Dreamland

by Nicholas Sparks

From the visor in my truck, I pulled out a photo of Paige holding one of her lamps, which I had printed from my phone. When I handed it to Morgan, our fingers brushed.

At last, she rose from the table. She walked to my side and leaned over; before I realized what was happening, her lips pressed lightly against my own. It wasn’t a big kiss or even a particularly passionate kiss, but it was tender, and I could taste a hint of apple on lips so soft they seemed almost perfect.

Waking in the gray twilight of dawn, I kissed her tenderly, unable to hold the words inside any longer. “I love you, Morgan,” I murmured into her ear. Morgan merely smiled before opening her eyes and staring into my own. “Oh, Colby,” she said, reaching up to touch my mouth. “I love you, too.”

She considered starting the sandwiches, but as she reached for the loaf of bread, she flashed to an image of Tommie as he sat between her and the old woman in the station wagon, when he’d stared at her with nothing but love and trust in his eyes, and it broke her heart.