on their seat, making sure it was closed tightly for the ride.
“I can’t wait,” Rex said, his eyes glittering with excitement.
The giant wheel began to turn slowly, their seat lifting and swaying back and forth with their movement. The chatter of the crowds faded as they made their way into the air, and then it was as if they were floating, looking down on the rows of Christmas trees at Pinewood Farm, the snow blanketing the tops of the hills, the thin gray roads that snaked through the small town, the flashing lights of the game booths below—it was the most gorgeous sight Lila had ever seen.
Taking it all in with Rex and Theo by her side made Lila realize how empty her life had been. She wished she had a family of her own to share moments like this with, but if she didn’t, this might be the next best thing. Rex was adorable and such an easy child to love, and Lila couldn’t believe how Theo had opened up tonight. It felt like some sort of Christmas miracle. And when she didn’t think things could get any better, through the shoulder of her coat, she could feel Theo’s fingers stroking her affectionately, making her look over at him. When she did, all her thoughts faded away at the vulnerability in his face. It was almost as if he was silently questioning her with something, but she couldn’t read it. She smiled instead, and he turned back toward the view below. Something was definitely happening, and it was making her reconsider everything she’d ever thought about him.
It was late when they’d dropped Rex back home at the farmhouse, armed with a fistful of cotton candy and a teddy bear he’d won at the ring toss. Not wanting to impose, Lila and Theo had stayed on the porch. Trudy had thanked them for taking care of Rex and invited them to come by soon.
And now Lila and Theo were standing at the door to her cabin, his face barely visible in the darkness below the pines. “I had a great time tonight,” she told him.
He nodded, that contemplative expression she’d seen on the Ferris wheel coming back with a vengeance. “It was a good… date,” he said, the corners of his mouth twitching upward.
“Wait—date?” she said, taking the bait, unable to hide her ridiculous grin. “Did you just say we went on a date?”
She reached out to take his arms and playfully shake him, but suddenly lost her ability to speak when he swept her up into an embrace, looking down at her with an intensity in his eyes that she’d never seen before. He leaned in, his lips so close to hers that she could feel the warmth of his breath.
“Yes,” he whispered before his lips brushed hers. Then he kissed her, his mouth moving on hers like she’d never experienced before. There was something magical about the two of them together, as if she’d been waiting her whole life to find the puzzle piece that fit exactly right. He gripped her passionately, their movements perfect complements to one another, his breath mixing with hers, sweeping her into this unbelievable moment. As his lips roamed around her own, a swarm of butterflies seemed to take over her insides, fluttering all the way into her mind, making her lightheaded. No one else had ever come close to this.
Theo pulled back, looking stunned before regaining his composure. “I, uh…” Confusion slid across his face as he shook his head. He looked back at her as if he were just now really seeing her for the first time. “I don’t know what came over me,” he said.
“You don’t have to apologize,” Lila told him. “I didn’t mind.” She smiled, her heart still all aflutter.
“It’s late. I should go,” he replied, but the look in his eyes told her something different.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” she said.
Still clearly processing what had just happened, he took in a long steadying breath and then found her hand, winding his fingers through hers. He lifted it up and kissed the back of it, then let go. “In the morning when you come to work, if I’m not downstairs yet, I keep the spare key to the shop on a nail under the Coffee sign. Just let yourself in and make some coffee if you want to. Then come up and get me.”
“Okay,” she said.
He gave her a loving grin. “See ya.”
“Bye.”
Lila slipped her key in