Tossing my phone aside, I lay back against the pillows. I’m still wide awake, but now it’s not annoyance that plagues me… it’s excitement.
"Remind me again why you drive a literal monster truck?" Max grins as he hoists me out of the passenger seat, setting me down gently.
My ankle-height Wellies squelch in the soggy grass, still overrun with water from the overnight showers, as he releases his hold on my waist. The sun hangs high in the sky, starting to reheat the air after the summer storm. But the breeze lingers, dropping a fine mist on everything it touches.
A shiver runs through me, and I clutch my cardigan.
"Cold?" Max asks while unclipping Benny from his vehicle harness, lifting him down, and double-checking his leash.
I shrug, looping my crossbody over my head. "Not really, it’s just damp."
"I thought they’d cancel." Max shuts my door and tugs my hand toward a small white building sitting off in the distance. Windows cover almost every wall, like a greenhouse of sorts but with a standard asphalt shingle roof. And it’s surrounded by the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen, rows upon rows of mounded zinnias in a rainbow of colors. It’s a sight so serene I’m confident it’ll be permanently inked into my memory.
"I’m shocked my sister still wanted to come," Max grunts.
He filled me in on the ride over. Apparently, Bridget recently started dating the eldest Zarichny daughter, Zuri. And since she teaches a bouquet-making class every Saturday morning in the summer, Bridget thought it would be nice to support her. As for how Max got roped into attending—he wouldn’t say, but I’m also not complaining. I’m a sucker for a classroom setting, and I haven’t visited this farm since I was a kid.
Benny bounds between us as we make our way to the building. There’s a pea gravel pathway about twenty feet out from the building leading to a matching patio, and I’m grateful that both he and I are out of the mud. His short little legs were sinking with each leap, and I’m confident his belly is covered.
Only a few steps away from the entrance, I stop, unzipping my purse to pull out a small travel pouch of puppy wipes. Dipping down, I pet the sweetest boy on his head.
"Sade?" Max’s voice washes over me. "Did you bring those just for Benny?"
Peering up at him through my lashes, I smile shyly. "Maybe?" I pull open the top of the blue package and remove one. "I hoped you were bringing him, but I also didn’t want to carry him the whole time." I swipe the cloth over his belly, working to clean off the brown gush coating him. "It felt like we’d be going backward if we didn’t allow him to walk on the grass."
He looks like he wants to say something, but his eyes zip to my right instead. Following his line of sight, mine land on a pair of red hunter boots that are attached to a shivering Bridget.
"Please tell me he looks like that because you’re taking care of his baby voluntarily and not because he asked you to," she coos, and I laugh.
"Just being practical." I raise my hands, shoving the dirty wipes into the pocket of my black denim overall shorts. Cleaning Benny required the entire package, so it looks like one of us is carrying him despite my thinking ahead, unless this is an indoor class.
"Mm-hmm." Bridget smirks. "Okay, so I don’t really know what to expect. Just that Zuri said we would do a class inside first, then a tour." She fiddles with the hem of her knotted tank top.
"Don’t forget the picnic." Max winks at his sister.
"I didn’t know there was a picnic." I grab the leash from Max’s hand, twisting it around my wrist a few times so Benny can’t stray far enough to undo my work.
Bridget’s cheeks flush, and she gnaws on her bottom lip. "Ugh! You’re the worst, Max." She shoves her brother's shoulder. "Sadie, I sort of begged him to come and make this a double date after class. Things are new, and our mother keeps insisting that Zuri come to family dinner. I thought easing her in, one sibling at a time, might make us easier to digest. But it was all supposed to seem natural… spur of the moment."
"Like you eased me into it at the beach when seven people randomly had a Wednesday off?" I laugh. She groans, mumbling an apology under her breath. "It’s fine. I’m not long-term, but Zuri could be."
Max’s face twists at my statement, mimicking the way my heart felt saying the words. We can’t be anything, but voicing it doesn't make it easier—I’m falling for him. In a perfect world, Ithink Max and I could make this work. He has everything I’ve ever looked for in an ideal man. But that’s not reality when the timing isn’t right.
He clutches my hand, pulling me closer to his side as the door to the little white cottage swings open, and out steps a tall, slender woman with hair as black as a raven’s feathers.
"Welcome!" she calls to us and the group of guests that have congregated on the stone patio. "Come on in and find a seat. We will get started in about five minutes."
Bridget leads the way, greeting Zuri with a small peck on the cheek. It’s adorable, heartwarming to watch the way they look at each other—like no one else exists because they are completely and hopelessly enamored. Squeezing Max’s hand a little tighter, we slip past them and find a spot near the far back corner.
The space inside the cottage is set up exactly like a classroom. There is one long table at the front, with large white buckets overflowing with flowers in a line down the center. And there’s about ten smaller rectangular tables made of whitewashed oak in two equal rows, with matching stools for the guests to sit at.
"So, a picnic? What did you make?" I elbow Max gently while rubbing my other hand over Benny’s head. Max is cradling him in his arms like a baby.
He kisses the puppy’s head. "I bought stuff as cooking isn’t really my strong suit. But I think you’ll like it."
Max is sweet, and he continues to surprise me. On one hand, he can be such an overzealous flirt, but on the other, he is kind—caring enough to help his sister out on a Saturday when he could be sleeping in. I lean in, pressing my lips to his cheek. He leans his head toward me, resting it on the crown of mine while I burrow into his shoulder. I’m sure we look like a picture-perfect couple, and for a second, I close my eyes, allowing myself to pretend we are.
"What did you want to tell me this morning?" he whispers as people continue to shuffle in and find their seats.
