Kiss Me Katie (Complete)

Chapter 20

Katie

Riley rolled his eyes and groaned as I practically dragged him into the music store. What? Did he really expect me to walk past such a treasure trove without going inside? Seriously? It was a music shop.

"Fine," he said as we entered the store. "But this is the last one. I need coffee and food."

We'd left Crescendo after breakfast, and had been walking for over two hours, during which time I'd pulled him into a bookstore, an electronic games store and now the music store. And, for a guy, he'd been incredibly tolerant.

But I had to admit I was ready for our picnic as well. We'd chatted about our favourite movies, books and music, but neither of us had volunteered any information about our past or families. Maybe that was why I'd been subconsciously put off sitting down to lunch. I knew what was coming.

Flicking through a pile of sheet music for something I thought Annie might like, my eyes drifted over to Riley. I smiled at the look of awe on his face as he lifted down a guitar, running his hands over its sleek body. He strummed a few chords, closing his eyes as the sweet sound resonated in the air.

Abandoning the sheet music, I moved over to stand beside him. "Wow... what an amazing sound. Let me guess. It's one of those 'every-guitarist's-dream-instruments', right?"

"Yeah, something like that. It's a Gibson Les Paul. Beautiful, isn't she?"

I caught sight of the price tag and sucked in a breath. "Seriously? Is it really $5000?"

Riley shrugged and hung it back up on the wall. "'Fraid so. Way outta my price range. Nice to dream though..."

"What about if you... like... put a deposit on it and paid it off or something?"

A sad look flickered in Riley's eyes, but then he just sighed and tucked my arm around his. "Ready to get outta here and have some lunch?"

"Yep, let's go." I bit my lip, wishing I'd never mentioned the price.

Why did money – whether it was having too much or not enough – always have to be such an issue in life? Pushing the thought aside, I smiled up at my gorgeous man. "So whadya feel like for lunch?"

"There's a great little food van set up near the entrance at this end of the park. They make great coffee, and sell pies and sandwiches and stuff."

"Sounds perfect." I said, smiling up into Riley's face as we left the shop.

Just like you.

Riley

I couldn't believe Katie had suggested putting a deposit on a $5000 guitar. Yeah right, like owning a Les Paul was ever going to be within the realms of possibility. Katie may not act or dress like her family had money, but even suggesting something like that told me they weren't exactly lacking it either.

Whatever. I needed to push the image of the oh-so-perfect-but-unattainable guitar out my head and not let it affect our day. Slipping my backpack off one shoulder, I held my coffee out for Katie to hold, and pulled out the blanket I'd stuffed in there just before leaving my room.

Katie's face lit up, and all thoughts of guitars vanished. "Wow. You're brilliant. I never even thought of bringing a blanket."

"You obviously haven't been on many picnics then. Sitting on the grass is for squirrels."

Katie laughed and handed my coffee back, flopping down onto the blanket with a sigh. "I'm not arguing. Arrgghh, whose idea was it to 'walk' for two hours?"