They finally reached their destination, though neither of them expected a crowd today. The place was so jam-packed that they had to step down from the bike and finish the rest of the journey on foot.

Hoyt could not stop repeating every once in a while, “Please follow me, Miss McKinnon. Don’t get lost in the crowd!”

He kept reminding her enough that Deirdre could not stop teasing him. “Heehee. I’m an adult, you know. Not a kid?”

Hoyt turned and caught her gentle smile, and his cheeks burned… again. “I… I didn’t mean— I meant, you’re not familiar with this place, and your eyes aren’t very good, so if you get lost, you won’t know where to find me!”

“It’s going to be fine. If I get lost, I’ll just stand where I am. I know you’ll locate me again until you find me.”

“T-True.” God, Hoyt felt like he was walking on air.

He sped up his pace a little and led Deirdre to a shop. Parking his bike in its front, he said, “Here you go. Check around and see if there’s anything you like. Just pi