Page 36 of Fall Love

“Come with me and find out.” He nods toward the door. “Trust me.”

Again, I don’t think we’re actually talking about apples here, but something inside me says to believe in him.

At least, as far as picking out apples goes.

CHAPTER 13

[Tate]

“Iwould have expected something a little flashier, Driver,” she says about the rental car I’m driving. The base model, four-door sedan has no amenities, like satellite radio or a phone jack.

“It’s all they had.” I’d flown into Bangor and driven over an hour to get here. The rental company didn’t offer a large selection.

Besides, I don’t care about the interior of the car, only the person in the passenger seat.

Last night, I couldn’t sleep. I’d been worried sick about her emotional state and the baby. And an early visit to my cousin with coffee and donuts earned me Neve’s address. It wasn’t like I wouldn’t eventually find it. It’s a small town. It’s just that I wanted to do things right, like have Neve give me the location of her house herself.

But desperate times call for coffee and donuts.

“So where exactly are we going?” she asks, as I drive us beyond the city limits. With the ocean behind us and the mountains ahead, her expression is puzzled. She still has a swash of flour on her flannel shirt, and one pin in her hair isn’t as straight as the other, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone prettier.

Neve doesn’t wear makeup. She doesn’t need it. Her lashes are naturally long, and her eyes are brilliant blue. I’ve heard pregnant women described as having a glow about them, and Neve embodies that shine. While she admits she didn’t plan to get pregnant, didn’t want to be a mother, she looks lovely sitting there with one hand on her round belly and her opposite elbow perched on the edge of the passenger door.

“I can’t tell you,” I say, hoping it reminds her of when she took me to the well on New Year’s Eve.

“Because killing is messy business.” She rolls her head and glances at me.

“Exactly.” I nod, giving her a soft smile. My thoughts are the exact opposite of ending her life. I want to be a part of hers.

I want to kiss her, not kill her.

“Let me just surprise you.”

She runs her hand over her belly, an absentminded move. “Not really a fan of surprises.”

I swallow thickly. “Have you really hated it?”

She glances down at her stomach, smoothing her hand over it more slowly this time. “Not really. It’s just so strange. I mean, there’s a human growing in there. A seed was planted and a garden has grown. One single flower.”

Her voice is soft, and the back of my eyes prickle.

“You should name her Flower.”

Neve snorts and smiles. “She isn’t a love child.”

For whatever reason, the playful comment hurts. That innocent baby wasn’t made in love. Our night together had been pure lust, and yet I don’t regret one touch, one kiss, one moment of that time with Neve.

And I don’t regret this baby.

“So Little Wrench still, huh?”

“Yep.” Neve smiles proudly, staring out the window, absentmindedly running her hand over her stomach again.

When I slow and click on my blinker, Neve says, “Over the Hill Farm.” Her head swivels toward me again. “We’re getting ingredients here?”

Over the Hill Farm isn’t a grocery store. It’s an apple orchard, and from their front display, they have a collection of pumpkins already as well.

“We’re going apple picking,” I casually state as I take a parking spot on the gravel lot.