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"I used to enter every summer," Emma said, turning to look at Victoria, her eyes alight with mischief. "Joe and I were disqualified twice, but it was hilarious. They tie your wrist to your partner's with a sash, so you're stuck shoulder-to-shoulder. Then one person is blindfolded, while the other is only allowed to guide using their voice and their shared arm. The blindfolded one has to reach into the water buckets, identify the right stems by touch, strip them, and bind the whole thing before the bell rings."

Victoria stared down at the half-eaten potato, then slowly raised her gaze to Emma’s hopeful face.

"You blindfold someone."

"Yes!”

"Tether them to a living person. To make a floral arrangement."

"Yes!" Emma tugged on her arm. "Come do it with me."

Victoria pulled her arm back immediately. "Absolutely not."

Emma’s face fell slightly. "Why not?"

"Because I don't do crafts, Emma. And I certainly do not participate in public games involving rope." Victoria smoothed her shirt. "Besides, we cannot abandon the stall."

"We can close it for twenty minutes," Emma pleaded. "Pretty please? I missed it last year ‘cause Joe wasn’t really feeling well… but it’s tradition."

Victoria looked at the eager hope in Emma’s eyes and felt a sudden wave of exhaustion. She hated feeling guilty for saying no to her. She hated seeing that light dim. But standing in a field, tied to Emma, pretending they were building a future together while his assistant drafted sale contracts in New York, felt like a cruelty she couldn't stomach.

"No," Victoria said firmly. "We are staying here. If you wish to go, find someone else."

Emma let out a quiet breath. The excitement vanished from her face. She offered a small smile and turned back to the potato. "Okay. No problem."

Victoria watched as Emma swallowed another small piece of potato, the bubbling warmth from moments earlier flattening out into a quiet stillness. There was no complaint, no playful cajoling to wear down her refusal, just a soft acquiescence that somehow managed to make Victoria feel barbaric.

Across the lawn, a neighboring couple were already fumbling with a length of checked linen around their wrists, trading cheerful insults over who would end up blindfolded. When Victoria turned back, Emma was merely looking down at her own fingers, chewing with her shoulders drawn in, quietly shrinking into herself behind the wooden counter.

A sharp, unpleasant knot tightened behind Victoria’s ribs. Monday would set everything in motion, and sooner or later, it would tear Emma apart. The absolute least she could do today was give her a ribbon.

Victoria reached for the tea towel beside the cash box, letting out an irritated breath through her teeth as she scrubbed the dry sugar from her skin.

"Fine," Victoria snapped.

Emma looked up in surprise. "Fine what?"

"We will do the competition," Victoria said. She kept her voice flat. She avoided looking directly at Emma.

Emma’s face lit up instantly. "Really?"

"Yes." Victoria grabbed the cash box and shoved it under the table. She pulled the display trays closer together. "But only because I refuse to let that woman from the jam stall win. She has been glaring at me all morning, and I suspect she is cheating at her displays."

Emma burst out laughing. The sound was bright and genuine.

"Exactly," Victoria said with a straight face. She stepped out from behind the stall and grabbed Emma’s hand. She pulled her toward the center lawn before she could change her mind. "Now hurry up. If we are doing this, we are winning."

Emma squeezed her hand as they walked through the crowd. She was practically vibrating with happiness. Victoria felt the warmth of Emma’s fingers tangled with hers, and the heavy weight of the secret burning in her pocket.

She looked at the woman walking beside her, laughing at a terrible excuse, and knew she was playing with fire. Every instinct screamed at her to pull back, but her fingers only tightened around Emma's hand.

God help me, Victoria thought.

Chapter Twenty

Victoria

"Emma, I swear to God, if you put that thistle in the arrangement I will leave you tied to this gazebo."