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He was about to say more, give her more facts and reasons why this couldn’t last. She didn’t want to hear it. “Back when I was sixteen,” she said, “we broke up because I didn’t want to have a relationship unless you were in it for the long haul. Do you know what I should have done?”

“What?”

She tilted her face up to look at him. His eyes were dark in the dim light from the streetlight, unreadable. “I should have enjoyed every day we had together and trusted that if it was actually love, it would find a way to last. Instead, I gave up months of time that I could’ve spent with you.” She leaned her head against his chest. “I don’t want to do that again. I don’t want to ruin the days we have left thinking about the days we won’t. So now my mantra is ‘Don’t think about tomorrow. When it’s real, love can overcome obstacles.’”

Jace’s hand continued to travel up and down her back. He didn’t say anything for a moment, just weighed her words. “Okay,” he said. “We’ll talk about things the night before I go back to school.”

He dropped another kiss on the top of her head. “I’ll see you at the bazaar.” He let her go, climbed into the car, and drove off. She stared after him, arms wrapped around herself, trembling in the cool night air. It was foolish of her to feel as happy about this as she did. Jace was just going to leave her again.

But she thought of their kiss and felt happy anyway.

CHAPTER 22

Even though Marlowe didn’t set her alarm for the next morning, she woke up at nine. As soon as she remembered the events of last night, she jolted upright.

The pies.

The kissing.

Jace was already at the bazaar helping his mother set up. Had he gotten up early to make new pies? Marlowe tumbled out of bed, grabbed her phone and messaged him. What is the pie situation? Do I need to call restaurants?

He wrote back: I told you I’d take care of it.

Yeah, but she would be less worried if he told her how he was taking care of it. The most plausible solution came to her mind.

Marlowe: Did you fess up and tell your mother everything?

Marlowe really hoped he hadn’t done that. After last night, she had extra incentive for wanting his mother to like her.

He wrote: You think I’d tell my mother that we set the pies on fire because we were kissing?

Marlowe: Well, I figured you’d put it differently than that.

Jace: I didn’t tell her anything.

Marlowe: Okay. I’ll see you at the bazaar.

She knew she wouldn’t be able to spend much time with Jace at the event. He was helping out his mother all morning, and Marlowe was taking her grandmother there. But at least they could see each other. That felt like enough reason to go. Well, that and since Jace had mentioned the event to her grandma, she was determined she was going.

Marlowe drove the two of them to the baseball field where the bazaar was taking place. She’d expected a couple of rows of pop-up tents and folding tables. Instead, the field had disappeared under a sprawl of canopies that stretched across the grass. The infield was a maze of booths, many with handmade signs and tablecloths that didn’t quite match. The outfield had been claimed by food trucks and long lines of people.

A good-sized crowd roamed the rows. It looked like a good portion of the town had turned out along with an assortment of tourists. A bouncy house was set up in one area, and indistinct shouts came from there. The smell of cotton candy and fry bread drifted through the air and pieces of popcorn were scattered on the ground.

Marlowe wanted to immediately find the auction tables and see what pies were listed under her name, but Grandma was determined to stop and look at every booth along the way. She seemed equally interested in everything—or at least interested in commenting on everything.

“Why would anyone buy a handmade personalized dog dish? Dogs are happy to drink out of the toilet.” And “No one needs glitter cupcakes. Glitter isn’t a food group.” And “Blind date with a book? Have women just given up on men altogether?”

Well, maybe women had a point. Men had a way of making you fall in love with them and then leaving you.

Marlowe slowly herded her grandmother along. She texted Jace that she’d come, and he said he would find her after he was done helping his mother. Which didn’t seem to happen since he never appeared. She saw Lucas once. She spotted him from the back and thought he was Jace until she saw Riley with him.

Grandma made things slower by insisting they stop and get fry bread because her blood sugar was low, although Marlowe wasn’t sure whether to believe her. Grandma also claimed her blood sugar was low at a cinnamon roll stand and a place that sold goat milk soap.

“You don’t eat the soap,” Marlowe told her.

“I might,” Grandma responded. “You’d better buy it for me in case I start to feel peckish later.”

Marlowe bought the soap because it was easier than arguing, and besides, supporting local small businesses was a good thing.