Page 11 of Rumors in Bayberry (The Bayberry, Vermont #3)
He pushed aside his thoughts of his work. It already took up most of his life, so much so that it had ruined not one but two serious relationships. He just couldn’t give up on his growing vision for the Rumor Quill , but it could wait until later.
Right now, he wanted to focus on the beautiful woman at his side. With Sadie, there weren’t any promises or expectations. There was fun and living in the moment. She made him happier than he’d been in a long time.
He glanced over at her. “So, what’s next? If you want, we could play some more games.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. You’ve won me a teddy bear, a penguin, and a frog. I’m good on stuffed animals.”
“We could go through the maze again.”
She shook her head. “I enjoyed it, but after working there all afternoon, I’m good.”
He was starting to worry that she wanted to end the evening. And he wasn’t ready to say goodnight. Not yet.
He swallowed hard and tried again. “Do you want something else to eat?”
“Hey, Carrie.” Sadie smiled at her friends as she stopped to talk to them. “Hi, Jackson.” She glanced over at Reed. “These are my friends.”
After the introductions were made, Reed said, “It’s nice to meet you both.”
He was happy to find Sadie had a lot of friends. Although, it didn’t really surprise him. Sadie was sweet and easy to get along with. It was only natural that she would have a lot of friends. They talked for a bit about the festival and the maze before they moved on.
Sadie turned to Reed. “Let’s get some dessert.”
“I like the way you think.”
She got a serious look on her face. “Do you like pumpkin?”
“Yes.”
A big smile lifted her berry-red lips. His gaze lingered on them. He wondered if they were sweet to kiss.
Sadie cleared her throat, causing him to jerk his gaze upward. She sent him what appeared to be a knowing look, as though she could read his thoughts. His face grew warm, and he glanced away. How could he be so obvious?
Now, she probably didn’t want anything to do with him. He’d probably ruined the evening because he couldn’t keep his mind focused.
“Let’s get something there.” She pointed to a booth called: Pumpkin Everything.
Wait. She still wanted to hang out with him? He hadn’t ruined things?
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Let’s go.”
They made their way over and stood in line. It appeared to be a very popular booth. He checked out the menu before pulling out his wallet. He didn’t want to hold up the line when it was their turn.
Sadie ordered pumpkin pie with whipped cream. He got a slice of a pumpkin roll with cream cheese frosting. It was homemade, and oh-so moist and delicious.
They slowly strolled through the festival as they ate dessert. At one point, she looked over at him. He noticed she had a dab of whipped cream above her lip.
“Stop.” When she turned to him, he said, “Hold still.”
He reached out to her. When his fingertip made contact with her, it was as though a current of electricity arced between them. It sent his heart thumping in his chest.
Even though they were at the festival with hundreds of other people, the sun had now set, and the darkness gave the impression that they now had a modicum of privacy. His hand lingered on her face—her beautiful face with those very kissable lips.
His gaze lowered to those berry-colored lips. He wondered if they tasted sweet. Not thinking of the right or wrong of it, he lowered his head toward her. His eyes closed, and then his lips pressed to hers.
She didn’t move at first. Did he catch her off guard? He moved slowly so as not to scare her away. After a moment, her lips moved beneath his.
His arms reached out and wrapped around her waist. When he pulled her close, her hands landed on his chest. At that moment, common sense got drowned out by the pounding of his heart.
When he’d first arrived in Bayberry, he’d only had business on his mind. He never would have guessed that he’d meet the most beautiful woman in the world. Nor would he have believed that spending time with her would be more important to him than doing his work, but it was true.
Her fingers inched up over his shoulders and wrapped around the back of his neck. As their kiss deepened, she tasted sweet like whipped cream.
He didn’t want this moment to end. Standing in the middle of Bayberry’s Pumpkin Festival, kissing the woman of his dreams, was too good to be true.
As reality tried to crowd in on the moment, he forced it from his mind. He’d deal with the consequences later. But they had a couple more hours to spend together in this blissful happiness.
When the sound of people approaching had them pulling apart, a sigh crossed his lips. The kiss had ended too soon. Way too soon.
He pulled back, not sure what to expect when he looked into her eyes. Would she be angry with him for overstepping? Or would she feel as though the earth moved beneath her feet like it had for him?
His gaze met hers. Her eyes shone with happiness and something else. But when he tried to take a closer look, she blinked, and the look was gone. Perhaps he’d just imagined there was something deeper going on.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
Sadie shook her head. “Don’t apologize. We both wanted it.”
She said the right words, but he still couldn’t help feeling as though the kiss had changed everything between them. And where it had left them, well, he wasn’t quite sure.
Of course, if she knew the real reason he was in Bayberry was to buy her family’s paper, he couldn’t help but worry it would impact this fragile thing growing between them.
He should tell her the truth. Yes, that was exactly what he should do.
He would put it all out there in the open and hope it wouldn’t change things between them.
With the confession on the tip of his tongue, he turned to her. She wasn’t looking at him. She was turned away as she smiled and waved at someone. This was not the spot for a serious conversation. It would wait a little longer.