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TWELVE

ANDRE

The walk from the library to Maplewood City Park gave me a moment to process the last hour.

Ethan reading to the children had revealed yet another side of him.

He’d handled the situation beautifully. His genuine smiles and the way he’d engaged the kids made my heart swell.

Watching him with the children, no one would’ve known the anxiety that moment held for him.

And he’d brought me scones!

That charged moment when he’d reached for my hand still lingered, so natural even as it set off fireworks under my skin. I was falling for him, hard and fast.

But there was a festival to run, and I needed to focus. I tried to direct my thoughts to tent layouts and vendor assignments. My mind had its own agenda, flashing back to the warmth in Ethan’s blue eyes when our gazes had met across my desk.

“Andre?”

“Sorry. Thinking about the vendor layout.” I hoped that explanation would cover my distraction. “What were you saying?”

“No worries,” Ethan said as we crossed Maple Street. “I asked who's the third judge for the craft competition?”

I welcomed the distraction from my racing thoughts. “Olivia will be, along with you and Trevor Hals, who created that winning tapestry.”

“I’m glad to have expert help.” Ethan chuckled. I appreciated he was trying to lighten my mood.

“Olivia’s excited to see who might top Trevor’s tapestry.”

As we neared the park, my mood plummeted. What should have been a mostly completed orderly setup of tents forming around the fountain in the park's center was a disaster zone. Only three of the twenty tents stood, and those looked like a strong breeze would topple them.

Sarah, the team leader for getting the vendor area set up, zipped between groups of people trying to assemble tents. She gestured frantically at a duo working with a tangle of metal poles and canvas.

“No, no—that’s not—” She cut herself off with a visible wince as someone dropped two support poles with a loud clang. “Those pieces don’t go together.”

Another confused duo kept turning an instruction sheet around between them. At this rate we’d be lucky to have half the tents up by nightfall.

“Oh no.” I kept my voice low so only Ethan could hear. “This is worse than I imagined.”

“Hey.” Ethan’s gentle grasp on my arm was welcome. “We’ll figure it out. And Liam’s bringing reinforcements.”

I took a deep breath, grateful for his steady presence. “Thanks. I just…” I couldn’t help but chuckle. “This wasn’t in the plan.”

Sarah spotted us and hurried over. “Thank goodness. We’re so understaffed, and these instructions might as well be in Sanskrit.” She thrust a crumpled paper at me. “These aren’t like the tents we’ve had the past few years.”

“More help’s on the way,” I assured her, scanning the document. These were worse than any furniture instructions I’d ever seen. “And we’re here now, so put us to work.”

“Let’s get you two started on that tent.” She pointed to one that was still in its box. “I’ll keep working to sort out these teams.”

Ethan and I approached the box, and he started opening it. I made a mental note to ensure we got easy-to-assemble tents in the future. He handed me the instructions.

“Okay, so it looks like we need to…” I trailed off as Ethan began efficiently sorting the poles and canvas.

“Start with the frame?” he finished, holding up two pieces. “Want to work from opposite ends?”

We fell into an easy rhythm, with me following his lead as we pieced the frame together. I tried to focus on the task but kept getting distracted by the way his T-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders as he moved.

A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek, and I nearly dropped the end of the structure I was holding.

“You good?” He caught my eye with a hint of concern.

“Yeah, just… trying to make sure we’re doing this right,” I lied, feeling heat creep up my neck that had nothing to do with the afternoon sun.

The frame was nearly complete, and we started securing the canvas. I was on my tiptoes trying to pull the fabric taut while Ethan worked on the other corner.

“Almost got it.” I stretched as far as I could.

Something creaked.

I wasn’t sure what, but I didn’t let it deter me from trying to finish with this section.

“Andre!” Ethan called out but it was too late.

The tent came down around us in a chaotic tangle of metal and fabric. Ethan grabbed my arm, pulling me closer as we ended up huddled together under the canvas, surrounded by the collapsed frame.

“Well, this is dignified,” I said with a laugh.

“You okay?” His breath on my cheek made me shudder.

“Yeah,” I managed to say, keenly aware of how his hand was gripping my arm. “Though we might need to start over.”

Now he laughed too. “You think?”

I tried to move but instead stumbled into him. His arms wrapped around me, steadying us both, and suddenly we were pressed together in the dim space under the canvas. My heart thundered in my chest.

Tension crackled between us. A fire blazed in his blue eyes as he locked his gaze on mine and his tongue darted out to wet his lips.

I wasn’t sure who moved first, but our mouths met and the gentle press of his lips against mine sent a charge throughout my body.

The kiss began tentatively, both of us testing the waters, seeing if this was okay.

But when Ethan let out a tiny sound and pulled me closer, deepening the kiss, nothing else mattered.

My hands went to his broad shoulders, gripping the solid muscle there as he held my waist.

I felt like I was flying and falling at the same time.

The second kiss was confident, filled with all that had been building between us.

It was perfect.

Until the tent canvas was peeled away, flooding us with sunlight and the sound of gasps and some laughter.

“Well, well.” Liam held the canvas to the side with a huge grin plastered across his face. “I see you two found a creative way to handle tent assembly.”

We jumped apart, almost tripping over the poles on the ground. Ethan’s face was red and I suspected mine was too. Behind Liam stood at least six teenagers from camp along with Dix, Oscar, and the other volunteers.

They tried to keep straight faces.

None of them did a good job.

“Perfect timing as always, Liam,” Ethan muttered but he fought a smile.

“I try.” Liam continued to grin, enjoying this way too much.

He helped Ethan step out of the mess we’d made as Mimi held the canvas. Ethan gave me his hand to help me up, and my heart somersaulted as he gave it a squeeze.

“These tents are evil.” A young man spoke out loud and in ASL as he stepped next to Liam. “I helped my dad with these last summer. The instructions say two people can do this, but you really need four.”

“Can you show us?” Ethan spoke and signed as well.

“For sure.”

“Amazing,” I said and then quickly turned to Ethan. “I’m afraid I don’t sign. Can you, please?”

“It’s okay.” The teen shrugged casually even as he continued to sign. “My hearing aids are on, so it’s all good.”

“Andre, this is Milo, one of our campers.”

“Very glad to meet you, Milo. Sounds like you’re just the person we need to get this done.”

“I’m happy to lend a hand. Let’s start with one in the box and everyone can see how it’s done.”

My anxiety about the situation unclenched just a bit. “Let’s do it.”

“Tommy? Help us out?”

“Of course.” Tommy also spoke and signed. When did he learn that?

Milo took charge with a confidence that made me instantly grateful he’d shown up. Milo and Tommy laid out the poles much the same way we’d done it before, but this time Milo added small paper tags using paper from a notepad he pulled from his pocket and rubber bands Sarah had.

After tagging everything, Milo explained the strategy.

“My dad figured this trick out. Label each section before you start. Makes it way easier to keep track.” He glanced at the mess Ethan and I had created with a sympathetic smile.

“These things are like puzzles. But once you know how to do it, it goes pretty fast.”

Milo directed Tommy, Ethan, and me through the assembly process as the other volunteers observed. The same corner pieces that had given us trouble came together smoothly under his guidance. When we reached the part where our tent had collapsed, Milo demonstrated how to brace the frame properly.

“See, you need someone here, here, and here.” He positioned us. “The weight has to be distributed evenly while you attach the canvas or it’ll fall apart.”

Ethan caught my eye and grinned. “Maybe getting trapped under the tent wasn’t entirely our fault after all.”

“I’m choosing to believe that.” I chuckled even as heat crept across my cheeks.

Within fifteen minutes, we had a perfectly assembled tent. No wobbles, no loose canvas, just a space ready to be occupied by a vendor. The difference between our earlier chaos and Milo’s methodical approach was striking.

“That was incredible.” I nodded at Milo. “Did everyone get that?” I looked at Sarah and the volunteers.

“I recorded it and I’m sending it to all of you.” Sarah turned to the team. “Everyone good?”

The response was positive.

“How about we work on the ones that are messed up?” Milo looked between Tommy, Ethan, and me. “We can have them up in no time.”

Milo continued to step up. Did he live in town and I just hadn’t met him somehow? I had questions but I held them since we had tents to build.

Ethan and I couldn’t keep our eyes off each other as we worked. Each time it happened, my stomach did a little flip at the thought of the kisses we’d shared. The air crackled between us whenever we touched. Each accidental—or not so accidental—brush sent sparks of energy through me.

I wondered if Ethan had the same reaction.

The sun was setting by the time we finished, casting long shadows across the neat rows of white tents. Sarah was practically bouncing with relief as she checked off the last items on her list.

“I can’t thank you all enough,” I said to the group. “This was amazing community spirit in action with a great assist from our guests as well. Please let me buy you all dinner at Red’s to show my appreciation.”

There were cheers of approval, and people began gathering their things. I watched Ethan help Milo and Tommy organize the boxes the tents had come in, giving the young men fist bumps when they finished.

I wanted to ask Ethan to dinner.

Just him.

Somewhere quiet where we could talk about what had happened under that tent. But I hesitated, unsure if this was the right moment.

Ethan solved my dilemma by approaching me as everyone headed for Red’s. “Hey,” he whispered. “Would you maybe want to get dessert afterward? Just us?”

My heart soared. “Yes,” I replied, possibly too quickly. “I’d like that.”

His smile was bright. “Great.”

I nodded, not trusting my voice. As we walked to join the others, our hands brushed again. This time, I let my fingers intertwine with his for a moment.