Page 5 of Mountain Man’s Corn Maze Cutie (Wildwood Valley Harvest #3)

CECELIA

I tugged the brim of my wide-brimmed straw hat as low as it would go, and it still wasn’t enough. Even with my sunglasses, I wanted to cover my entire face. My entire body. I wanted to just disappear.

“Good morning!” Calliope, who ran the Halloween-themed jewelry booth next to mine, said with a big, cheery smile.

I’d always thought of myself as a pretty perky person, but Calliope made me look like Debbie Downer.

She wore gigantic spider-web earrings and a matching necklace with a bright orange sweater to liven it all up a little.

Her Halloween music got on my nerves after a while, but I appreciated her vibe.

“Good morning,” I said, forcing a smile. Then I lifted my disposable coffee cup to my face to block part of it.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

It was obvious. Or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe word had already spread that I was busted in the corn maze with one of the local mountain men.

The rumor mill would have a field day with that. Yes, this might be a small town, but the vendor circuit was even smaller. All it would take was one person finding out, and I’d have the reputation of being loose and unprofessional.

“Great,” I said. “Just didn’t get much sleep.”

Oh crap, had I given myself away? If she’d heard the rumors—rumors I didn’t even know existed yet—that comment would reinforce them.

Luckily, a customer walked up and I had to shift my attention. From there, the morning was so busy, I didn’t have time to worry about what people were thinking.

But every now and then, I’d get a flash of last night. The sounds Marc made. The way he touched me. And the way we’d laughed all the way to his truck, where we’d climbed in and he’d driven me back to my car in the still empty parking lot.

“Do you think Luca will get lost in there?” he’d asked as he dropped me off.

I smiled as I wiped tears of laughter from my eyes. “It’s pretty easy to get lost in there, as we learned today.”

He’d left me with a sweet kiss—one that promised many more kisses to come. As I climbed in and drove to the inn, I’d been overwhelmed with thoughts of him. And then it hit me that I’d lost my virginity tonight, and I couldn’t stop smiling.

Only when I got to my room and took a good look at myself in the mirror did I fully process what had happened. I’d been busted having sex with a local in the corn maze. Yeah, I didn’t see it that way, but that was how it would look when the gossips got hold of it.

“Lunch?”

I was still catching my breath from the morning rush when the one-word question stopped my heart, then sped it up again, triple time. That was Marc’s voice. I’d know it anywhere.

He was approaching, two boxes in hand. I knew what was inside—the same lunch they brought every day, just varying up the type of sandwich. One day it was a turkey wrap, the next a chicken salad sandwich.

At the sight of him walking toward me, my resolve to be professional and distant crumbled like a house of cards.

He was gorgeous in the daylight—all broad shoulders and confident stride, those storm-gray eyes focused entirely on me.

My pulse quickened, and I felt that familiar flutter low in my belly.

But then I noticed the way conversations seemed to pause as he passed other booths. The subtle glances. The way vendors turned to whisper to each other after he walked by.

They knew. They all knew.

“Thanks,” I said, not quite meeting his eyes. “You can just set it down.”

He frowned, clearly picking up on my cool tone. Instead of leaving the boxes and walking away like most guys would, he came around to the side of my booth.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing’s wrong.” I forced a bright smile. “Just busy, you know?”

“Cecelia.” His voice was firm. “Look at me.”

Reluctantly, I met his gaze, and the concern I saw there nearly undid me.

“What’s wrong?” he repeated.

I glanced around nervously. A couple of vendors were still watching us, not even pretending to be subtle about it. “People are staring,” I whispered.

“So?”

“So?” I stared at him in disbelief. “Marc, they know. About last night. About us getting caught in the maze. They’re all talking about it.”

He was quiet for a moment, following my gaze to see what I was seeing. Then he grabbed the empty chair next to mine—the one the festival had provided for helpers I didn’t have—and sat down.

“You’re worried about what people think,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

“Of course I’m worried.” I kept my voice low. “This is my business, Marc. My reputation. If word gets out that I’m sleeping with festival staff?—”

“Festival staff?” He raised an eyebrow. “Is that what you think I am?”

“Aren’t you?”

“I’m a construction worker who built a maze. I don’t work for the festival.” His voice was patient, like he was explaining something to a child. “And even if I did, so what?”

“So what?” I turned to stare at him. “So my reputation could be ruined. People might think I’m getting special treatment, or that I’m unprofessional, or?—”

“Cecelia.” He reached over and took my hand, completely ignoring the fact that we were in full view of everyone. “Look around. Really look.”

Reluctantly, I did. Mrs. Henderson from the apple butter stand waved when she caught my eye. Melanie at the pottery booth gave me a thumbs-up. Even Calliope was grinning at me from behind her display of Halloween jewelry, making exaggerated heart shapes with her hands.

“Your booth has been busy all morning,” Marc continued. “You’ve been selling more than anyone else here. People are being nice to you, not avoiding you. Nobody’s treating you differently.”

I blinked, realizing he was right. I’d been so caught up in my own paranoia that I’d completely misread the situation.

“And Luca?” I asked weakly.

Marc snorted. “Luca doesn’t talk to anyone. He barely grunts at us guys on the construction crew, and we work with him every day. Trust me, he’s not running his mouth about what he saw last night.”

As if to prove his point, Luca walked past my booth at that moment, nodded once at Marc, and kept walking without saying a word to anyone.

“See?” Marc squeezed my hand. “The only person making this a big deal is you.”

I felt some of the tension leave my shoulders. “I just…I’ve worked so hard to build this business. I can’t afford to mess it up over?—”

“Over what? Over being happy?” His thumb traced circles on the back of my hand. “Over finding someone who makes you laugh until you cry? Someone who thinks you’re the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen?”

My heart did a little flip. “Marc?—”

“I don’t give a damn what people think, Cecelia. And neither should you.” His gray eyes were intense, serious. “What we have—what happened last night—that’s real. That’s good. Don’t let fear ruin it.”

I looked down at our joined hands, then back up at his face. He was right. I was letting my own insecurities create problems that didn’t exist.

“I’m scared,” I admitted quietly.

“Of what?”

“Of how much I feel for you. It’s only been two days, but I?—”

I stopped, afraid to say the words.

“But you what?”

I took a deep breath. “But I think I’m falling in love with you.”

The smile that spread across his face was like sunshine breaking through clouds. “Good,” he said. “Because I’ve been in love with you since the moment you stood up to me yesterday about your ‘crap’ popcorn.”

I laughed, feeling lighter than I had all morning. “It’s not crap.”

“No.” He brought my hand to his lips to press a soft kiss to my knuckles. “It’s not. It’s perfect. Just like you.”

“So what happens now?” I asked.

“Now?” He stood up, but didn’t let go of my hand. “Now you finish this festival and blow everyone away with your amazing popcorn. Then you come home with me.”

“Home?”

“To Wildwood Valley. To me.” His voice was soft but certain. “If you want to.”

I thought about my little apartment back home, my job at the clothing store, the life I’d built that suddenly seemed small and colorless compared to this.

“What about my store?” I asked. “My other job?”

“Bring your business here. Set up shop. Wildwood Valley could use a good popcorn place.” He grinned. “And I could use a good woman.”

“Just good?” I asked.

“The best.” He leaned down to kiss me softly, right there in front of everyone. “The only one I’ll ever want.”

When we broke apart, I heard Calliope cheering from her booth, and a few other vendors applauded. Instead of embarrassment, I felt nothing but joy.

“Is that a yes?” Marc asked.

I looked around at the festival, at the kind faces of locals and fellow vendors, at the man who’d turned my world upside down in the best possible way.

“That’s a yes,” I said. “That’s a hell yes.”