Page 45 of Can’t Say No

“First question. An easy one to start. What’s been your favorite ride here today?”

“Blazing Fury. It’s campy and a little unhinged.” An honest answer. That ride is ridiculous.

“Best part of being back in your hometown?”

“Working with Connor.”

I surprise myself with another honest answer and steal a sideways glance his way. He’s grinning from ear to ear. Don’t get me wrong, this whole gig is still ridiculous, but spending time with Connor again has been an unexpected upside.

“Have you always been in love with him or is this a new development?”

I falter, because somehow always, never, continuously, and all at once could all be the right answer. But there’s no time for soul-searching, not when Chester nudges the microphone closer to me.

“Uhh, I mean…” I pause, still trying to land on the right combination of words. “Connor and me, we’ve…”

Connor steps forward and turns the attention to himself.

“Always, right, Lanie Lou? We’ve been in love since we were kids.”

He squeezes my side and beams down at me, eyes full of sincerity. And for the second time in twenty-four hours, his words fan a flame I didn’t know I carried.

“Childhood sweethearts reunited. So romantic. I love it. Okay, last question. If you were ice cream, what flavor would you be?”

I laugh, caught completely off guard by the whiplash of such a silly question.

“She’d be Rocky Road.”

Connor answers for me again.

“Because it wasn’t an easy path, but she finally made her way back to me.” He lands a kiss to the top of my head and adds, “Plus, you never quite know what you’re gonna get with this one.”

Chester eats it up, and so does his team. The camera clicks rapidly as we pose with the bakery case. Connor angles us to get the perfect shot before signaling to Chester that we’re done and guiding me over to a quiet corner booth so we can finally eat our cinnamon bread.

“Connor, what the fuck?” I say with a laugh. “‘She’d be Rocky Road?’ That was so smooth. How’d you pull that out of your ass so fast?”

Connor winks and leans back in his chair. “Told you I am good actor, Lanie.”

All I can do is shake my head.

“Lemme try this crazy thing,” I say, gesturing to the giant loaf of bread on our table. It smells incredible. And, just as expected, it tastes amazing.

“Fuck yeah, you’re right.” I nod, talking around the huge piece in my mouth. “My life has been changed.”

I dive in for another bite. It’s so unassuming, yet so delectable. Everything you’d want in a little treat.

Connor shrugs, a sly smile on his face. “What can I say, I know what my girl likes.”

My stomach takes a dive at his words. My girl. You’ve got to be kidding me. He says it like it’s a tender, honest thing, like there’s a world in which I really am his.

“You know,” I start, unable to stop myself from opening this can of worms, “I’ve never seriously dated anyone.”

Connor blinks at me with wide eyes, his mouth still full of cinnamon bread.

“What about that football guy a few years ago? Mason? Morgan? You two were all over everything all the time.”

“Firstly,” I say, pointing my fork at him, “you know that his name was Maddox. Secondly, this isn’t my first fake dating rodeo. Or second.”

I stuff another bite in my mouth before Connor can ask more questions.