Page 36 of A Love Like Pumpkin Spice (Wayward Hollow #1)
“Hey, would you mind if I—” He motions between Henry and me, and I glimpse up at my boyfriend. Ah, I’ll never get enough of calling him that in my head. Boyfriend.
“Is it okay?” I whisper. “You don’t have to.”
“Sure,” he agrees then leans closer to my ear. “Did you really think I’d oppose claiming you in front of the whole world?” I glance up at him, my face flushed. “You’re mine. And everyone can know that.” He winks at me.
“You can’t say that kind of cute stuff. Now I’ll look like I’m auditioning to be the face of sunburn awareness month,” I complain playfully and pat my cheeks, hoping the redness will go down while we find a spot in front of some of the decorations and coordinate a cute little pose.
“Three, two, one, smile,” Ralph counts us down until his flashlight instantly blinds me. “Oops, sorry. My bad!” He takes another one without it and lowers his camera.
“Send me a pretty version,” I tell him with a wink, and he gives me a thumbs-up.
“Of course, Nic.”
“I’m curious, though,” I say, trying to act completely innocent, noting Henry hiding a grin behind his hand beside me. “It’s lovely to see you and all that, but what brings you here?”
“You know, there’s a tip going around that this is the place to be. They didn’t even want any money for it. Not sure what it’s about, but I thought I’d take a chance. And now I met you, so I guess the tip wasn’t half bad.”
“I take it you’re not the only one, then?” I lift my eyebrow, and he quickly nods.
“I think I saw about five of us about. Welcome back to the spotlight, I guess,” he says with a chuckle, and I exhale a deep sigh.
I talked to my former PR company, and while they can’t predict the future either, they are confident I can ride out any kind o f public attention by continuing to live a normal and, as the woman I talked to called it, “extremely boring” life.
She predicted that when the paparazzi couldn’t find me doing anything interesting, they’d leave me alone, and even my new relationship would become old news at some point.
And I guess I have to find out the hard way if that’s true. Henry and I shoot each other a look. It means our plan is working, though, and we didn’t even have to do anything yet.
But then something else catches my eye.
“Oh no,” I whisper, my stomach dropping as I glance past Ralph and spot my egg and seed donors.
They’ve got a familiar expression on their faces: smug, polished, and dripping with condescension.
They stroll past the stalls as if they’re too good to even breathe the same air as everyone else—their noses tilted sky-high, probably ranting about how the scent of warm apple cider personally offends them.
Their tense body language screams we don’t belong here.
“Ralph, we need to go,” I say, already tugging on Henry’s sleeve. “I’ll see you around.”
Henry pulls me and Jensen around a stall, pressing my back against the solid wood while Jensen curiously sniffs around in the grass.
“You know I’m starting to dig this whole hide-and-seek vibe,” he whispers, his face only a breath away from mine.
“Thank you,” I whisper and interlace my fingers around his neck. “Having you here makes all of this a whole lot easier to handle.”
“I aim to please,” he mumbles and when his lips find mine, I forget all about the shitshow happening in my periphery.
All I can think about is the taste of caramel on his tongue, and his cinnamon scent mixing with the smell of caramel in the air.
About the way his hands roam my body and pull me closer to him, and the way he takes my damned breath away.
Bef ore I know it, the sun slips behind the trees, and Harry switches on the string lights Lauren and I spent the last week hanging. They flicker to life one by one, casting a soft glow over the fair. I can’t help the small smile that forms as I take it all in.
“It’s beautiful,” I whisper, my eyes drifting over the entire scene: the pumpkins carved by kids and attendees, stacked on hay bales and glowing softly as the daylight fades. Laughter carries through the air, mingling with the warm scent of every fall treat you could imagine.
I wish I could bottle this moment, keep it tucked away to revisit whenever I need it.
I take a deep breath. I've found my last piece. Now it's time to put it in its final place.
“You know what this feels like?” I whisper and gulp, trying to fight against the tears forming in my eyes.
“What?” Henry asks curiously, and I choke up as I answer.
“Home.”
He presses a kiss to my temple, and I close my eyes, trying to savor this moment, the realization that I’m exactly where I’ve always wanted to be. Surrounded by people who love me, in a place that feels like home.
But suddenly, the shrill feedback of a microphone makes everyone jump and turn their heads to the little stage Kieran helped set up right in the middle of the town square.
Henry gives my hand a quick squeeze, and his whole body goes rigid with tension. This is it. The moment we figured would come.
“ Are you sure about this?” he whispers, giving me the chance to back out. “We could still run off and ignore that this is happening.”
“No,” I object gently, taking a deep breath and squaring my shoulders. “I’ve had enough. I’m dealing with this today. For good.”
“Okay,” he says, with a proud smile playing on his lips. “I’ll be right here, every step of the way.”
“I know,” I assure him then turn back to watch Marissa, who is now on the stage, her face distorted in a sugary, I’ll melt your face off , grin.