Page 45 of Taming the CEO

I instantly smiled as I saved the number into my contacts list.

Cami: I’m glad. I have lots more.

Maddox: Just gives me another reason to stop by your house again.

I wiggled my toes, deciding to play along.

Cami: Anytime.

Maddox: You need anything else fixed?

Cami: I can find something if you insist.

Maddox: Or I can just come to see you.

And kiss me some more.

Oh, I was so damn tempted to write that back. But I didn’t.

Cami: Good night, Maddox.

Maddox: Good night.

***

The next morning, I woke up with an excess of energy. I loved October, and I was sad to see it coming to an end. It was always a flurry of activity here in Essex. I liked to call it the pumpkin month, or alternatively, the orange month—the color, not the fruit, because everything was shades of orange. A pumpkin stand popped up in the town square mid-October each year. Traditionally, I went on the second Saturday of the month, but this year, I'd only managed to get there a week before Halloween.

I received a message on the way. Usually I didn’t check my phone while driving, but what if it was from Dad?

Checking the text, I groaned.

Bill: Heard the Whitleys are interested in Essex Adventures. Hope you know my family is still interested in it.

I saw red. I couldn’t believe he even had the audacity to say that, considering they'd tried to take advantage of us right after Mom passed away.

I didn’t even bother replying. Bill could shove it.

I pushed the issue to the back of my mind, determined to get back into pumpkin shopping mode.

"Cami, you're late this year," Ms. Hendricks said. She had a farm about fifteen minutes outside Essex and came every week to sell produce, but pumpkin season was an entirely different beast.

"I know, and I’m sorry," I said.

She'd arranged the pumpkins in several rows, and this year she'd even painted eyes and smiles on some smaller ones. Ms. Hendricks was charging more for those, and good for her. Some had creepy smiles, others had genuine ones.

Yeah, no, I wasn't one for creepy smiles. I didn't like Halloween and October for the spooky angle. I liked it because of the color. Some people went way overboard with Christmas decorations, but I had a weakness for pumpkins. I usually bought about five or six for my house and seven or eight for the park. But this year, I couldn't resist and bought twenty in total.

"My goodness, girl. You're on a roll.”

“You've outdone yourself this year," I told her, and she gave me a heartfelt smile.

Ms. Hendricks had been manning the fort by herself since her husband passed away. I'd hoped to set her up with Dad a few times over the years, but I'd learned to accept that everyone heals in their own time. And perhaps once you'd had a real soulmate, you didn't want a replacement.

"Good afternoon," Maddox's voice boomed behind me.

I instantly heated up even though the wind was quite chilly.

"Hi," Ms. Hendricks said. "Are you here to buy pumpkins? Did you move to town recently?"

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