Page 52 of Falling for Keeps

“Yeah.” I nod, resting a hand on my hip. “With a real human man, even.”

He rolls his eyes, pulling the wagon to catch up to me. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”

“It’s new. And old, too, I guess. We’re trying it out again. Apparently, he’s more invested this time.”

“That doesn’t sound like it’s littered with red flags at all.”

I shove his arm playfully. “I’m being careful.”

“I can be an emergency backup,” he offers.

My feet nearly trip over a pumpkin stem. What does that even mean? If it’s not going well with Seth, he steps in and finishes the date? I can already sense how terrible and dangerous an idea that is.

Carson explains. “You know, like I’d call you halfway through and tell you to get home right away because your kitchen is flooding.”

“What if I’m having a good time?”

“You’ll tell me to clean up the water, I guess. Who is the guy, anyway? Someone I know?”

“You vetting my boyfriends now?”

“Boyfriend?” His eyebrows shoot up. “This escalated quickly. I didn’t think you’d move so fast.”

If that’s a joke about the night we met, I’m going to ignore it. “As my friend, the most say you have in it is nothing.”

“Rude.” He grins. “So, who’s the guy?”

“Someone I work with.”

Carson grabs my hand, pulling me to stop. “Hold on, you don’t mean that guy from the bar?”

“There were two guys with us that night.”

“Gray hair?”

“Dale? No. He’s happily married.” And forty-five, but I don’t add that part. “His name is Seth. He was there that night.”

“I remember. He slid onto your bench as soon as I left it.”

It’s my turn to stop walking. My feet are rooted like these pumpkin plants. Carson watched me? He noticed Seth hitting on me? He was interested enough for that?

The reminder of the night we shared in the bar sends a wave of heat through me, which results in a chill. It’s still autumn in Vermont, after all. I cross my arms over my chest. “It’s just dinner,” I finally say.

“I really can call if you need me to.”

“That’s okay.”

“Suit yourself.” He stops the wagon behind Penny where she’s kneeling on the dirt, comparing two pumpkins. “What’s going on Sunday? Big family party?”

My heart beats clear through my body, pulsing in my ears. “It’s the anniversary of the day my mom died.”

Carson’s face whips toward mine.

“We’re going to visit her grave, then have dinner together. I’m making her favorite things.”

“Emma.” His voice is dripping with compassion, that one word driving through my body like a hot knife in butter.

“It’s not always a hard day, you know? Depends on the year. But the twins—my siblings—just turned twenty-nine, so it feels momentous, I guess, not to have her around for the last year in their twenties. And my dad is dating this woman who likes to marry men and then leave them, so it’s kind of a weird year.”