Page 43 of The Cinnamon Spice Inn (Maple Falls #1)

THIRTY-SIX

ZACH

“There you are! Where have you been?” Anita called out, her voice cutting through the music and laughter.

Zach had stripped off his flannel, leaving him in a black fitted tee, and he was standing with Madison again. He hadn’t meant to walk directly over to her when she came back out, but he hadn’t been able to stop his feet from moving in her direction.

She’d changed her sweater, going for a fall dress. It was striped in navy blues and mustard yellows with a swooping neckline. If he didn’t know any better, he’d swear she was trying to drive him wild with that peek of cleavage and all that leg.

“What do you mean, where have I been? I’ve been working.”

Anita waved off his protest. “That’s fine and dandy, sweetheart, but I signed you up for the auction, and you’re up!”

Zach dug his heels in. “Auction? What auction?”

Too late.

His mother was stronger than she looked, and before Zach could protest further, he found himself shoved up onto a makeshift stage where Mayor Bloomfield was already speaking into the mic.

Madison followed, unable to hide her amusement.

“Here he is, folks! Have no fear, friends—Zach Whitaker has arrived, and not a moment too soon!” the mayor announced.

The crowd burst into cheers and applause.

Zach stood dead center onstage, face hot, arms crossed, glaring at his mother, Madison, the entire town—really, his whole universe.

Madison, of course, was front and center in the crowd, grinning like this was the greatest thing she’d ever witnessed.

“You all know him as your favorite handyman,” the mayor continued, “the man who can fix just about anything. Let’s give a round of applause for Zach Whitaker! Bidding starts at twenty dollars!”

“Twenty!” Rita, the chocolate shop owner, hollered from the back.

“Thirty!” Edith shouted. Madison looked over her shoulder at her grandma and laughed.

“Fifty!” Mrs. Humphrey threw in.

“Seventy-five!” came the woman Mrs. Bishop had tried to set him up with at the bar last Friday night.

Zach’s stomach dropped.

From the crowd, Tanya Lockwood waved her cash in the air, giving him a slow, pointed smile.

Zach’s eyes went wide.

He knew for a fact that Tanya had at least five minor household projects that needed tending to. He also knew that she had zero interest in getting them fixed.

The last time he’d been at her house, she had “accidentally” spilled lemonade on his shirt and then insisted he strip off so she could wash it.

Hell no. That was not happening again.

Zach caught Madison’s eyes. She was still standing there, arms folded, laughing at the scene. He held her gaze, silently begging her to save him.

Madison’s brows lifted, like she was enjoying this way too much.

The bidding war escalated.

“One hundred!” Rita shouted.

“One twenty!” countered the girl from the bar.

“One fifty!” Tanya screamed.

Zach was two seconds away from throwing himself off the damn stage when?—

“Two hundred and fifty dollars!”

The crowd gasped.

Zach’s head snapped toward Madison.

She was standing tall, arm raised, with a determined expression.

Mayor Bloomfield clapped his hands together. “Well, well! Sold to Madison Kelly for two hundred and fifty dollars!” He turned toward Madison. “Come on up here and claim your prize, young lady.”

The crowd groaned, or maybe it was just Tanya complaining loudly enough for everyone to hear her.

Madison took her time climbing onto the stage. She stopped in front of him, tilting her head in mock innocence. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

Zach exhaled in relief. “You have no idea.”

“Oh, I do.”

The second they were offstage, Zach draped his arm over her shoulders. It was instinct, really. Muscle memory from years of doing it without thinking. She fit under his arm like she always had, and today, Zach didn’t let go.

After watching the rest of the auction they spent the rest of the day together, building a scarecrow for the front porch of the inn, sharing bites of pumpkin pie from the tasting table—Edith won, no contest—and strolling among the vendors hand in hand, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Zach stood by her side while she struck a deal with Zoe for fresh flowers for the inn’s reopening and listened while she chatted with the mayor about his great-niece.

“When it comes to the internet, I don’t know what I’m doing. I’d rather avoid it if I could,” Mayor Bloomfield confessed. “But Elsie’s got all these plans. Thought she could start with you.”

“Sounds good. Just let me know when she’s in town and we’ll set something up,” Madison said before they headed toward the street fair.

“I’m surprised you’re not here selling your apple butter,” Madison said, eyeing the jam stand from another farm.

Zach shrugged. “Been a bit busy, but I need to do that soon enough. I keep it stocked at the hardware store.”

Maybe that was something he could find time to do in the next few days, now that his kitchen had power again. All he needed was a stovetop and a counter to slice up the apples. It was easy enough.

“You know Kit’s using it for the inn’s cinnamon rolls, right? It’s delicious.”

Zach looked down at Madison. “Coming from you, that’s quite a compliment.”

“It’s the truth.”

Madison’s cheeks were flushed from the wind and the cider, and she had that easy smile again—the one he hadn’t seen in too long.

For the first time in weeks, the tight knot in his chest loosened just a little.

They wandered past a long line of booths, hand in hand, the tents thinning toward the end of the street where the vendors grew sparse.

A pop-up art stall blocked half the alleyway between two brick buildings.

Zach glanced around, catching sight of a narrow path behind one of the booths. He couldn’t let the opportunity pass by. Not when he’d been thinking about Madison all day since she’d left his bed.

“Come on,” he muttered under his breath.

“Where are we going?” She laughed but followed him anyway, trying to keep up with his longer strides.

They slipped behind the tent, half hidden by hanging quilts and painted wooden signs.

The second they were alone, Zach’s hand was at her waist, pulling her into the shadowed nook, walking her back until she was hidden completely from view.

“Zach,” she gasped, but he was already there, his tongue dipping into her mouth.

The kiss was slow and sensual. He wanted to drink every ounce of her in.

Madison kissed him back just as deeply, as if they were melting into each other.

Somewhere in the distance, the fair music played, a guitar and a folk singer, but it sounded far away, muffled by the blood rushing through his body.

When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Zach pressed his forehead to hers.

“I’ve wanted to do that all day,” he said, voice rough.

Madison closed her eyes, savoring the moment. “Me too,” she confessed.

He pulled back just enough to look at her, his thumb brushing her cheekbone.

“You remember the first Pumpkinfest we snuck out here?” he murmured.

Madison laughed softly. “Yeah. You won me that stupid stuffed pumpkin from the ring toss.”

“And you kissed me behind the church, under the oak tree.”

“You tasted like caramel apples and trouble,” she whispered.

Zach smiled. Madison looked utterly bewitching. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“We should get back,” he said, as if it killed him to say so.

Madison gave him a look. One that showed how much she really, really wished that wasn’t so.

Zach chuckled. “Keep looking at me like that, Mads,” he said, his voice dangerously low, “and we won’t make it out of this alley.”