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He meets my stare with a small quirk of his lips. “Yes. I will take you to the festival.”
I clap my hands in glee and yank my foot from his hold. “Yay! Let me go get changed. God, I need to see what actually fits me.”
“You want to go now?” he asks, not moving from the sofa as I round it, instead following me with his eyes.
“Yes.” I stop and send him one of my brightest smiles. “Right now. I heard they have these apple cider donuts, and I’m craving something sweet. No, wait, Parasite wants something sweet, and you aren’t about to deny your baby what they want, are you?”
Max eyes me for a moment before chuckling. “Fine. Get changed.”
Maybe more has changed than I thought, because the grumpy cowboy is actually smiling. And best of all, he isn’t looking at me like I annoy him.
He looks at me like he actually likes me.
Max opens the passenger door for me when we reach the festival. It’s still early in the afternoon, with the sky awash with clouds that are doing nothing but adding to the atmosphere. A breeze picks up strands of my hair, but there’s no rain in the air. Just the crinkling of fall leaves as they dance across the sidewalk. The corn maze rustles with the next gust of wind. Pumpkins at the start of the maze grin at us as we walk to the entrance of the festival.
“I drove by when I came into town and they were still setting up. Still so sad I missed the auction,” I tell Max, grinning up at him.
He, to my surprise, takes my hand. He also makes a point to roll his eyes. “Where do you want to start?”
“The donuts, of course,” I reply, tugging on his hand. “Then some hot cocoa, maybe. Or trying one of the food trucks.”
“Is that all you think about?” he asks. “Food?”
“I’m growing a person inside me, Max. I require sustenance. And also, I want to do the maze, obviously.” We enter, and as I look around, I spy a huge ‘FALL IN LOVE’ sign that definitely screams ‘photo-op’.
His fingers tighten around mine as we stroll through the different market stalls, food trucks, and activities set up around the area to get people interested. There’s axe throwing, a pumpkin carving station for kids, face painting, and a few more photo ops. String lights dangle above us, crossing over the path between pillars, and soft music plays from speakers around the square.
“This is so cute,” I murmur, pressing into Max’s side, glancing up at him. “Thanks for agreeing to come. I would have stolen the keys otherwise.”
That makes him snort. “Figured.” He only spares me a look before casting his gaze over the festival. “It’s not…so bad.”
“See? You can have fun,” I tease, tugging on his hand. “I think I smell donuts.”
Max doesn’t say anything as I pull him down the short line of food trucks. Most are still setting up despite the small number of festival goers shuffling in. I regret not coming last night, but it’s totally fine. Can’t say last night wasn’t eventful enough. But now, I crave the energy. Something to do that’ll distract me from the growing warmth in my chest.
We find the donut stand as they’re cooking their first batch, and I lean against Max’s chest. “You know, if they’ve still got the sign over there set up when we get the marriage license, it’ll make a truly chaotic wedding picture if you ask me.”
The man barks a laugh, chest shaking as he holds most of it back. “Yeah, that’s not at all what I was thinking.”
“Oh?” I look up at him, only to find a genuine smile playing at his lips. Two in one day. That must be a record. “What have you been thinking about?”
He meets my eye with a smirk. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Uh, yeah,” I reply, rolling my eyes. “I would.”
“Can’t handle a surprise?”
“You don’t seem the type to plan surprises, nor the type to execute them.” I shoot him a wary look as the owner of the donut stall pushes two fresh donuts our way. Max grabs both before I have a chance to reach for them, and holds the apple-cinnamon smelling goodie in front of my face.
I snatch the hot donut from him as he sighs. “I’m not a planner or a surprise person. But you’ve definitely shown me I have the capacity for both.”
“Because of Parasite?” I ask.
Max frowns. “Why do you keep calling our baby a Parasite?”
I shrug and start meandering towards the maze. “I don’t know,” I reply, taking a bite. It’s still hot, but damn, it’s good. Never thought I’d be much of an apple cider girl, but I might start because of Parasite. “It just started because I didn’t want to know the sex.”
“You don’t know anything yet?” he asks, surprised.
