He cupped his hand to his forehead.Whoa. That’s super deep.
“You okay?” Seth appeared beside him and studied him with concern.
“Yeah.” Jake pointed to where the fairy lights twinkled from the rafters. The colorful banner Emily had painted withHappy 100th Anniversary, Hughes Family Orchard!and decorated with bright red apples hung in the center of the barn. “It’s finally done.” He shook Seth’s hand. “Thanks for your help, man.”
“It was actually fun.”
Jake snorted. “Your idea of fun and my idea of fun are way different.”
Seth laughed and pivoted just as Andi and Emily appeared, each hauling a wagon filled with jugs of cider. “Here come the women.” He dashed over and took the handle of Andi’s wagon from her hand. “I got it.”
His wife gasped as she entered the barn. “Wow, you guys. It looks great in here.” She faced Emily. “You were right about the fairy lights.”
Jake took the handle of Emily’s wagon. “What do you think?”
She twirled around in the middle of the barn, and her smile was so bright that she could rival the sun. “It’s perfect!”
You’re perfect. And adorable.“It sure is.”
“We did it!” Emily announced. “People are going to love it, Jake.”
Jake looped his arm around her shoulder. “I think so too.”
They spent the next two hours setting up the booth for the cider and then stowing the baskets for the apples by the cashier stations.
After Seth and Andi left, Jake took Emily’s hand and led her toward the barn. He’d planned a surprise for her earlier in the evening, and he couldn’t wait to put it into action.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“I have a surprise for you.”
“Oh?” she asked. “What is it?”
He laughed. “If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise.” He steered her to the middle of the barn. “Now close your eyes.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”
He shook his head. “You can be so frustrating sometimes. Just close your eyes.”
“Okay.” She sighed, closed her eyes, and folded her arms over her chest. “How long do I need to keep them closed?”
“Until I tell you that you can open them.” He rushed around the barn, turning off the overhead lamps so that only the fairy lights cast a romantic glow. “Almost done,” he called.
When she stuck her tongue out, he couldn’t stop his chuckle. Emily always knew how to make him laugh. He set up his Bluetooth speaker and connected it to his phone.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Hold on, Miss Impatient,” Jake told her while he found the perfect song. He pressed play before locking his phone and pushing it into the back pocket of his jeans.
Then he came to stand beside her, and he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “You can open your eyes now.”
She trembled at the sound of his voice, and his insides heated.
She opened her eyes, and as she scanned the barn, her pretty lips formed a perfect O. The fairy lights twinkled above them,casting the entire barn in a soft glow, while Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me” came through a nearby speaker.
Jake held his hands out to her. “Will you dance with me, Emily?”
“Yeah,” she whispered, her voice full of awe. “I’d love to.”
