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Panic flashes across his face as he reaches to help me sit up. “Shit. I’m so sorry. Are you okay? I should have been more carefu—”
I fix my sling. “Relax. It was an accident.”
His face pales. “On second thought, we should wait until you’re cleared by a doctor before doing anything else.” He takes a large step back.
“That’s not for another two weeks!”
“I’m not going to risk you getting hurt again.”
My heart does a betraying dive straight into enemyterritory, exposing my weakness.
Him.
I’m not sure how long this thing will last between Julian and me, but I plan on making the most of it—and him—until the time comes for me to leave.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Dahlia
It’s easy to spend the rest of the morning in our own little bubble while picking up the party supplies and driving back to Lake Wisteria. With Julian playing our favorite songs from high school while I belt out the lyrics at the top of my lungs, time flies as we drive back to town.
I’m hit with a weird feeling when Julian removes his hand from my thigh, and I mourn the loss as we drive toward the park where the Harvest Festival is being set up.
We both stick to opposite ends of the park while we help his mom with anything she needs for tomorrow’s event. Julian holds true to his promise of not touching me in public, although I do catch him staring at me a few times with a strange expression on his face.
I wake up Saturday pleasantly surprised by the way I’m buzzing with excitement rather than feeling heavy with dread.It’s a positive sign I plan on sharing with my therapist during our next session, and one I plan on taking full advantage of today as I head to the Harvest Festival for my morning shift.
Not many people are interested inbuñuelosat this time of day, so I entertain myself by watching Julian struggle his way through running thechampurradobooth.
“All good?” I ask when he curses at himself in Spanish.
He wipes his face with the back of his hand. “Perfect.”
“Hey, mister. Hurry up! I’m losing my patience here,” a ten-year-old hollers from the back of the line.
I laugh as a few others start a chant.
“Thank God I’m never having children,” he mutters under his breath.
“No?” I’m surprised I can manage the word with how tight my throat feels.
“Don’t tell me you want them after listening to these guys all morning.”
I take a huge bite out of abuñuelodespite my stomach rolling while Julian makes his way through the line of children at a snail’s pace. A few of the kids find their way over to my booth after they pay him, and I set them each up with a minibuñueloand a suggestion to dip it into the drink Julian made.
“That’s disgusting.” Julian’s nose twitches.
“You haven’t tried it.”
A kid follows my advice, and his eyes light up. “This isawesome!” He holds up his hand.
I high-five him before turning to Julian. “Told you so.”
“No one likes a know-it-all.”
“I wanna try!” The blonde girl I saw with Alana pops outfrom behind a group of kids and passes me a hundred-dollar bill.
“Umm…one second.” I open the cash register and attempt to gather enough bills together to give her change.
