Fairview wasn’t terribly far from his parents’ home and they were on the right path to her home if that was the case. Rufus felt himself relax a little at the thought they weren’t actually as lost as he had thought they might be. Or even that Fortuna (her name in his thoughts still made him smile) had thought.

Her words made him chuckle, it sounded like the only noise on the street and made him feel a bit more confident. Rufus paused in his steps and turned to face Fortuna, clasping both hands. “Some time, huh?” He teased. “You act as if we are lost in the woods.” A playful smile lingered on his features as he leaned toward her, his eyes glancing at her lips. He wondered if she were thinking the same thing he was, if her hesitation to go home meandered along the lines of him rather than being upset with her father has he had first thought. Rufus looked for her askance, unwilling to take things too far too fast. But those lips tempted him with knowledge that he could kiss them, that he no longer had to remind himself of the impossibility of her affections. They could worry about reality tomorrow, but perhaps for this walk, perhaps they could cherish this victory they had found.