Page 96 of Forbidden to Fall

May was womanning the booth, a big smile on her face as she boxed up cookies for Hal from the local grill, who stood at the front of a line so long, it was jamming up traffic.

“Our stock is dwindling fast.” James watched me with a smile. “Apparently, word spread overnight. Most people have been asking about the blondies, but they’ve made a pretty big dent in the cookies and cream puffs too.”

A disbelieving laugh escaped my mouth.

This line was longer than any I’d had at the bakery booth. People were waiting for my wonky blondies. A recipe I’d created myself.

“Mama has been telling every single customer that you’re the mastermind behind it all,” James said.

Just then, she spotted us, smiled, and waved. “There she is! The creator of Sadie Stevenson’s Famous S’more Maple Blondie.”

What followed was a number of people complimenting me on the recipe, which left me flustered and warm.

I went back to the bakery booth on Cloud Nine. And when a couple of people came to the bakery booth asking about the s’more blondies they’d heard about, it felt pretty good too.

“Hey, loser,” I said as the crowds broke up.

James smiled. “Hey, loser.”

It was dark now, the street lit by lamps and the lights of the booths that had stayed open, mostly offering food. Both the farm and bakery booths had closed before the Kiss the Pig event.

“I really thought you had it in the bag,” I said. “Especially with the last-minute donation your jar received from a very kind-hearted and generous donor…” I inspected my nails dramatically.

James chuckled. “They probably weren’t quite kind-hearted and generous enough to counter the one your jar received this morning.”

My brows went up. “You went into the bakery?” For some reason, the thought of James in my domain made my skin tingle.

“The anonymous donor,” he said significantly, “chose to make his—or her—contribution at the library. I heard.”

I snort-laughed. “The anonymous donor was nice to make that information available to you. And yet Carson still won. Someone must’ve really had it out for him.”

“Good effort, guys!”

We both turned toward Emma, who was smiling widely.

“We raised a pretty penny”—she held up the heavy jar of winnings with effort—“probably most of it donated by you two and Carson, but hey, I’m not looking this gift horse in the mouth. The children of Autumn Ridge thank you.” Her gaze moved to me. “Sorry you didn’t get the kiss you were hoping for, Sadie. The night is still young, though!”

My cheeks warmed as she winked and walked away. “Next year, I nominate you to participate,” I called after her.

She just waved over her shoulder.

When I turned back toward James, he was looking at me.

“Well,” May said, walking over to us before I could analyze his expression, “I can’t pretend I wasn’t hopin’ to see one of you two kiss that cute little piglet, but we don’t always get what we wish for, do we?” She gave James a side hug, then me. Despite the big smile on her face, she was looking exhausted and holding the cash box.

I let out a big sigh. “What a day.”

“What a day indeed.” She opened the cash box to display tightly stacked bills. “And that’s just the cash. Most of our sales were digital.”

The knowledge that a large chunk of that money was mine sent a little shiver of excitement through me. But it was what it represented that I cared about even more.

“What will you do to celebrate?” James asked me.

“I don’t know…not kiss a pig?”

He shot me a look. “Pretty low bar. You should celebrate having the longest line in town.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I hadn’t really thought about it. I guess I should have some dinner at some point. I’ve got a Top Ramen with my name on it up in my apartment. Then? Sleep. I’ve got a bunch of blondies and cookies to make first thing tomorrow morning.” I wasn’t even mad that I’d be up before dawn to do it.