“I love you,” she whispered, tucking her face into the crook of his neck until their hearts slowed and her stomach started to rumble. “Do you think we squashed all the picnic food?”
Luke laughed and she felt it in her chest. “God, I hope not. After that? I’m starved.” The last word was a growl and when he twitched inside of her, she knew he didn’t mean for food, and laughed as he rolled them over.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The culmination of the Spring Flower Festival happened on Sunday. Final votes had to be cast by five p.m., and to encourage the town residents to come out and vote for their favorite display, the council had made a whole day of it. Food trucks were assembled in the town square near the green, craft tables had been set up for kids and adults alike, and the stage at the end of Main Street hosted a stream of different local musicians.
April had had the most enjoyable morning she’d had in a long time, running her make-your-own-bouquet workshops, with Emma and her mom helping. The turnout for the last day of the festival had been great, with people coming from several towns over, and April had given away almost all of her business cards by lunchtime.
“OK, everyone smile!” Emma called, taking a quick picture of the group assembled around the table, holding up their small bouquets. “Perfect! Thank you, guys!”
“Oh, there’s Angie,” Kathy said, catching sight ofsomeone over April’s shoulder. “Honey, do you mind if I go …”
Her mom trailed off, and April thought it felt like the strangest role reversal—her mom asking to go and hang out with friends.
“Yes, Mom, of course! Go enjoy yourself; I’ll catch you later,” April said gently, smiling to herself as her mom rushed off to join the small group of women smiling at her outside of Coffee Affair.
Emma was beaming as she showed April the picture, and a huge smile broke across April’s face as she took in the scene: all of the happy faces with her gorgeous pink storefront behind them. The store looked so different from when she’d first arrived back in Magnolia Springs, but still so familiar. The thing that made her smile the most, though, was seeing how differentshelooked. She was wearing a pale-green gingham dress with a little white cardigan over the top, her blonde hair hanging around her rosy cheeks in loose waves, her eyes sparkling. She looked happy.Loved.
“Don’t go getting all teary-eyed again,” Emma warned jokingly as she tucked her phone away. “C’mon, let’s get the table inside. It looks like it might rain if we’re not careful.”
They picked up an end each and slowly maneuvered the table inside, careful not to knock it against any of the painted wood. They placed it back on the thrifted rug and April brushed her hands off before picking up the remaining flowers, bits of paper, and string, andclearing them away. As she turned back to set up the display table again, the bell jingled and Luke, Noah, and Izzy walked in, laughing.
“Hey, you guys,” Noah beamed, talking fast as he came around the table to give April a hug. “Isn’t this the best? Man, I love town events. Everyone always gets so into it, you know? There’s, like, thisenergy—it’s so wholesome.”
Noah seemed almost giddy with happiness, and April raised her eyebrows in question at Luke and Izzy.
“Noah’s had, like, four slushies, I think,” Izzy said, stifling a giggle. “He’s got a bit of a sugar rush.”
“Jesus, Noah, what are you—five?” said April disapprovingly. “And to think of all the shit you gave me the first time I got drunk, going around telling everyone I couldn’t hold my liquor.”
“Well, you couldn’t, Bug,” said Noah cheekily, ruffling her hair before running away to shelter behind Luke and Izzy, quailing under April’s hard stare.
“OK, you two, play nice,” said Luke, coming around the table to give April a quick kiss.
“You sound like our mom,” said Noah and the whole group burst into laughter.
Fifteen minutes later, the store was back to normal, and the group had dispersed—Emma had gone to take some more pictures, and Izzy had rushed off to deal with some festival-related emergency. Noah had slipped out a minute after her, mumbling excuses.
“Come on,” Luke said, sliding his hand into April’sand tugging her gently out the door. “Why don’t you close up early today, enjoy the rest of the afternoon without having to work?”
April hummed in agreement, flipping the sign toClosedand locking the doors behind her. The two of them headed toward the pop-up photo stand and posed through the face-holes while they had their picture taken.
“I’ve clearly missed my calling,” Luke remarked as he zoomed in on the screen and their smiling faces. “I make a very dashing sunflower.”
She laughed. “I’ve heard that some of the food trucks have put up spring-themed displays. Want to go check them out?”
“Jones, if you wanted me to buy you lunch, you could have just said.” He grinned at her and she didn’t fight her smile as they followed the path through the magnolia trees toward the trucks. Several had lines of people waiting, but the one for interesting flavors of frozen yogurt and sorbet was the shortest, so April dragged Luke there.
They ordered a cone each and April eyed her own with cautious optimism. Itlookedfantastic but she almost felt bad for destroying the work of art by licking it. It had been perfectly swirled, a myriad of colors that each represented a different flavor, and a fruity sauce had been drizzled over the top with edible flowers sprinkled across it.
“Smile,” Luke said, and she posed with the cone before taking her first taste.
It. Was. Incredible.
She’d opted for a mango-and-passion-fruit sauce atop a lime, strawberry, and dragon fruit sorbet. The result was refreshing and tangy and sweet all at once.
Luke had gone for a magnolia-blossom sorbet that was a pretty pink color which matched the trees perfectly. Seeing as it was also dairy-free, she had a quick taste. While it was nice, hers was better.