I’m not sure why this makes her sad, but I file this piece of information away with all the other little pieces she’s given me about herself. “Oh yeah? You ride often?” I ask curiously, seeing how much more she’ll give me.
“No.” She laughs softly. “It was kind of a faze. When I was five, I became obsessed with horses. The following year, my parents bought me one for my birthday and I was infatuated. I wanted to jump and wear the fancy outfits the girls at theclub wore. But then teenage years came, and I became more interested in friends and boys than horses.”
“Ahh. So, what kind of boys were you interested in back then?” I tease, and her face pales.
Interesting.
“I’d rather not talk about that,” she says quietly before opening the car door. “But I should probably go in and get some rest for tomorrow.”
I glance at the dash and see it’s already one in the morning. “Are we still on for tomorrow?”
“Of course.” She smiles, and I relax. “I’m looking forward to it.”
I can’t fight the smile that takes over my face. “Me too.”
“Bye, Sheriff Cowboy.”
Chuckling at the nickname, I shake my head. “Bye, Jade.”
She closes the door, and I stay and watch until she makes it in safely before I put my car in reverse and head home.
Once home and in bed, I can’t get the thoughts of how fucking good it felt to have Jade in my arms tonight. Her body was molded to mine so perfectly, like she was made for me. When my eyes finally drift shut, I fall asleep with a smile on my face and a deep need in my chest.
Iadd the finishing touches on our booth and stand back to admire our work. It turned out perfect.
Our table is a beautiful Victorian piece I found at a garage sale last summer and refurbished with the help of Sarah’s grandpa. Once a dark brown, now a beautiful white.
A gauze table runner in lavender runs down the table, with little vases housing sliced lemons and bundles of lavender. Our display cases are gold and have all our customer favourites, such as lemon glazed cookie, lemon tarts, and different variations of lemon and lavender bars and scones. Behind the table, we have a stunning backdrop that’s made to look like our storefront, painted the same shade of purple with our business logo on a wood sign, also made by Sarah’s grandpa. We've added small shelves that have both lavender and lemon cupcakes, lemon pound cakes, and some beautiful cheesecakes.
We sold out so fast last year that this year we made sure to come prepared.
“It looks so pretty,” Wren admires.
“It really does. Grandpa did a great job on the backdrop,” Sarah says, standing next to us after stacking the last box under the table.
“Will your grandparents be coming? I hope he gets to see how beautiful it looks.”
“They never miss the market.”
“Please thank him for me when he comes by,” I tell Sarah since I’ll be out with West. My pulse picks up at the thought of tonight. I’m so excited. Our first official date.
“Of course,” she says, letting out a yawn.
I raise my eyes and glance at her. “Not enough sleep last night?” I tease, knowing she was with Ford. She texted me last night when she got to his camper with a picture of his ID to be safe.
“It was a very long night,” she says with a grin. “But definitely worth it. God, why can’t we have the rodeo every weekend. Those cowboys sure know how to use their hands.” She giggles, and Wren and I shake our heads with smiles of our own.
“So? Was he as good as he implied?” Wren asks.
“Oh, absolutely.” Sarah fans herself.
Glancing down at my watch, I see that it’s already four o’clock. We’ve been working all day, and I need to get home and shower before West picks me up. I’ll only have about half an hour to get ready.
I scan the town square and spot everyone else adding their finishing touches on their booths as well. Harper’s booth for Small Town Stories looks adorable. She’s got a backdrop made up of open books with florals throughout, and her table has mini bookshelves stocked with a couple new releases and blind dates with a book.
“I better get going,” I tell the girls, walking to the table to collect my purse.
“Bye!”
