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I turned back to face Gareth with a question in my eye. “I’m sorry?”
“I said he was right. You are pretty.”
My cheeks heated at his praise. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“Do you like kids?”
“I do. They’re so fun and inquisitive. What about you?” I wasn’t sure why, but this felt like an important conversation we were having. Especially after Gareth reached across the table to hold my hand. He rubbed his thumb across my knuckles.
“I never thought I’d like them, but the more I think about them, the more I’d really like to have a couple.”
There was an undercurrent to his words I wasn’t sure if I was reading into correctly.
Impossible. We barely knew each other.
You’ve never had this connection with anyone else before.
Gareth broke the spell. “Want to go pet a baby donkey?”
I blinked away my confusion at the change in topic. “Um, yeah, sure.”
We rose from the table and headed across the field to one of the animal pens. I squatted at the fence line.
“Oh, my gosh, he’s adorable.” I reached through the chicken fence and rubbed the bridge of the miniature donkey’s nose. His fur was coarse and prickly against my fingers. He brayed loudly, causing me to startle. I laughed at myself. Gareth squatted next to me and reached out to pet him as well.
We walked around, and I got to pet an alpaca, a baby goat, a pig, a horse, even the farm’s shaggy black-and-white dog. I steered clear of the llama. He looked like an asshole anyway. This whole night was absolutely magical. Gareth led me over to the sink so we could wash our hands.
“Are you ready for that hayride?”
I nodded eagerly. This was absolutely the best date I’d ever been on. “Bring it on.”
Gareth took my hand again, and we strolled across the brownish green grassy lawn and over to where the tractor and platform were parked. Several couples had already found their seats. He jumped up first and then turned to me, holding out his hand. I gathered my dress up to my knees, and he helped me up onto the platform with haystacks of varying heights piled around the perimeter. He picked a spot for us and took a seat, pulling me down next to him. I glanced over at him in excitement.
“Thank you for an incredible evening.”
He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me tight against him.
“The night’s not over yet.” He pressed a kiss against my temple.
I cuddled closer, the promise in his words sending heat straight through me. I couldn’t wait.
Chapter 6
Gareth
Livvie shivered in my arms.
“You okay?” Crap, she was probably getting cold.
“I’m fine, thank you. Just a chill. It’s gone now.”
I pulled her tighter against me to try and ward off another chill, and not just because I wanted her closer to me. I was enjoying the crisp fall air. The hayride took us out through the fields, where the sky was open and vast with no trees to hide the view. The stars were bright, and the moon lit up the night. It was peaceful.
I’d beenso nervous the whole night. For three days I’d wracked my brain trying to come up with the perfect first date. Dinner and a movie was so over done. I wanted to take her somewhere different and unique. A place she would remember as being special. Besides, we couldn’t talk in the movie, and I wanted to know everything about her.
This connection I felt with her was crazy. I mean, we’d talked about kids at dinner. I was twenty-three years old, just starting my career. She was eighteen, a freshman. No way was I ready for all that entailed. This was only our first date.
“You’ve gone quiet. Is everything okay?”
