Page 107 of Moonlight Hearts

“No.I can’t see you as anything but who you are.But that’s as close to a black shuck as we’re going to get here, and I want you to have something to cuddle when I’m not there.”

“Oh.”

“Watch me.”

I did.It went exactly like the last two times he’d done this, the coin twirling in the air, him catching it, then picking the toy shuck right out from the pile it was hiding in.The way he did it was just too easy.

“Youhaveto be cheating.”

He waited for the shuck to come through, then handed it to me.“No.And for your information, it took me a lot more coins than you used today to get this good.Hold this guard dog dear, my heart.”

I took his fluffy offering.“Thank you.He’s cute.Could be your twin.”

He snorted.“Whatever.So about the dare.How about I pick the next ride we go on?”

“Not the waterslide?”

He offered me his hand, and I took it.“No.It’s actually too cold for that.I thought we could try the Ferris wheel.”

I gaped.Even as a kid, when we’d gone here, we hadn’t always made it to the Ferris wheel.It was a comparatively slow ride, and there’d been so many other things.I thought back to Soyer and me coming here before and how perfect that would have been for our second date—him and me in the enclosed space, high up above everything else.

“Let’s do it.”

“And here I thought you might want to go on the water ride again.”

I blushed as we made our way past a group of three who looked like they had a friendly competition ofSpace Invadersgoing.“I did think about it, but…maybe we can do that next year.For our anniversary?”

“An excellent idea.Which date do we use for that?When you held my hand or when you gave me this name?”

He didn’t have to elaborate.I knew what he meant, and the answer was clear: Not the day he’d died in my arms.That wasn’t going to be what we celebrated.

“When I gave you the name you picked yourself, technically.”

“Very well.We’ll go visit Poseidon again on that date precisely next year.”

Dusk had fallen, and it lay over the world with the weight of a winter sky laden with snow.A few flakes were coming down, but it felt as if there were more to come.

With our passes, we easily made it to the front of the line and got into the first gondola.

The attendant smiled at us before closing it.“A pleasant ride, sirs.”

“Pawn?”I asked when the gondola started moving.

“Yes.”Soyer put his arm around me.“Are you warm enough?”

“I am.Are you?”

He held up his bunny.“How could I not be, with this keeping me warm?And with you in my arms.”

I leaned against him.“Did you think we’d come back here?After that first time, I mean.”

“I knew we had to.Like I told you then, you don’t have enough fun.I don’t even want to think about the fun deficit you accumulated over the years.We’ll have to find a lot more fun things for you to do to improve that.”

“Yesterday was a good start.I had a lot of fun yesterday.”

He sighed.“No one broke a plate or even a glass.”

“That’s a good thing.Also not really that surprising, considering most of us work in the restaurant sector.”