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“You did this on purpose to get me alone, didn’t you?”
Nate smiles, stepping closer. “I hope you don’t mind.”
My back is against the cornstalks, and Nate’s face is just inches from mine. My mind flashes back to last night at my car. That kiss. Is he going to kiss me again?
“I was hoping to see you today,” he says. “I’m glad I ran into you.”
“Yeah?” My voice cracks as I look into Nate’s emerald eyes.
“Yeah.” Nate takes my hands in his, then leans closer. My heart pounds as his irresistible lips inch toward mine. My eyes flutter closed just as I feel the warmth of his kiss.
His lips stay pressed against mine for a moment before sparks ignite, and we devour one another. We deepen our kiss, his hands sliding up my arms to frame my face and hold me close to him. Craving the feel of his body against mine, I wrap my arms around his waist and pull him closer. I can’t get enough of this man.
Suddenly, we hear footsteps and laughter coming toward us. Nate pulls away from me just as a group of teenagers rounds the corner near us. They’re oblivious to what Nate and I were just doing and traipse through the path, walking between Nate and me. I look across at him as they pass through, getting glimpses of him intermittently between each kid, and he keeps eye contact with me as well. Once they’ve gone past, his lips curl into a sexy smile as he steps closer to me again.
But we’re interrupted again when another group of people come around the corner toward us. Instead of stepping away this time, Nate takes my hand in his. “Come on. We should find our way out of here, or your son and mom are going to wonder what happened to us.”
Nate and I walk hand in hand, trying to find our way out of the maze. My hand feels so small in his, but I love the feeling of his warm, masculine hand intertwined with mine. As we make our way through the cornstalks, we laugh easily with one another and enjoy each other’s company. We pass by several others, but we don’t see Mom and Noah. Eventually, my phone rings. Nate and I stop so I can answer it, and I’m slightly disappointed to have to let go of his hand to do so.
Of course, it’s Mom calling. “Did you find your way out?” I ask when I answer.
“We sure did!” she replies. I can tell she’s on speaker because I can hear other people in the background, including Noah telling her to tell me how to get out. “Hang on, Noah,” she says to him. “Okay, I just pulled your location up on my phone. It looks like you’re really close to the exit …”
Mom tries to describe the way out to me, but with a few dead ends in our way, it takes a little longer than expected. However, Nate and I eventually make our way out. Mom and Noah are waiting for us by the exit, and Noah cheers as soon as he sees us.
“You’re finally here!” he says, jumping up and down.
“We made it,” I reply.
“But we couldn’t have done it without you,” Nate tells him, and Noah’s smile spreads even wider. “If you hadn’t found the way out first, we’d all still be stuck in there!”
I’m in awe of how nice Nate is to Noah. He’s a single guy. He doesn’t have kids, but he’s obviously fantastic at interacting with them.
“What now?” I ask Noah.
“I want to do the pumpkin launch!” he exclaims, and I’m not surprised. This is usually the highlight of visiting the pumpkin patch for him.
Nate glances at his phone, and I wonder if he’s going to bail now. I wouldn’t blame him, although I’d love it if he stayed. I’m enjoying spending time with him.
“Nate, do you wanna launch a pumpkin?” Noah asks him. “You get three small pumpkins that you get to put in a slingshot and see how far they go!”
Nate looks at him and smiles. “That sounds like a lot of fun, but my work partner, Rob, just texted, and I need to go.”
Noah’s shoulders slump. “Aw, man. That’s a bummer.”
“I know. Trust me, I’d rather find out what this pumpkin launch thing is than go do work.”
“It was very nice to meet you, Nate,” Mom says.
“And it was a pleasure to meet you,” he says with a kind smile. He turns back to Noah. “And you, as well, Noah. Have fun, okay?”
Noah nods. “Okay. You, too.”
Then he turns to me. “It was good to see you, Shawna. Can I talk to you for a second before I go?”
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Um, yeah, sure,” I say, wondering what he has up his sleeve. My body is still buzzing from the passionate kiss we shared inside the corn maze.
Mom says, “Come on, Noah. Let’s get in line for the pumpkin launch. Your mom will meet us over there in a minute.” Mom winks at me as she reaches out for Noah’s hand.
