“Hurry!” she said, squirming in her seat.
He parked the car and turned off the engine, his stomach twisting with anxiety as he looked at the object he’d just driven nearly one hundred miles to show her. It was ridiculous. She was going to think he was crazy. “Okay, open your eyes.”
She dropped her hands, and a moment later, her mouth dropped open too. Then she climbed out of the car.
He followed her, watching her closely as she tucked her hands under her armpits to keep warm. She stared at the giant black object that towered over them. “What is that?”
He swallowed. “It’s the World’s Largest Czechoslovakian Egg.”
“The what?”
Oh, God. She hated it.
“It’s a twenty-foot-tall and fifteen-foot-wide fiberglass egg,” he explained. “The town has a large Czechoslovakian community, but it was dying off. So they built the egg to bring in tourists. A guy somewhere in Kansas made it for cost and the whole town came together to paint it.” He pointed to the black egg with the white and yellow pattern adorning its sides. “They decorated it by hand.”
She stood in silence. Horror stole his breath when he realized there were tears in her eyes. “You hate it.”
She shook her head as the first tear slid down her cheek. Then she turned to him and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest.
“Talk to me, Libby. Why are you crying?” He’d wanted to make her happy, but apparently this was just one more thing he’d failed at.
“I love it,” she mumbled, still clinging to him.
“You’re crying because you love it?”
She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “This is the most perfect gift anyone has ever given me.” Her arms still firmly wrapped around his neck, she said, “How did you find this place? What made you even think to look for it?”
An older couple walked toward them from the parking lot. They gave Noah and Libby a confused look.
“She’s so overcome by the symbolism of this piece,” he said over the top of her head in mock seriousness. “It’s moved her to tears.”
The elderly man’s eyes narrowed as he looked up at the giant egg, then back at Libby.
Noah shrugged with a who can explain it expression.
Libby broke free and wiped her eyes.
“I told you. It’s Libby Day,” he said. “So I looked for things that I thought would make you happy.”
“Like a giant black egg?”
“Not a giant black egg. The world’s largest Czechoslovakian egg.”
A grin lit up her face and something warm and comforting spread through his chest. He had made her happy after all, and the complete satisfaction that gave him took him by surprise.
“So you like it?” he asked.
“I absolutely love it. It’s perfect.” She wiped her cheeks and sucked in a breath. “I want a photo.”
“Then a photo you shall have.” He walked back to the car and grabbed his phone. “You stand over there,” he said, pointing to the sign in front of the egg.
She moved closer to it, but before he could snap the photo, the elderly woman gestured for him to stop.
“You go on over there with your wife,” she said, walking over to him. “I’ll take a picture of you two together.”
Wife? He started to correct her, but then he glanced over at Libby and the word soaked in.
Wife.
Last night and this morning he’d pretended be her groom, but today there was no wedding dress to give them away.
“Oh,” Libby spoke up. “I’m not—”
“Don’t be silly, Lib,” he said, handing the elderly woman his phone. “Let’s get a photo together.”
Libby gave him a strange glance, but he just wrapped an arm around her back, his hand resting on her hip. They fit together perfectly, and Noah didn’t want to let go of her after the woman finished snapping several photos of them.
“You two are so cute,” the woman gushed, her face beaming as she handed the phone back to Noah. “How long have you been married?”
“We’re not—” Libby started to say.
“We just got married,” Noah interrupted. “We’re on our honeymoon.”
She clapped her hands in excitement. “Howard!”
“What?” the elderly man asked, sounding annoyed as he walked around the giant egg and stared up at its apex.
“These cute young things are newlyweds!”
Libby gave Noah a confused look, but he just grinned.
“Mealy heads?” Howard asked. “What the hell are mealy heads? Is that some kind of cult?”
“Newlyweds,” his wife shouted in disgust. “Turn on your hearing aid!”
He fiddled with his ear. “What?”
“They’re newlyweds. They just got married!”
“Married? Well, why didn’t you say so?”
“I just did!” she groaned, then smiled at Noah and Libby. “You two look very happy.”
Noah smiled and glanced at Libby, who still had that same strange expression on her face.
“Are you on your way to your honeymoon?” the woman asked.
“Yes,” Noah answered before Libby could respond. “I had to bring my Libby to see the giant egg. She’s a huge fan of omelets.”
The woman’s brow lowered in consternation.
Libby started to giggle.
The woman shook her head and wandered off toward her husband as Noah glanced down at Libby, aware that he was still holding her close. “Do you want to walk around the egg?”
A mischievous look filled her eyes. “Why not?”
He could have pulled away, but decided to see how she’d react if he continued to keep his arm around her as they began to walk. She snuggled closer.
“It’s cold.”
He rubbed her upper arm with his hand. “You should have gotten a coat instead of this sweater.”
She shrugged and walked around the back of the egg, happiness lighting up her eyes. “So they made this as a draw for tourists.”
“According to what I read on the Internet.”
“Is it working?”
He laughed. “We’re here, aren’t we?”
They walked around to the opposite end. “I like omelets, was that the best you could come up with?” She laughed.
“Well, you do.”
“So what’s next on the agenda?” she asked, her eyes dancing.
He stared down at her in wonder. How could he have spent the better part of five months with this woman without realizing how perfect she was for him? But he hadn’t been ready back then. He’d still had some growing up to do. God knew, he still did.
“Well?” she asked, shivering.
“You look like Rudolph,” he said, tapping the end of her red nose and wrapping his coat around as much of her as he could. “You really should have gotten a coat.”
“I thought keeping me warm was part of your job description. Isn’t that why you have your arm around me?” she asked. “So you don’t deliver me home with a raging case of pneumonia?”
He forced his smile to remain in place. “Yeah. That’s exactly it.”
They walked back around to the front of the egg. “It’s really kind of incredible, don’t you think?” she asked. “That an entire town came together to create something so impressive.”