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“Shut up and kiss me.” She lifted on her toes and tossed her arms around my neck. I bent down, laughing, but then her lips found mine, and my laughter got lost to the raging desire consuming me.
I drew back and kissed her cheek, her nose, and her forehead.
“You never answered me.”
“Huh?” she said, her lids heavy with lust.
“Would you still love me?”
“Nero Francis Grasso, I have loved you most of my life, and I have no intention of ever stopping, even if you are old and decrepit.”
“Decrepit? I’ll never be decrepit.”
“We’ll see. Now stop talking.” She yanked on my neck.
“I want you, but I don’t want you to overexert yourself either.”
“Then I guess you’ll be doing all the work.” She yanked me back to her, and I kissed her, letting every emotion pour out of me and into the kiss.
“I think I can manage that. On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“The shoes stay on.”
“Deal.”
Orange pumpkins dotted the open field, nestled amongst big green leaves and beneath blue skies. The entire town was in the field of Albert’s farm, waiting for him to unveil his scarecrow display. Nerves prickled along my neck and down my back. I stared at the tarp, hiding my work, anticipating what everyone’s reaction would be.
Lainey’s hand slipped into mine, intertwining our fingers together. A calmness flooded through me, easing the tension in my shoulders, anchoring me. I glanced around. My entire family was here, even Phoebe and Laurent. They weren’t leaving for their honeymoon for another week. Then they would be setting off for two weeks in Lake Como.
Odette stood up front, wearing another one of her matching sets, this one brown with multicolored fall leaves embroidered on the top and bottom of the pant legs. Kenneth, Michael, Simon, and Steve stood beside her. Craig, Donna, and Chris stood to their left. It was still early. The tasting room wasn’t open yet and wouldn’t be for a couple of hours.
Brady was here, too, along with Ray and Teddy. Ron didn’t show. I didn’t expect him to. He never came to town events. Just as well. I don’t think Brady would have stuck around if he had.
Everyone else was here, and I held tighter to Lainey’s hand, needing her to keep me from saying fuck this, and taking off.
“You get any stiffer, and people are going to think you’re a corpse and part of the display.”
“That’s not a bad idea. I’ll be able to see everyone's reaction, and they’ll think I’m a dead mannequin.”
“You’re too pretty to pull that off.”
“Are you mocking me?”
Her lips curved into a mischievous grin. “I would never do such a thing.”
I didn’t know how Lainey handled the pressure, putting herself out there time and time again. Never showing an ounce of doubt in her designs and always being confident in everything she created. She had every right to be confident; she was a master in her field, but even the best of the best surely had doubts.
“How do you do it?” I asked.
“Do what?”
“Put your cakes on display. How do you know they’re good enough?”
“You have to believe in your craft. Know you put your heart and soul into it. The first time, though. I nearly pissed myself.”
I gulped. “I do feel like I might piss myself.”
