Page 51 of The Great Maple Mistake

“I wouldn’t.”

“I’m sorry, what?” I swear I’ve misheard him. “Why not?”

He strokes my cheek and leans down, placing a soft kiss on my lips. “Because the entire maple mistake is what brought us together. And I wouldn’t change that for the world.”

Sighing, I pull him into a kiss, smiling sappily against his lips, never more grateful for the nosy, meddling, well-intentioned, goofy, wonderful neighbors of Maplewood.

Maplewood Matters

September 2

Greetings Maplewood neighbors,

Well, wasn’t this past weekend’s Great Maple Cook-off full of surprises?

In addition to finding out who in our community of amateur cooks and bakers is a secret Mary Berry or Paul Hollywood—IYKYK—many of us also learned that perhaps we didn’t know our newest resident as well as we thought.

Much to everyone’s surprise, it was revealed that a certain firefighter’s allergy to maple, mentioned in previous blogs, was, in fact, a mistake. While Maplewood Matters does its best to report on the latest happenings around our quiet town, we do sometimes report things that eventually are revealed to be flawed in some way. When that happens, we quickly alert you, dear neighbors, so you have the most up-to-date information.

While it seems that our kitten-saving firefighter is not allergic to maple, we have uncovered an equally shocking bit of truth. This heroic public servant DOESN’T LIKE THE TASTE OF MAPLE! In fact, he dislikes it so much it makes him “gag”!

This just proves that, no matter how kind and caring someone might be, there’s no accounting for taste.

Epilogue

Cody

Four months later

“Where are we going?”

The mostly excited and only slightly petulant tone to Alex’s question is adorable. Pretty much like everything about him. “It’s a surprise.” I pull on my gloves and bundle Alex outside to the already idling SUV. I can’t have my baby get into a cold car. “C’mon. It’s something you’ll like. Trust me.”

He harrumphs. “Fine. I guess I shouldn’t complain. You just made me an incredible dinner. Which I very much appreciate.” He tugs on my hand, pulling me in for a quick kiss that I gladly return. “Thank you, again.”

“You’re very welcome, love.” Aunt Viv has been teaching me how to cook, and I’ve been trying my new skills on the guys at the firehouse and on Alex. “I never really had a need to learn before, but now that I have someone else who will eat the results, it doesn’t feel like a waste of time.” I open the passenger door for him, then jog around to the driver’s side and climb in.

“Well, if you’re willing to cook, I’m willing to eat. It’s the least I can do.”

He holds my gaze, eyes wide in the way he does when he’s serious but still teasing. I call it his anime look. Grinning, I roll my eyes. “Deal.”

I back out of Aunt Viv’s driveway, heading out of town. Alex notices far too quickly for my liking. “Where are we going?”

“I told you, it’s a surprise. You’ll figure it out soon enough. Just be patient.” He sighs dramatically. “Relax and watch the beautiful light displays on the houses. This is supposed to be a romantic evening with your boyfriend.”

That makes him smile. “Fine. Thisisan awfully romantic evening. And I’m happy to see you. I missed you while you were on shift.”

I raise his gloved hand to my lips and kiss the cloth-covered knuckles. “I missed you too.”

We drive for about fifteen minutes and it’s not until I turn onto Lake Road that Alex finally realizes where we’re going. And then his excitement is back. He turns to me, mouth open. “Really? We’re going ice skating on the lake?”

He practically vibrates with happiness, and I relax. I thought he’d love this, but I wanted tonight to be special for him, so I’ve been a bit nervous. “You said you loved doing this.”

“Wait!” His face clouds over. “I don’t have my skates!”

I jerk my thumb behind us. “In the back seat. I’m surprised you didn’t notice them when we got in the car.”

He twists around in his seat to check, like I’d make that up. “Hey, you have hockey skates too!”

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