Page 18 of Not Just Gal Pals

At this rate, I was concerned Donna would lose interest in her perch and hop down before I’d had a chance to capture this moment for posterity.

“Jenny! Stop worrying about Donna’s bathroom habits and focus on the photos. The faster we get them, the faster Donna will be off you.” Although, Donna was still looking extremely comfortable resting on Jenny’s golden waves.

Jenny’s chest rose as she took in a deep breath, then she resumed her pose and smile.

I began snapping photos from all angles, doing my best over-the-top-professional-photographer impression to entertain the twins, who’d finished chanting about poop. I knew from past experience that if they weren’t engaged, they were likely to cause mischief. “Perfect!” I crouched down low. “Oh yeah, that’s good. Give it to me, Donna!”

Jenny started giggling. I shot her a mock stern look. “Jenny, you have to stop laughing. Not only is it ruining the photos, but you’re going to make Donna nervous with all that shaking. And you know what happens when you get nervous? You need to pee.”

Jenny’s eyes widened, and I tried not to laugh.

“I’m sure you’ve got some good photos now. Do you mind getting Donna down now?” Jenny looked at the farm employee pleadingly.

She nodded, gently disentangling Donna from Jenny’s head and placing her on the ground. Donna hopped over to Jenny and gave her an affectionate nudge before bouncing off toward a group of small children eager to shower her with attention.

“Aw, I think you made a new friend,” I said, grinning at Jenny.

Jenny stood up, dusting the dirt off her jeans, and walked over to me, shaking her head. “I hope some of those photos worked out, and my humiliation wasn’t in vain.”

I handed Jenny her phone, and she swiped through the photos as I peered over her shoulder. Thank god I brushed my teeth this morning.

Some of them were absolutely ridiculous—Jenny’s face red and lips pressed together as she tried not to laugh while Donna rested nonchalantly on her head, her ears flopping—but there were also some really cute photos I thought her followers would love.

“Are they okay?” I asked.

“They’re great. Thank you.” She smiled at me, sending my heart soaring. I may have gotten over my nerves, but all my other feelings for Jenny were definitely still there. “Okay, should we go check out that corn maze?”

When we reached the entrance to the maze, Jenny paused. “Do you mind taking a quick photo of me again with the corn? Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Remember, that was part of our deal. You help me with these two, and I take some photos. Now, get on with it!”

Jenny pulled on a brown plaid jacket and stood in front of the corn, trying to look coolly sophisticated while the twins danced around Walter, just out of the shot, singing a very out-of-tune song about Donna the rabbit and her poops.

Satisfied with the photos, I handed Jenny her phone back. “Here you go. Let me know if you’re not happy with them, and I’ll take some more. I think you look great, despite the difficult working conditions.” Heat crept into my face as the unintentional compliment slipped out of my mouth. Our eyes locked for a moment, and my breath hitched in my throat.

The twins ran up to us and started tugging on my shirt. “Can we go in now, Auntie Blake?”

“I’m sure the photos are fine, thanks,” Jenny said, pocketing the phone and calling for Walter, who trundled over, his leash dragging behind him. “Now, let’s go explore this maze.”

“Can you hold my hand so I don’t get lost, Jenny?” Liam held out a small hand to Jenny, melting my heart. How fucking adorable.

“Of course.” Jenny smiled down at him, taking his hand in hers.

We began walking through the maze, the corn towering on either side of us. Liam almost immediately dropped Jenny’s hand and sprinted ahead, Ava following.

“Liam, Ava! Come back here. We need to stay together.” My words seemed to spur them on to run faster. “Damn it,” I muttered. “Sorry, I’d better go get them.”

“Don’t apologize. This was part of our deal, remember?” Jenny shot me a smile as we started to jog after them, sending my heart fluttering. Ava and Liam suddenly turned and ran out of our sight.

“Shit!” I exclaimed, and we picked up our pace. We reached the spot where Ava and Liam had turned and followed in their footsteps, but we couldn’t see them. There was a fork in the path up ahead. “Ava! Liam!”

We could hear them faintly but couldn’t tell which way they’d gone.

“Should we split up?” Jenny panted, eyes wide with concern.

I nodded, and we ran in opposite directions.

CHAPTER TEN