Page 35 of Take Me Slowly, Part 1 (Aurora Hollow duet #1)

LEAH

"Are you ready to go?" Connor asked as he pushed the front door open and looked inside.

"Why do I bother to lock that?" I asked.

He grinned. "I have no idea. To keep honest people out?"

I snort-laughed. "That sounds accurate. Because I can't keep you two out, can I?"

"Why would you want to?" Riley called out from behind Connor.

"I can't think of a single reason." I rolled my eyes playfully but picked up my bag from the table and tucked my phone into my pocket.

"Because there isn't one." Connor took my bag and swung it over his shoulder. "Riley and I are exceptional."

"Hey!" Riley looked at him as if he thought Connor said something offensive. Only the crinkles around his blue eyes showed he was joking.

Connor slid him a look. "Right, I'm exceptional. You're okay." He elbowed Riley playfully as he walked past, heading back out the door.

"I should have taken ‘exceptional’ when it was offered, shouldn't I?" Riley asked me.

"Probably," I agreed. I pulled the door closed behind me and made sure it was locked. In case any honest people walked by.

"How did all your tours go today?" With the increase in visitors for the festival, they were busy all day. Jacob had insisted he had enough help at the Frosty Brew, leaving us to enjoy the festivities, and the night off.

"No one died," Connor said.

"That's a bonus," I teased.

"It's a bonus for you," Riley said. "Otherwise you'd be spending the rest of the night doing the paperwork."

"Is that what you hired me for?" I fell into step beside him. "So I could clean up your messes?"

"We don't make those kinds of messes," Connor said. He walked close to me, close enough I could feel the heat radiating off his body.

"Right, we make good messes," Riley agreed. "Do we really want to go to the festival tonight?" He looked back over his shoulder at my cottage, a hint of longing in his expression.

"I do," I said. "I've never been to one before."

Hearing Whitney and the others talk about it, I couldn't help being excited. I'd spent a couple of hours this morning with Fiona and Sarah, walking through the food and craft stalls, buying a couple of things here or there.

Holly had a table selling homemade preserves. She'd been nice enough to let me leave a couple of my paintings there, in case any visitors wanted to buy them.

From what Whitney said, the fun really came in the evening and at night. As we walked towards Main Street, I could already see, hear and smell why.

The sound of music came from the park, which was decorated with twinkling lights. The smell from various food cooking on grills, or staying warm in food trucks made my mouth water.

The sky was purple, the stars already visible. A carpet of thousands of them, twinkling with lights of their own.

"This is magical," I said softly.

Groups of people gathered here or there, talking and laughing. Enjoying each other's company. Kids ran back and forth around them, giggling and playing. No one seemed deterred by the chill in the air.

"You're magical," Riley said, lacing his fingers through mine.

"No one's ever called me magical before," I said.

"I don't know whether to be disappointed in them or relieved to be the first," Riley said. "I think I'll go for both."

"People are dickheads," Connor remarked. "That's their loss."

"Exactly," Riley agreed. "Too bad for them."

I thought about my question to Whitney, but now wasn't the time to bring it up. Right now, I wanted to enjoy the festival and their company. The time for deep and meaningful conversations was later.

"What do you feel like?" Connor leaned toward me, so close his shoulder pressed against mine. "Pizza? Poutine? Burger? Crêpes?"

"Crêpes sound perfect," I said. "With chicken and avocado."

He nodded and headed over to the van to place our order.

"You really never been to a festival like this before?" Riley asked.

"Not like this," I said. "Just small ones at school, where you get to dunk a teacher in the dunk tank."

"We have a dunk tank." Riley gestured over to the park. "We might convince Connor to let us dunk him."

"Fuck off," Connor said over his shoulder. "We can dunk you though."

"You say that like I wouldn't willingly climb in," Riley said. "It's for a good cause." He turned to me and added, "The money is split between charity and town improvement projects. Who could say no to those?"

"Not me, but you're not going to ask me to be dunked, are you?" The evening was too cool to get that kind of wet.

"Not if you don't want to," he said. "But tell me you'll let me win you a teddy bear. I've always wanted to win one for someone I care about. Connor won't let me win one for him." He glanced down at the ground as if suddenly shy.

"If you want to win me a teddy bear, I'd love that," I said. "I might give it to Sarah though."

He looked back up, his brow creased. "No, you have to keep it. That's the point. For you to have a teddy bear that makes you think of me when you look at it."

"You're not forgettable," I assured him. "Okay, a small one then." One that would be cute, sitting on a shelf, or on the mantelpiece.

He grinned. "Deal."

Connor headed back from the food van, carrying three plates. He handed us ours, before starting on his own crêpe.

"This is good," I said around a mouthful of crêpe and chicken. It tasted even better out here with the music, company and deepening sky.

They hummed their agreement and led me across to the park, where amusement rides and games were set up. Tinkling music and shrieks of excitement contrasted with the band, who played off to one side.

A couple of young boys ran past with cotton candy on sticks, waving them like they were Olympic torches.

"Come on." Riley took my empty plate and threw it and his in the trash on the way past. He grabbed my hand and dragged me over to the Strongman Game, where players had to hit a hammer and hope they hit it hard enough to make the bell at the top of the game ring.

"How hard can it be?" He rubbed his hands together, his biceps threatening to break the seams of his dark blue Henley.

"Show them what you've got," Connor told him. He looked as though he was ready to be impressed or amused as fuck, depending on how well Riley did.

Riley slid him a sly grin.

"I don't mean your dick, idiot." Connor rolled his eyes.

"Shame." Riley picked up the hammer and hefted it a couple of times. He turned side on to the game and raised the hammer, slamming it down onto the round target on the base. The hammer connected with a clang, sending the marker flying toward the bell.

It stopped a centimetre from the bell and fell back down.

Riley grunted. "That was for practice." He raised the hammer again, bringing it back down harder than before. This time, the marker hit the bell, making it ring out.

The crowd who gathered to watch him try his luck cheered and patted his back to congratulate him. He muttered his thanks, humble for once, before gesturing toward the display of teddy bears.

"She'll take the biggest one you have," he declared.

"I don't need a huge one," I argued. "Teddy bear," I added quickly.

I had a funny feeling I could protest all I wanted, I was going to get handed an enormous bear.

That was confirmed a moment later when the blue-haired young woman in charge of the game pulled a huge, bright blue teddy bear down from the shelf and handed it to me. She gave me a grin and a wink as if to congratulate me for my company.

I smiled back and held the plush bear close to me. I thought I'd outgrown my teddy bear days a long time ago, but there was something comforting about this one. Something sweet about Riley needing to show off his strength to win it for me.

"I'll have to think of a name," I said.

"Looks like you." Connor looked the bear up and down, then glanced at Riley.

"Big and cuddly?" Riley asked. "I'll take that comparison. Come on, let's go on the Ferris wheel." He grabbed both of our hands and started to pull us along behind him.

"Will they let me on with this?" I nodded towards the bear.

"They better," Riley said. He bought us tickets and led us to the gate as the Ferris wheel slowed to allow us to climb into a car.

Since no one stopped me from taking the bear, I placed it down at my feet and got comfortable on one side of the long bench. Connor sat beside me and Riley opposite us.

"Wait until you see the view from the top," Riley said as the car started to wobble and move.

"I'm surprised you don't have a Ferris wheel tour," I teased.

Connor snorted. "This doesn't go fast enough for us. If it did, I'd be all over it."

"That would be sick," Riley said. "Gravity-defying Ferris wheel."

"I'm starting to think I shouldn't have given you the idea," I said jokingly. "Next thing, you'll have one of those and a rollercoaster that starts at the very top of the mountain and goes all the way down."

"That would rock, but it wouldn't be good for the environment," Connor said. "If we could have one inside the mountain…"

"You'd have to be a billionaire to do that," I said. "By the time it was built, you'd be a millionaire."

A ride inside the mountain probably wasn't good for the environment either.

They both laughed.

"Accurate." Connor shifted over and draped an arm over my shoulder. "Let's enjoy this. Look, we can see the lake from here."

I looked out over the lights of the town, and beyond to where Lake Aurora reflected the festival lights, the water glittering.

"We'll be skating on that in a few weeks," Riley said. "I fucking love this town. I remember guys from school leaving because they said there was nothing to do, but there's so. Fucking. Much. How could anyone be bored here?"

"And when it rains, you can read mafia romance books," I said.

He stared at me for a moment, before making a face. "Fucking Whitney. Connor, your sister has a big mouth."

Connor's body shook slightly as he laughed. "If you're ashamed of what you read?—"

"I'm not," Riley said quickly. "Leah and I would have gotten around to that sooner or later. If you want to borrow any of my books, you're welcome to." He nodded.

"Same here," I told him. "Have you ever read dinosaur romance?"

"What… You know what, never mind." Connor shook his head. "I don't want to know."

Riley grinned and mouthed, "He'd totally read those."

"I can lip-read you know," Connor said dryly. After a moment he added, "I might try one. A guy gets curious."

"You might even learn something," Riley told him.

Connor flipped him off with both hands.

I laughed softly and looked out over the edge of the car.

I froze. Frowned.

I must be seeing things. He couldn't possibly be here.

I squinted as he turned his face up towards me. My lips dropped apart.

What the hell was my stepbrother, Brooks, doing here?