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He nods then spins around and heads down the street to where his parents’ booth is at the opposite end. Letting out a long sigh, I watch him until he disappears in the growing crowd then turn to begin helping Leah adjust her hangings.
Which is when I find her watching me.
“Still wanna tell me you guys are just friends?” she asks with a smirk.
Instead of responding, I just lift my chin and cross to the other side of the tent, focusing on a smaller piece that’s hanging slightly on its side.
“Hey there, Leah. Gabriela.”
I glance over, my eyes widening when I see Roy Pulasky approaching our table. My eyes track up and down, taking in his costume. He’s dressed as Gomez Addams in a pinstripe suit and black tie, his mustache newly trimmed and his hair slicked back, and I don’t doubt in the slightest he did it to match my aunt. Though I have no idea how he found out what she was dressing as.
“Hi, Roy. Is the hardware store not doing the event tonight?” I ask, glancing at Leah briefly and finding her standing as still as a statue.
“Oh, we always do the event. I have Jerry handling it right now. Just wanted to stop by and say hello.”
“Well your costume looks awesome,” I tell him, looking at Leah again.
I’m not sure why she’s suddenly frozen, but I take that as a cue to leave her be for a few minutes. “Hey, I’m gonna pop over to Ugly Mug and get a coffee. Do you want one?”
Leah shakes her head, and I take off, heading across the street and down a few shops, occasionally turning back to see if she and Roy are talking. Ugly Mug has a table outside and they’re passing out cups of drip coffee for free, so I ignore my aunt’s decline and snag two cups then slowly make my way back to our booth. When I finally get there, Leah is alone again, fiddling with some of the items still in one of the boxes.
“Roy head back to his shop?” I ask, watching her closely as I pass over a cup. “Seemed like maybe he wanted to hang out for a bit.”
She blows on the hot liquid for a beat. “Yeah, he needed to go finish getting set up.”
“Bummer. We should have gotten a picture of us with our costumes.”
Leah takes a sip, her eyes looking in the direction of the hardware store. Her expression is foggy, and I’m not sure why until she speaks again.
“He asked me out. On a date.”
I blink, sure I misheard her. “And what did you say?”
“I think…I agreed?”
My head jerks back in surprise, but then a smile stretches across my face.
“That’s great.” I pause, taking in her awkward stance. “So why do you look so constipated?”
At that, she narrows her eyes in my direction, and whatever daze she was in falls away. Leah swats at me, then moves over and distractedly begins rearranging things. I laugh quietly to myself and leave her be, tugging out the bags of candy we brought and dumping them into large bowls.
We work in relative silence for a few minutes, until the music begins to play from the big speakers set up at either end of the street. Then we completely move on, both of us focusing on the rush of families that swarm the block and begin approaching our booth.
But regardless of the crowd, my mind continues spinning a million miles an hour. I can’t remember the last time Leah went on a date. It had to have been when I was in high school.
I know she’s been asked plenty of times—usually by men who are just passing through town—but Leah has always turned them down. She’s made it clear she has zero interest in fooling around with tourists who, for all she knows, could have a family wherever they live.
And then there’s the fact she agreed to go out with Roy.
I have nothing against the guy. He’s nice and friendly and always greets us with a smile whenever we come into the hardware store, even if he seems a bit nervous sometimes. I’ve assumed for a while that he’s had a thing for my aunt, but I guess that’s why it never felt like a match for me.
Roy gives off the appearance of a nice older guy with a crush, and Leah is…Leah. Sharp and wary and a bit jaded when it comes to men. Quick to avoid them or shut them down.
So the fact that he finally asked is wild in and of itself.
But the fact that she agreed?
It’s a small-town miracle.
