I shrugged. “That depends. Do you want to spend the day with me, Sela?” I held my breath and waited, for the first time in a long time I wasn’t sure what her answer would be. Most women would’ve already jumped at the opportunity to spend a day with me, dreaming of expensive meals, sparkly gifts, but Sela kept me on my toes. She was attracted to me. I think she even liked me, but she wasn’t sure about me or maybe it was herself she wasn’t sure about, either way it ended up with me not knowing where I stood with her.
“Can I pick what we do?” There was a gleam in her eyes that I didn’t particularly like.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and ignored the voice that shouted at me to fake a phone call and an important meeting, instead I found myself nodding slowly. “Sure.”
She pulled her lips in between her teeth, fighting a smile that ultimately won. “Excellent.” She stood and clapped her hands together. “I need to do one errand first, which I can do while you get pretty for the day?”
I laughed. “What’s your errand?”
She shrugged and looked away. “I need to collect some boxes from around town and drop them off at the Food Bank. Thanksgiving is around the corner, and people need help filling in the gaps.”
Nope, I will not like her even more for being a do-gooder. “I’ll meet you at the Food Bank in thirty minutes. Is that enough time?”
“Should be.” She nodded, her gaze swept over my body slowly and her gaze filled with heat. “Don’t you want to know what we’re doing?”
“No. I’m curious to see what you’ll pick for us to do together. Outside the bedroom.”
“Who says a bedroom is necessary,” she asked in a teasing tone. “We certainly didn’t use one the first time around.”
My jaw clenched, and I groaned. “If I don’t leave now, we’ll never get out of this house.” My hands itched to touch her again, to test her and see if she was wet for me again. To be the one to make her wet. Again.
“Sounds like a really amazing consolation prize.”
I leaned forward and kissed her lightly. “Agreed, but what about those hungry families.”
She froze and took a step back, arms stretched out to put more distance between us. “An excellent point, and one I’ll reward you for later. When bedroom activities commence.” She wiggled her brows and placed a hand on my chest before she walked away, presumably to get dressed for the day.
When I saw her next, she took my breath away. “That is the ugliest sweater I have ever seen in my entire life.” It looked like someone had taken pieces of different carpets and strung them together to make an oversized hoodie with a turkey silhouette on the front.
Sela looked down at her sweater as if she didn’t know what she was wearing and then back up at me with a wide grin. And then she burst out laughing. “It’s so awful that it’s kind of great, right?” Her blue eyes sparkled, and she spread her arms wide, spinning in a circle. “Come on!”
Fifteen minutes later we stood in line for the last place I expected her to choose. “The carnival?”
She shook her head. “The Gratitude Carnival,” she clarified. “It’s a good time, I promise.”
She misunderstood my expression of shock for disgust, so I took her hand and pressed it between mine. “This is unexpected but delightfully unexpected.”
Surprise flashed in her blue depths. “Yeah?”
“Oh yeah. What should we do first? I haven’t been to a carnival since college.”
Sela’s expression turned serious. “Well, our first stop is of utmost importance,” she answered in a somber tone as she tugged me to a free-standing booth in the middle of four-way traffic. “I’ll have the crème brûlée and he’ll have the tiramisu.”
My brows dipped. “This is cotton candy, right?”
She laughed. “Yes, and it is the most delicious, grown-up cotton candy you’ll ever put in your mouth.”
“Had some pretty good candy last night,” I mumbled, and she let out a choking sound.
“Eat that sparingly because we’re going on rides next.” She took my hand like we were a real couple and tugged me all over the carnival. We played games, bumper cars, and even did a turkey ring toss, laughing the entire time. I couldn’t remember the last time I had so much fun with a woman when sex wasn’t involved. “Are you okay?” She looked up at me curiously, waiting for an answer.
“I’m good, just thinking about how much fun I’ve had with you.”
She blushed prettily. “I’m having a good time too, Brock. Let’s warm our bones with mulled wine.”
I let her lead me wherever she wanted to go. Her excitement was contagious, and I didn’t care about the vintage of the wine or how much sugar I’d consumed, all I gave a damn about wasspending time with Sela. I tugged her back when we passed the Ferris wheel. “It’s carnival tradition.”
She looked up at the giant wheel and then back to me. “Okay, but if I fall off and die, I’m haunting you for all of eternity.”
