Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 153(@200wpm)___ 122(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 153(@200wpm)___ 122(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
The conversation flows well the whole time. Does he notice how we never run out of things to talk about? While I’m a people person, I still don’t think I’ve ever found anyone I can talk to as easily as I can with Briar.
“Here’s your dessert.” Ms. Hattie herself sets a piece of pie in front of each of us. Both she and Briar watch me, seeming excited to see my reaction to it.
“The pressure is on,” I joke.
“You’ll love it.” Briar’s foot taps mine. “If you don’t, then you have the absolute worst taste.”
I chuckle. “But I like you.”
“Good point. I guess just in pie, then.”
I cut into the flakey crust, blueberry spilling out. The sweet scent fills my nostrils, and damn, does it smell good. The second it hits my tongue, I moan. “Holy shit.”
“I told you. Incredible, right?”
“The best I’ve ever had,” I say, and it’s the truth.
“That’s what I like to hear!” Ms. Hattie beams, then leaves us to it. I literally devour my pie, and Briar doesn’t hesitate to tease me about it. It’s gone before he can eat half of his.
“Want to finish mine?” He tries to scoot his plate over to me.
“No. You enjoy it. You’ll just have to make sure to bring me back here before we go home.”
Briar grins. “It’s a date.”
A date. I hope so. A real one.
I insist on paying, and though it takes a little begging, he lets me. We finish exploring the town, and I love that Briar doesn’t rush me, even though none of this is new for him. Afterward, we make our way back to the farm to help his dad for a couple of hours, then to the house for dinner.
“We can ride together to the tree lighting,” Donna says. I look over at Briar, who’s looking at me as if to say it’s up to me.
When I give him a small nod, he says, “Sure, Mom. That’d be great.”
Before I know it, we’re back downtown, Jeffrey driving and looking around for a parking spot. It’s even busier than it was earlier, and I have a feeling the whole town is out here for the tree lighting.
“Wow, great turnout.”
“It’s the event of the season,” Donna says. “Did Briar tell you he volunteered to help with the tree lighting when he was in high school? It was him and Mark. There was a little snafu that year, and the tree went up in flames.”
“Gee, thanks for making me look good in front of my boyfriend, Ma,” he jokes.
“Was it your fault?” I ask.
“No, it wasn’t,” Jeffrey replies instead. “Briar takes the blame for things he shouldn’t. Some might say he gets it from me.”
I look over at Briar. “I can see that about him. People who care about others often do that. They just want everything to be perfect.”
Briar cocks his head slightly, one of those moments where it’s like he’s not sure what I’m thinking or surprised at what he hears.
“You know my son well…and you appreciate him. That means a lot to me,” Donna tells me. “You’re a good match for my Briar. He deserves someone who really sees him.”
The thing is, I do. Even before I knew him as well as I do now, I think I saw him.
“The two of you are going to make me blush,” Briar jokes, but I can tell he’s unsure how to react.
“You’re cute when you do,” falls out of my mouth, without any thought from my brain. I wish I could suck the words back. That’s not the kind of flirting we’ve had in this little charade of ours.
Briar opens his mouth, but before he has the chance to say anything, his dad shouts, “Found one!” and pulls into a parking spot, killing the conversation.
The four of us climb out of the car, and Jeffrey immediately takes Donna’s hand. I wonder if I should do the same with Briar, but I don’t want to overstep.
Main Street is lit up with multicolored lights and packed with people. Toward the end of the road there’s a huge tree in the space they’d been working on earlier in the day, glimmering shop windows looking like they’re spotlighting it from behind.
It’s tough to find a comfortable spot in the crowd, but we do our best. The mayor talks for a little while, and then a group of young kids comes out on a makeshift stage and sings. The second the tree lights up, oohs and aahs fills the air around us.
Briar’s warm arm presses against mine, and I lean into it, hoping the pressure of my touch tells him how much I really want to be here, how much I like him, how perfect this feels.
I feel like a child looking at the tree, the joy and wonderment you feel when you’re young, only now, I’m getting it here, in this moment, with this man I desperately want to be mine.