Page 189 of Love Unwritten

“I’ve got a great memory.”

“You write down notes on your phone about the most menial things so you don’t forget about them.” His dry tone matches the look on his face.

“Is it too late to plead the Fifth?”

“You’re not on trial here.”

“Sure feels like I am.”

His smile could put the devil’s to shame. “Having a crush on me wasn’t a crime, but if it were, we both know you’d be guilty as charged.”

I lift my chin and accept my fate. “So what if I did?”

“I’d say it makes this all much more interesting.”

“Really? That makes it more interesting?”

“Of course.”

“Please elaborate.”

“Because I seem to remember you mentioning that I wasn’t your type.”

My lips thin.

“So tell me. How deep did this crush go?” He brings my hand to his mouth and kisses the back of it, as if he can distract me into spilling the truth.

Nice try. “If I had a crush—”

“Which we both know you did.”

Ignoring him is easy. “I would never talk to you about it.”

“Even if I torture you for information?”

My cheeks burn as his kind of torture comes to mind. “Not even then.”

“Hm.” He stares at me for a few passing seconds, most likely determining how serious I am. The answer is deadly so, because Rafael finding out how much I crushed on him is not an option, especially since I wrote a terrible song about him that will never see the light of day.

He smiles to himself. “I’ll find out what I want to know with or without your help.”

I scoff. “Good luck.”

“If my meddling aunt taught me anything, it’s that parents can’t help spilling secrets about their kids when asked the right questions.”

Shit.

Rafael drives through a town I haven’t seen before. Unlike Lake Wisteria and its Victorian coastal aesthetic, this one is inspired by a Bavarian village with its exposed dark-wood framing, colorful exteriors, and cobblestone streets.

I’m surprised when he pulls into a parking spot on what appears to be the main road into town and turns the engine off.

I don’t recognize our surroundings, so I ask, “Where are we?”

“Lebkuchen.”

“And what are we doing here exactly?”

“You’ll see in a minute.”