Page 84 of Even Beneath the Stars

I feel Xavier move closer, his arm brushing mine, then meet his eyes. They're dancing with humor.

"Yuuuup." His grin stretches wider. "It's of one of our town's most significant historical events."

"What?" I peer more closely at the diorama. I recognize some of the buildings in the historic town center… The Beacon Theater, the old post office, the bank, the boardwalk, Halicina Cove and Marram Lighthouse… everything re-created with meticulous detail. But the focal point is a huge gathering of miniature townsfolk clustered at the edge of a lake by a small log cabin, where a bearded man is being pushed off into the water, sitting in a massive hollowed out pumpkin.

"The Giant Pumpkin Voyage of nineteen-forty-eight." Xavier beams. "Some local farmer turned a record-breaking huge-ass pumpkin into a boat and successfully sailed it across Moon Lake."

"For real?" For a second, I think he's messing with me, but the glint in his hazel eyes is pure amusement, not deception.

A slow grin spreads across my face as I turn back to the diorama, absorbing the absurdity of it. There's something so perfectly ridiculous and wonderful about a person looking at a massive pumpkin and deciding,Yep, that’s my vessel.

"Crazy, right?" Xavier steps closer. He's right behind me now.

Then I feel his hands settle on my hips; his warm breath brush across my cheek as he leans in and rests his chin on my shoulder. "It got a bunch of national attention. It was a huge deal for a while. Some kind of quirky triumph, I guess."

"Wow." I trace my fingers along the glass of the display case, the weight of Xavier’s presence behind me suddenly just as noticeable as the story itself.

The idea of a town rallying around a floating pumpkin as a symbol of triumph is bizarre but also kind of beautiful. The thought thathebrought me here—because he thought I’d appreciate it—sends warmth curling in my chest.

"Cool, huh?" His voice is soft, even though his mouth is right next to my ear.

And suddenly I'm finding it really hard to breathe normally. My stomach is going all kinds of tingly, because having his lips this close to mine is wreaking havoc on my composure.

"Socool… I love it."

Not sure if I'm talking about the diorama or his closeness to me right now.

"Kinda figured you'd like it."

I lean back to look up at him. Which is a mistake, since it just brings my lips even closer to his.

Quickly, I turn and look straight ahead again. "It's really impressive."

There's a beat of silence, and then he says, "I never thought about it before—how much skill and creativity and time would go into making a diorama, until I saw you doing it. But yeah…" He leans in closer to study the display, his chin tickling my shoulder a little when he shifts. "It is impressive."

I nod. "Most original first date ever."

He lifts his chin, pulling back, but squeezing my hips gently with his large hands. "This is just the first part of the date."

I swivel to look up at him. "There's more?"

"Yeah. I mean—no more dioramas." He shrugs. "That's it for miniature dioramas in Sandy Haven. But there's more to the date."

"Wow." I glance up at him, my heart giving another one of those stupid little skips, becauseof coursethere’s more. Of course he didn’t just stop at bringing me to a place he somehow knew would make me geek out in the best way. And the way he says it—like he’s actually excited to see my reaction to whatever’s next—makes my stomach dip in a way that has nothing to do with nerves and everything to do with him.

And then I remember—Finn.He'll be back from swimming lessons in an hour.

When I remind Xavier of this, he informs me that everything's already arranged for Candice to watch Finn until her shift ends after dinner. And I'm equal parts touched and mortified.

"You asked Candice to fill in for me?" And then I add, "You told her we're going on a date?"

"I didn't exactly tell Candice we're going on a date. I just told her we were going to hang out," Xavier says, his hands still resting on my hips. "She's been wanting to do some baking with Finn—it's their thing. They usually do it every couple weeks."

I bite my lip. "Okay. But…"

"She was excited about it." He drops his hands, turning to face me. "And Denise was part of the conversation too."

"Denise knows?" My voice rises an octave.

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