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He throws his head back and laughs. It’s the best kind of laugh—rough with a hint of a wheeze. As if he can’t take in enough oxygen to support such a rare event. I let the sound wash over me, and all I can think about is how I can get him to do that again.
His eyes open and he startles. “What?”
“Who are you, and what did you do with the real Rowan?”
His brows pull together. “What are you talking about?”
I fumble for my phone. “Could you do that thing again?”
“Laugh?”
“Yes. I need to catch it on camera this time.”
He loses the battle with hiding his smile. “What for?”
“Because this is history in the making.”
“You’re ridiculous.” He flips the pumpkin upside down.
“Ridiculously amazing,” I finish for him.
His smile evaporates like it never existed.
Was it something I said?
Maybe he’s sensitive about people complimenting themselves.
I peer over at his completely symmetrical circle. “What are you doing?”
He grabs the knife and hacks away at thebottomof the pumpkin. “Don’t ask stupid questions.”
“Hey! What happened to ‘There’s no such thing as stupid questions’?”
“Want to guess who came up with that phrase?” he replies dryly.
I flip him off behind my back.
His smile reappears and I count it as a small victory.
“I’ll rephrase my question. Why are you choosing to carve the lid from the bottom?”
He slices away at the last bit of pumpkin before putting the knife down. “Because the experts say so.”
“Experts?”
“Yes. The articles I reviewed all stated that cutting a hole at the bottom prevents the pumpkin from caving in on itself.”
“Well, wow. I didn’t know that.” What kind of person researches how to carve pumpkins?
RowanDon’t-Know-What-the-G-Stands-For-YetKane, that’s who.The man is quite thorough in everything he does.
“Your sister sent me a picture of you with your honorable mention-worthy pumpkin. I thought I was doing a disservice to everyone if I didn’t come prepared.”
“How did you know we would be partnered up together?”
His brows pull together. “She told me before.”
“And you decided to come anyway?” I hold on to the counter to keep me steady.
