to look at her, that simple declaration nearly knocking the wind out of her, like she saw Iris and what she saw was . . . okay. It was great, even. Suddenly, her joke felt all too real, as did Stevie’s response, and she wasn’t sure what to say.
“But I am going to ask you to dance,” Stevie said.
Iris blinked. “What?”
“Well, we’ve danced in your living room. In the rain on the beach. If this is Tegan and Briony’s quirky romantic thing, I think dancing while in a hot-air balloon is the next logical step.”
“Upping your game, are we?”
“Absolutely.”
Iris laughed and turned in Stevie’s arms, her hands coming to rest on her shoulders, Stevie’s own fingers curling around Iris’s waist.
“Okay,” Iris said. “I accept.”
Stevie smiled, then pulled Iris even closer, her cheek pressing against Iris’s head. They swayed in the air, staying close to the edge so they could see the Willamette Valley spread out below them. Iris tried to imagine how she could work this into her book, but she couldn’t hold on to a single thought. She was full of other things—the way Stevie’s hair smelled like grass and summer, the feel of her fingers trailing up and down Iris’s back.
The way Iris’s heart suddenly felt huge, too big for her own chest, sending blood rushing to her head and making her a little dizzy.
“Can I ask you something?” Stevie asked as she twirled them in a small circle.
“Sure,” Iris said.
“Why did you kiss me? When I came over tonight?”
Iris swallowed, unsure of how to respond. Finally, she settled on the truth. “I don’t know.”