Page 68 of Falling for Keeps

I pick up my fork to finish my dinner, thinking back on how hard it was to lose Mom fresh out of high school and how none of us had seen it coming, her included. Yet she had made a huge impact on me. She taught me, by example, how to be a good neighbor, a supportive friend…that I should reach for the stars.

Without her taking me to story time and ditching class that day, would I be somewhere else?

If I was going to die young like she did, would I be satisfied with the life I’ve led? Mom had three kids, a happy marriage, a social life to be envious of. She had fulfillment. Where am I getting that same fulfillment?

Carson and Penny pop in my head, but I chase them right out again. I’m a busy person. I love my job. I have meaningful friendships and a family who loves me. I’m working on making my house a peaceful refuge…but there’s still something missing.

At the end of the day, I’m alone. I want companionship that isn’t HGTV or an audiobook. I want to talk to something that talks back. I want to fill the empty gaps in my heart with people. No—person, singular. With a man.

I respect Carson’s need for friendship, and I’m not trying to create an instant family, anyway. But when I picture myself happily spending my weekends with someone, he automatically slots into place, not Seth.

I need to do something about that.

The energy in the air has shifted Monday morning, like the weather can tell we’re putting on the town’s Fall Festival, so it’s conspiring to give us crisp, chill air and perfectly fiery trees all along Main Street. Morning mist burns off the vibrant green hills in the distance as the sun comes out and makes the orange, red, and yellow trees brighter.

The store fronts along the road are decked out for autumn, pumpkins and hay bales and corn stalks decorating the spaces. With leaves falling along the street and skittering in the wind, it’s like a movie set in its perfection—a cozy wonderland ready to fill us with cider and sticky buns and make us crave pumpkin-flavored everything.

I headed into the library first thing to make sure I have what I need for story time set aside and prepared. We’re going to host it outside after the breakfast, so I brought an extra scarf and wore my warmest socks. But in the heated library, all the layers are a bit much. Unwinding my scarf, I toss it on the counter and sort through the books, putting them in proper order. I’ll have a few activities to go along with some of them, so those things need to be bagged up and numbered for my own sanity.

Someone pushes through the doors into the processing room, and I glance back to find Seth wearing a thick sweater over tan pants. His brown eyes are tracking my motions. “Don’t stop there,” he jokes, glancing at the scarf I removed.

“Very funny.”

His grin widens. “You need help with any of the fair stuff today?”

We have very different roles here. He is more customer-facing in general fiction and managing the team, and I’m on the youth side. Which means I handle way more outside events and things correlating to anyone under the age of eighteen, or the necessary fundraisers to fund their programs. It also means we work together a lot, but not really together.

“I think it’s all covered.” I gesture to the piles. “Organizing it now so I’m not scrambling in the middle of story time.”

He leans against the desk beside me and folds his arms over his chest. I have to remind myself he’s not standing too close. Not when I’m kind of dating him.

“You look great today, Emma.”

“Thanks.”

He steps closer, rubbing his hands along my arms. My body swirls with feelings, but I can’t tell if they’re good or hesitant. I don’t want to sabotage this if it can be something great, especially not if the only reason I’m not falling for Seth is because my brain is caught on a man I can’t have.

If I lose out on this thing with Seth and it’s actually a great thing, then who knows when I’ll have another chance at love? What if I turn him down, only to never find another guy?

I inhale, but his spicy cologne doesn’t raise my pulse at all.

He smiles warmly, his eyes dropping to my mouth.

Oh, no. Not yet. I’m not ready. I need more time⁠—

I throw my arms around his neck, pulling him in for a quick hug, then bounce away, grabbing up story time bags like I’m shopping forty percent off at the Scholastic sale.

“I’ll see you later?”

“You’re heading out now? We haven’t even opened.” He sounds frazzled, like he doesn’t know what just happened.

Honestly, I really don’t either.

“Meeting my dad at the town breakfast. I’ll see you later.”

I hope I have everything as I let myself out and find my car behind the building. I shut my trunk as a car pulls into the spot next to me. I recognize the red Jeep immediately.

Sloan Avery hops out, closing the door behind her. She runs a hand through her blonde waves, pushing them out of her face as she goes to her trunk to retrieve something. An idea hits me, so I make my way toward her.