~SCARLETT.

I blinked at him.

Once.

Twice.

"You like me?" I echoed, like he'd just spoken in Morse code.

And then I burst into a full-blown, body-shaking laugh that echoed across the yard and made him flinch.

"Good one," I said, wiping a tear from the corner of my eye. "You really had me there for a second."

But he didn't laugh. Just stood there, clutching that awkward little bouquet, amber eyes painfully sincere, like he'd just confessed something sacred.

Oh God.

He was serious.

The laughter ...