Page 53 of Finding You

Frowning, she shut down the computer. “What makes you say that?”

“Because he’s got a guilty conscience and spent the better part of the last hour trying to tell me how he put his foot in his mouth.” Pulling up a chair beside her, he let out a long breath. “So? Do you want to talk about it?”

The snort was out before she could stop it. “He’s just looking out for you,” she said coolly. “Can’t fault a guy for being a good friend.”

“But…?”

“But…” She shrugged. “I thought we were cool with each other, but apparently he’d like to see me leave sooner rather than later. And…maybe he’s right,” she said miserably. Then, facing him, she braced herself for his rebuttal.

Only, it didn’t come.

Instead, Devin stood and smiled down at her. “Let’s head home and make some lunch. The traffic heading up to the festival is going to be brutal. I was lucky enough to score a parking pass for the actual resort, but there are going to be all kinds of busses and a ton of other people all heading in the same direction.” He held out a hand to her. “Ready?”

“Um…”

“The way I see it is we can sit here and talk about something we’ve already talked about, or we can go and have a great time up on the mountain. It’s completely up to you, but if I get a vote, I’m all for lunch, a shower, and beating the traffic. What do you say?”

When he put it like that, he had a point.

“I say, let’s go have some fun!!”

“So explain all of this to me one more time,” MacKenzie said as she and Devin walked across the parking lot to join the line of people entering the gates.

“Haven’t you ever been to a carnival before?” he teased. “Or a state fair?”

She laughed softly. “A few. But this just seems…different. Better.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Everyone’s been talking about it all excitedly. I think it’s the whole ski resort angle that’s throwing me.”

He chuckled with her. “Well yeah. I can see where that would be a slight deterrent. And to be honest, it’s all new to us too. I mean…years ago, before it closed down, the resort was open year-round, but I always remember it being a little run-down. We came here because there was nothing else to do. There was certainly never a carnival or a festival of any kind. They’ve been working on this place so much that we’re all wildly curious how it all turned out.”

“From what little we can see, I’m already impressed. I mean…the main building is gorgeous! And huge! I can’t believe all the rooms were sold out!”

“To be fair, when you got to town last week, it wasn’t open to the public. I think they only started doing that with reservations starting today. And from what I heard, most of it was only open to anyone who worked on the resort–the construction teams and their families, architects, investors, that sort of thing.”

“That’s actually very nice of them and a great way to say thank you.”

“I agree.”

MacKenzie hugged his arm close as they walked, barely able to hide her own excitement. There was so much to see and so many people walking around that she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do first. The Ferris wheel was huge and it had always been a favorite. There were all kinds of carnival games where you could win silly prizes. She spotted several food trucks, booths with kids lined up to get their faces painted, a few other carnival rides, and a haunted house too. They’d only been there for five minutes and she was already on sensory overload!

“Where would you like to start?” he asked.

“Um…I’m not sure. Maybe the Ferris wheel?” It seemed like a fairly straightforward and simple suggestion, but Devin hesitated.

“How about we play some games first? I bet I could win you one of those giant teddy bears.”

And he looked so sweet and sincere that she couldn’t say no. So off they went to play. Devin threw softballs, tossed coins, filled balloons with water…you name it, he did it and by the time they were done, she had a small menagerie of stuffed animals. So much so that they had to go back to his truck and drop them off.

“How about lunch?” he asked as they made their way toward the food trucks.

And as much as that Ferris wheel kept catching her eye, she let Devin play tour guide and she’d just follow his lead.

For the next several hours, they strolled around and talked to people and ate all kinds of delicious foods, but had yet to ride any rides.

“Hey, Devin! Hey, MacKenzie!” Looking up, MacKenzie saw Ashlynn and Reid walking toward them. It was obvious to her that they were incredibly in love by the way they looked at each other, and for a moment, she felt a pang of envy. She loved the way Devin looked at her, but was that love or just lust?

Then she chided herself.Love.They’d known each other for a little more than a week; of course that couldn’t be it. The man was attracted to her and that was it.

And somehow that thought was a bit depressing.

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