Page 120 of Falling Like Leaves
I shake my head. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Coop. And if you apologize again, I’m going to throw you off your float once we get moving.”
He grins as Naomi chirps out a two-minute warning. Then his brow furrows. “Wait. Onceweget moving?”
“Well, yeah. If you’ll have me. I mean, Iamdressed for it.”
His eyes dip to my costume. “But you look ridiculous.”
“I know,” I laugh, glancing at Sloane as she slips into the front seat of the truck.
“You said you wouldn’t wear it in the parade because it’d be embarrassing,” Cooper says.
“Itisembarrassing,” I confirm. “But you’re worth it.”
A storm of unreadable thoughts and emotions thunders through his amber eyes. Then, finally, he says, “I don’t want you to chase me anymore.”
I stand there almost dazed, my heart shattering into a million pieces. But I came mentally prepared for this possible outcome. “Oh. Um, okay. I get it.” I nod, blinking fast so I don’t cry. Because even if Mom’s right and it’s okay to feel my feelings, I draw the line at crying in front of half the people in this town while wearing a ridiculous orange cookie costume. “I won’t, then. Good luck with the parade.”
The truck begins to pull away, and Sloane sticks her head out the window, calling behind her. “I’m sorry, Ellis. My mom will kill me if I hold up the parade.”
I nod as I stumble backward. Then I turn to leave. Because Cooper was right—there’s nothing left to say. There’s nothing else to do.
But a few seconds later, a hand wraps around my wrist. I whip around.Cooper.
I glance at his float inching along Oak Avenue, and my eyes widen. “The parade is leaving without you. What are you doing?”
Cooper’s lips slam into mine, and suddenly nothing else matters—not the parade, not the fact that I’m wearing this outlandish costume, not the whooping coming from the floats passing by. Time stands still. The ground beneath us shifts. My stomach swoops, and my heart melts.
When he pulls away, he rests his forehead on mine. “I meant I didn’t want you to chase me anymore because I don’t want to be running. I just want to be with you.”
“You do?” A slow, hesitant smile nudges at my lips.
“Always.”
I kiss him again, even though I can’t stop grinning.
He pulls away, and I take the apron from his hand. I loop it over his head, and he arches an eyebrow at me.
“Go catch your float, and wear it,” I tell him. “It’s great for advertising. Plus, you’ll look more professional handing out your cookies in it, considering you showed up in sweatpants.”
“In my defense, I wasn’t expecting someone to hijack my costume.”
I shrug. “Sort of glad I did now. You look hot in sweatpants.”
He flashes me a dimpled grin and pulls me in for one more kiss before turning around and kneeling in front of me.
“What are you doing?”
“We’ve got a float to catch and cookies to hand out,” he says. “Hop on.”
I laugh and climb onto his back. Doing his best not to ruin the costume, Cooper holds on to my legs and jogs us back to his truck.
An hour later, the parade is over and we’re at the town square, now free of our costumes.
“Ready to check out this festival?” Cooper asks, coming up behind me and sliding his arm around my waist.
While I was working tirelessly to make Cooper’s apron last night, dozens of volunteers turned this place into an autumn utopia. There are pumpkins everywhere, a petting zoo is now set up next to the leaf-garland-covered gazebo, and a DJ sits just on the edge of the lawn taking requests. There are vendors everywhere selling Falling Leaves Festival sweatshirts, scarves, and socks, apple cider, coffee, and pies. Games and activities, including apple bobbing and face painting, are set up on the lawn and lining the sidewalks.
It’s beautiful. But the best part is the people. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over how much I’ve come to love this little community.
