Chapter Twenty-Five

The words to ‘Walking on Sunshine’ by Katrina and the Waves played on a continuous loop in Reese’s head on Saturday as she walked around Rustic Creek with her parents and the Radcliffe family. Bright blue sky, zero clouds, mountain-fresh air, vibrant green trees. They couldn’t have asked for a more gorgeous day to mark the 100th Anniversary of the town. Shops flaunted celebratory balloons outside their windows. Restaurant doors were open wide. Local artists displayed their work on the sidewalks.

The parade had gone off without a hitch. Gael did not win the Apple King honor, much to jeers from the crowd and cheers from her and his brothers. And while still on the hunt for apples, Reese discovered another one sitting in plain sight on the dashboard of a classic police car parked near the town square.

She hopped up the curb toward the Square’s grassy area and games. Pixie hurried over to help with something behind the scenes and Paul walked toward the small stage to perform his mayoral duties: announcing the afternoon’s activities through a bullhorn. Her parents split away, too, to catch up with James’s grandfather, Henry.

First up: an apple balance race. It was a new addition to the festivities this year.

“I’m going to sit this one out. Catch you guys later.” Gael took off, disappearing into the crowd.

“Ladies first,” Cam said, allowing Reese to pick an apple out of the bin being passed down the line of competitors.

“Does size matter?” she asked.

“Size always matters,” Nash said from beside Cam.

Reese shook her head. She closed her eyes and reached for an apple, wishing for some good old-fashioned luck to see her to the finish line. Balancing an apple on her head while speed walking would be hard no matter what.

“Pretty sure that doesn’t apply here,” Cam said to his brother. He picked his own apple and held it up to compare with hers. “These look like winning apples to me.”

“Rad! Come stand by us,” two women called out, waving to Nash.

He didn’t even hesitate. “Looks like me and my big apple are needed elsewhere. Laters.”

Alone with Cam at last. She not-so-accidentally brushed her hand against his as they stood side by side on the white chalk start line.

He curled his pinky finger around hers, causing coils of pleasure to bloom in her belly. “No touching during the race,” he said, releasing her finger far too soon. “And no trying to knock my apple off.”

She feigned offense. “I would never.” He gave her a look. “Okay, I would, but that would probably knock my own apple off, too.”

“If an apple falls, you have to go back to the starting line.”

“Is that an official rule or are you messing with me so I’ll run back and give you the advantage?”

“You already planning on an apple turnover?”

She laughed. “I see what you did there.”

He brushed a wayward strand of hair off her face, and the simple gesture made her lightheaded. When he floated his knuckles across her cheek, she practically melted. “You have the best laugh.”

“One minute, racers,” came a familiar voice over the bullhorn, breaking the trance Cam had put her under. She blinked herself back to reality.

“Don’t try to distract me, mister.”

Cam fixed his eyes on hers. Her attempt to deflect his attention wasn’t lost on him. “We’ve already established you distract me all the time.” He turned and put his apple on his head.

She did the same. A horn sounded. She kept her upper body as still as possible, her hips moving unnaturally to increase her pace toward the finish line. The person to her right dropped their apple and ran back. In her periphery she noticed others doing the same. She heard laughter and shouts of encouragement.

Then it happened. She took her eyes off the grass in front of her for a split-second and teetered to the side. She bumped Cam, who wobbled, lost his balance, reached out to her (on instinct she was sure), and took her down with him in a tangle of arms and legs.

He braced her fall with his arm at her back. Their apples rolled away.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes.” Having you on top of me is not a bad position to be in. Not at all. “You?”

“I’m fine. Sorry about the take down. Let’s race back to the start.”

Or we could stay like this and pretend no one else is around. You could kiss me. I’d kiss you back and then put my hands on your very fine rear end.

“Absolutely,” she answered. They had plenty of time for kissing later.

He helped her to her feet, they retrieved their apples, and started over. They had more room to move now, since many of the competitors were nearing the finish line.

Cam took the lead.

She caught up.

“Almost there,” he said, cheers erupting multiple times in front of them. She caught a glimpse of Nash doing a victory dance and tossing his apple in the air.

“Achoo!” Her apple fell to the grass, the sneeze taking her by surprise. She stopped, braced herself for two more. She always sneezed in threes. She picked up the fallen apple and ran back to the start line, relieved she wasn’t the only one.

A young girl, maybe seven or eight, her blue eyes a little sad, with an apple almost as big as her head, stood on the start line. “Hi,” Reese said.

“Hi.”

“Looks like the best are last.” She smiled at the girl. “I’m Reese.”

“Gabby.” Gratitude brightened her eyes. “I’m always last.”

“Lucky me to be here with you, then. Want to swap?” Reese held out her much smaller apple.

“Do you think it will help?”

“It’s worth a try.” The girl placed the smaller apple on her head then spread her arms wide for balance.

Reese got into the same position, the tips of their fingers a few inches from touching. “Want to do this together?”

“Okay.”

They took it step by careful step. Reese kept her eyes on the finish line, where Cam waited for her with such a warm expression, the apple on her head teetered. She dropped her gaze to the grass. Concentrated. Silently cheered Gabby on.

Only a few more steps to go…

“Yes!” Gabby jumped up and down in victory. “Thank you, Reese!” She wrapped her arms around Reese’s waist.

“Thank you.” Reese hugged her back.

“Gabrielle! We’re so proud of you for not giving up,” a man said. From their resemblance, Reese assumed it was her dad. He scooped Gabby up and swung her around in congratulations. Beside him, a woman—Gabby’s mom, Reese assumed—grinned and complimented Gabby.

Cam plucked the apple out of Reese’s hand. “You make it really hard to gloat about beating you.”

“Go ahead, hotshot, I’ll win the next game we play.”

“You think so?” His gaze moved to Gabby and her parents and for a moment, he looked lost, wistful. Reese had witnessed the pain around his eyes and the longing in his downturned lips many times when he took notice of certain families. There was no logical explanation for why certain people affected him more than others, only that on occasion, he still missed his parents.

“Hey.” She cupped his cheek and turned is face to hers. “Do you want to find somewhere quiet?”

He blinked. “No, I’m okay. Just…”

“I know.” She understood. She might not remember her birth parents, but every once in a while she missed them—or the idea of them—too. “Now lead the way to our next game so I can beat the pants off you.”

That drew the desired smile she hoped for. “Promise?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

Several people said hello to them as they wove through the crowd. When she accidentally bumped someone’s shoulder, she came to an abrupt halt to apologize. “Sorry!”

The man turned, his aged face breaking into a grin when he saw her.

“Hi, Henry!”

“I was hoping I’d run into you again,” Henry said. “Not literally, of course, but this will do.” The wrinkles around his eyes deepened when he moved his pale blue irises to Cam. “Hello, Cam, get over here.”

Cam stepped into Henry’s arms for a solid pat on the back. “Hi, Henry. It’s good to see you.”

Henry’s grandfatherly adoration of Cam was on clear display. “You better stop by the house for a proper visit.”

“I will.” Admiration showed on Cam’s face, too. These two had a close relationship, and in fact, Henry still read all of Cam’s screenplays.

“How about lunch on Thursday or Friday? With the both of you.”

“I’m not sure I’ll still be here, but if I am, it’s a date.” The month was going by in the blink of an eye.

“Same,” Cam said, “but if not, I’ll stop by before I head back to L.A.”

“I’ll hold you to that. You two have fun, now.” He winked and turned to walk away.

“Come on.” Cam nodded his head to the side. “I have some slingshots to challenge you with.”

The game booth took up a good portion of the town square real estate. Different sized wooden targets with a circular hole in the middle stood at different heights, each with varying points assigned to them. The smaller the hole, the more the points. Each contestant received a slingshot and a bushel basket with six apples.

“You can go first,” Reese said. And before Cam could protest she added, “You won the last time we played, and the winner always goes first.”

He puffed out his chest as if to say, That’s right, I’m the reigning champ, then placed an apple in the slingshot and launched it at the easiest target. The apple sailed through the bullseye.

“Woot!” She gave him a high-five for making his first shot.

He catapulted another apple through the same target.

“Playing it safe, huh?” she asked, while mentally deciding on her own strategy. Of course it depended on Cam’s final score. Even so, she might be inclined to give him extra shots, mostly because his biceps bulged quite nicely under the hem of his sleeves.

And don’t even get her started on the way his tongue peeked out of his mouth to lick across his lower lip.

“Just getting warmed up,” he said, and to prove it, he shot the next apple through a smaller target.

“Bring it.”

He made his next shot, too. Missed on the fifth. Sailed number six through the target worth the most points. She had a few different ways to beat his score, but it wouldn’t be easy.

Cam put his hand on the small of her back as she got in position to take a turn. “Good luck,” he said, all sexy and deep and in combination with his touch, it discombobulated her.

She took a deep breath. Then another. “Could you step a little further to the side?”

“Sure.” His smirk told her he knew what he’d done and he’d done it on purpose.

She’d show him. She launched the first apple through the easiest target to get a feel for the slingshot.

On her second attempt, Cam tickled her and made her miss her shot!

“Hey! You can’t do that.” She spun out of his clutches. “What happened to losing your pants?”

“I couldn’t resist. You looked so serious. And we both know you don’t need to beat me to see all this.” He gestured down his body with his hand, making her laugh.

“Stop being cheesy. Now keep your hands to yourself.”

“You sure you want me to do that?”

“I’m sure. Just until I beat you, then we’ll talk hands and what we should do with them.”

She got back into position and made eye contact with the attendant. “Could I have one more apple please, to make up for that last one?”

She killed it with her next five launches, easily beating Cam’s score. “What’s that?” She cupped her hand around her ear. “Loser buys the winner cotton candy?”

“Happy to,” he said, not the least bit put out by her win.

She strolled beside him to the cotton candy vendor. “I can’t remember the last time I had this.” She pinched her fingers around a bit of the light-green treat and tugged. The sour apple flavor melted on her tongue.

“Want to sit?” Cam nodded to an open bench under a tree. This area of the park was far less crowded, the reduction in noise and activity welcome. They took a seat. He tracked her fingers from the cotton candy to her mouth, unabashedly watching her swallow as the sugar dissolved on her tongue.

“Want some?” She offered the cotton candy as she dragged another piece off of it.

He caught her wrist instead and slowly brought her hand and the piece of cotton candy between her fingers to his mouth. Electricity surged between them like a live wire. She wanted to glance down at her clothes to make sure they hadn’t caught fire, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Cam’s.

They smoldered.

They whispered want.

For her and this fantastically reckless energy between them.

The cotton candy disappeared into his mouth. He slowly swallowed. Ran his tongue over his bottom lip. She was mesmerized. Turned on.

And then he…then he licked her fingers. He slid her thumb into his mouth and sucked. Added her middle finger. Sucked.

She felt it in her core. Between her legs. Down every vertebrae in her spine.

When he released her wet fingers with a pop, she almost slid off the bench and onto the grass. “Delicious,” he said. “Want to try it my way?”

“Yes.”

He plucked some cotton candy between his thumb and index finger and offered it to her. She kept her free hand in her lap, somehow managing to hold on to the cotton candy stick with the other, and leaned forward. Arching a brow, he put the treat against her mouth. She opened for him. Took the blown sugar onto her tongue and then licked his fingers, sucking them into her mouth.

“Look at you lovebirds.”

The intrusion popped their bubble. She quickly pulled her head back, Cam’s fingers falling out of her mouth.

Nash laughed.

“Hi!” she said. “Have you tried the cotton candy? It’s really good.” Oh my God, that did not just come out of her mouth.

“So are the crab cakes on the other side of the square,” Cam said, clearly hinting he wanted his brother to keep on walking.

“I know,” Nash said. “I had one.” He looked between them, amusement fixed on his face. “So, this is happening? Do the moms know?”

She and Cam exchanged looks. She’d almost brought it up last night with her mom and Pixie. But knowing Pixie had reservations, Reese had bitten her tongue. She didn’t want to spoil this new situation with Cam despite the warning in the back of her mind reminding her of everything she had to lose.

When neither of them said anything, Nash laughed. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“We do,” Cam said.

Nash studied his brother. “Nitro, this guy thinks he’s only just started falling in love with you, but trust me. He’s been in love with you for years.”

“Don’t you have someone else to bother?” Cam asked, not denying what Nash said.

Her heart cowabunga’d in her chest. Was that true?

“I’m here if either of you need me,” Nash said, taking backward steps, a mix of joy and concern on his face before he turned and strode away.

She was afraid to ask if what Nash said was true, so she stuffed her mouth with cotton candy. After finishing every last bit of the spun sugar, and then contemplating eating the paper stick to keep her mouth busy a little longer, Cam took her hand.

“Nothing serious while we’re here, remember?”

“Right.” She jumped up. “Where to next?” Because the truth was, she was pretty sure she’d gone way beyond serious and fallen head over heels for her best friend.