car and walk inside, and Gemma immediately lights up when Everleigh rushes and nearly tackles her to the ground. “I’ve missed you so much!”
“The shop is amazing! You added way more stuff and have completely transformed it into Halloween central.” Gemma studies the outlandish decorations with wide eyes. Everleigh might’ve gone overboard, but neither of us admit it.
“Every customer has loved it.” My sister snickers and goes to a giant cauldron with smoke billowing from inside. A moment later, she dramatically grabs a bag of candy from it as if she magically made it appear, then hands it to Gemma.
“You two have fun,” Everleigh squeals and whispers something in Gemma’s ear. When she pushes away, a blush hits Gemma’s cheeks, and I can only imagine what was said.
“We’re leaving now,” I sing-song, grabbing Gemma’s hand and interlocking my fingers with hers.
“Aww,” Everleigh says loudly, and I keep moving forward. When we’re outside, the crisp fall breeze hits my cheeks, and when I glance over at Gemma, she’s smiling wide as she opens the bag. “I love candy corn.”
“The whole town is going to have a sugar rush, compliments of Everleigh,” I throw out.
Gemma walks toward the car, and I shake my head.
“Don’t we have somewhere to be?” she asks, confused.
“Yep, we do,” I say and squeezing her hand. When we round the corner, she finally realizes what I planned.
“The Harvest Festival? I haven’t been since I was a teenager,” she beams with a hop to her step and a grin so wide it’s contagious.
After four blocks, we’re in the middle of the town square. Everywhere I look has some sort of activity going on or kids running around in costume. I wrap my arm around Gemma as we stroll the street full of vendors and booths.
“Ma’am, wanna get your face painted?” a young girl asks her. There’s a poster board full of different designs. Gemma grins and looks back at me, almost as if she’s waiting for my approval. It almost breaks my heart because I’m sure Robert didn’t like things like this.
“If you want,” I encourage. “It’ll be fun.”
A moment later, she sits on the stool as the girl moves Gemma’s long brown hair away from her face.
“What kind of design?” she asks, pointing at the choices.
Gemma taps her index finger on her mouth then smiles. “What about a cat?”
The girl’s face lights up. “Sure!”
Grabbing her supplies, she dips her brush in the black paint. Carefully, she paints whiskers on Gemma’s cheeks, then a pink upside-down triangle on her nose. When the girl is done, she grabs a mirror and shows Gemma.
“You’re the prettiest cat here!” she compliments, and Gemma laughs.
“How much do I owe you?” Gemma unzips her crossbody purse, but I’ve already got my wallet open and cash ready.
“Six dollars,” the girl says.
I hand her a twenty and tell her to keep the change. She holds it, and her eyes go wide. “Really?”
“Yeah! Consider it a tip for being an amazing painter.” I grin.
“Thank you so much.” She’s so excited that she nearly squeals.
When we leave, Gemma loops her arm in mine. “That was really sweet of you.”
I glance over at her and how adorable she looks with whiskers. “She did a good job, and I think she’s right. You are the prettiest cat here.”
“Maybe I can have her to teach me how to paint.” Gemma snickers, then leans into me.
We continue viewing the different fall themed items—plastic pumpkins, wreaths, candles, pretty much everything a person could imagine. At the end of the block, a photo booth is set up, and it seems to be a popular area because the line is long.
“We should check this out,” I suggest, and she nods.
“Yes! We totally should, so we have photos to remember our first date.” She winks. Right now, in the middle of the street, all I want to do is kiss her, not caring who sees, but I don’t.
“First of many,” I admit. She tucks her bottom lip into her mouth, and I’m tempted to pluck it free. After we wait in line for ten minutes, it’s our turn to walk inside. After I pay, she gestures to the props if we want to use them. Gemma places a wizard's hat on my head and hands me a wand as she grabs a sign that reads “All Tricks” and a crown. The photographer moves us in front of a backdrop of a haunted mansion.