Heart of Stone - Book 1: Fighting Fate

“You have to buy me fudge,” Aubree told Dan, tugging on his arm before he could walk away from the fudge shop.

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he let her drag him in. “Your sweet-tooth acting up again?”

“Shut up,” she shot back as she pulled him to the large fridge displaying dozens of flavors of fudge for her to sink her teeth into. Vanilla, chocolate, double chocolate, butterscotch, rocky road, and dozens more.

Dan chuckled at her and watched her eyes scan over the various flavors before her like a kid in a candy shop.

It was Saturday afternoon and they had decided to go to Navy Pier, one of Chicago’s biggest summer attractions along the Michigan lakeshore. It was the opening weekend, the last weekend in May, and the day proved to be warm and sunny. With June around the corner, the Pier would soon be filled with tourists as the hot summer months rolled in. The nice weather had drawn more tourists than usual for the opening day, and although it wasn’t packed, it was still a pretty good turnout.

Aubree loved going to the Pier ever since she was a kid. Her family made a tradition of going every year at least once in the summer. She liked riding the giant Ferris Wheel, the nightlife complete with fireworks, and walking out on the pier and looking back at the city skyline—especially during sunset. It was always gorgeous and she never tired of seeing it.

After parking the car, Aubree and Dan went inside the main building filled with various shops to cater to the tourists. As luck would have it, the door they went in was located right next to the fudge shop.

After a few minutes of deliberation, Aubree finally pointed to the turtles chocolate fudge slab. “That one.”

Dan chuckled when she turned around and gave him the puppy-dog face. “Is that my cue to pay?”

Worked every time.

“Duh! You better hurry before I change my mind and choose a second one.”

His eyes lit up in mirth before he shook his head and pulled his wallet out from his back pocket. He withdrew a ten dollar bill and a few singles while Aubree reached for the fudge the saleswoman held out to her in a little bag.

Once paid, he quickly steered her out of the store while she giggled like a child. “Happy now?”

“Uh huh,” she hummed.

“You know that stuff is expensive, right?”

"But I’m worth it,” she sang, shooting him a devious smile.

He clasped her free hand in his and entwined their fingers. “Of course you are.”

His smile and mutual flirting made her blush. It had been a long time since they went out to do something fun together. They were overdue for a date night, and even though it was nearly five o’clock, she looked forward to the night they had planned out.

First, they were going to all the little shops, grab a bite to eat, look at the art on display, ride the Ferris Wheel, go out on the pier to look at the skyline as the sun set, and finish the night with fireworks over the lake.

She couldn’t wait. This was their first time going to Navy Pier together and she wanted to show him everything there was to see.

After wandering around for an hour and a half, Aubree dragged him to the Ferris Wheel where, much to her dismay, he expressed a small fear of heights.

“No way!” She couldn’t believe that he was afraid of heights. “You’re pulling my leg, right?”

He shook his head as they approached the huge wheel. “I’ll go on if it will make you happy.”

She frowned. While she appreciated that he was willing to set his fears aside to make her happy, she wondered how they’d been together this long and he never told her that he was scared of heights.

“But you live on the fifteenth floor,” she pointed out. “How?”

He shrugged. “I guess it’s more a fear of falling than of heights. Have you ever seen me on the balcony?”

She thought about it and concluded that she hadn’t. Shaking her head, she said, “No. Huh. Well, that sucks.”

“But if you want to go on, then I’ll go on like I said. I’ll just... sit really still and close my eyes.”

His words tugged on her heart. She didn’t want to scare him for the sake of her own enjoyment, but she did want to go on the ride. Dan seemed to pick up on her guilt and, with his arm around her waist, gently pressed her toward to the ticket booth.

“Don’t worry about it, Bree. It’s fine. Let’s go.”

When it was their turn to climb on the Ferris Wheel, Dan motioned for her to go first. “After you.”

She batted her long eyelashes at him before climbing on. She knew he was scared to get on the ride with her, so she was more than happy to take the lead. He stepped on carefully behind her and took his seat next to her.

Another young couple climbed on with them and immediately started making out.

Aubree looked at Dan with raised eyebrows. His eyes twinkled.

“Think we can upstage them?”

Laughing at his proposition, she swatted his arm.

He quickly changed his mind as soon as the ride began to move. He wrapped his arm around her waist and held her tightly to him. “Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit,” he muttered as they slowly climbed up.

Aubree tried not to laugh, but she couldn’t help herself. How could he be so adorable?

She hoped one of their future children would enjoy the rides with her. It wouldn’t be as much fun to go on rides alone, or wander around carnivals, fairs, and amusement parks and watch other people enjoy the rides.

When they got to the top, Dan buried his face in the crook of her neck as she slipped her arms around him and rested her cheek on his head, a small smile playing on her lips. She gazed around at the Pier below, the city before her, and the lake behind her. Everything looked wondrous and beautiful and it was a shame that Dan’s fear forced him to miss it.