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“Thanks. Are you ready to go?”

“Yep.”

I grab my purse and phone and step outside, locking the door behind me.

“What’s the plan for tonight?” Luca asks as we head downstairs to his car.

“You don’t want to be surprised?”

He shrugs. “If you want. Might be hard to drive us there.”

“You’ve got a point,” I agree.

“Did you want to drive us there?” He asks, holding up his keys.

I wave them away. “No, I hate driving.”

“Really?”

I sigh. “Yeah. I had a mean driving teacher. Now, every time I’m behind the wheel, I’m anxious and on edge.”

“We could work on that,” he offers.

“Maybe, but not tonight.”

He nods and opens the passenger door for me. I hop in, and he rounds the hood and climbs behind the wheel.

“Where are we headed?” he asks as he starts the car.

“Maple Creek. Or…shoot, I should have asked if you minded driving that far first.”

“It’s fine. It’s only twenty minutes from here,” he says, pulling out into the light traffic. “What’s in Maple Creek?”

“Pottery.”

“Pottery?”

“Pottery and barbecue.”

“Sounds like a date.”

“A winning date,” I correct him.

“We’ll see.”

Maple Creek is the largest town in the region, boasting a professional hockey team and an airport. It has way more restaurants and businesses than Wolf Valley.

“Want to put in the directions?” Luca asks, passing his phone to me.

“Sure.”

I pull up Maps on his phone and enter the address of the ceramics studio.

“How was your day? What did you do?” I ask as we get on the highway.

“I finished unpacking. Tried to find some furniture online for the guest rooms. I also need some kitchen supplies. Just a lot of odds and ends.”

“Do you want to look while we’re in Maple Creek? We could hit up some furniture stores,” I offer.