Page 48 of Why Not Now?

I arch an eyebrow at him. “I’ll go on it if you go on it.”

Adalie snorts. “I guess you guys are going for a ride. I’ll get a cider. See you back here when you’re done.”

Derek tugs my arm and we get in line.

“This is ridiculous,” I say. “Carousels are for little kids.”

He points to a couple of women on the horses as the ride spins slowly. “They look like they’re having fun. Besides. What better way to remind you how much you love Christmas than to do something that’sfor kids?”

I admit, everyone is smiling and laughing. I haven’t been on any kind of amusement ride since… the summer before Derek and I broke up. He’d taken me to the summer fair, and we’d stayed from open until close. We’d ridden every ride, and he’d won me a green teddy bear.

The carousel slows and people get off. Derek guides me forward in the line and when we get through the gate, he takes me right to a horse and tells me to get on it.

“Were you watching for the green one?” I ask, pausing to take a picture of it before climbing up, a close up of the horse’s face like a portrait.

He gets on the yellow one next to me. “Green is your favourite colour. You have to ride the green one.”

I cast a look over at him as we start to spin. “How do you remember that?” I ask.

He reaches over and touches the scarf and the neckline of my dress. “You don’t make it difficult, sweetheart.”

The ride blurs as we go round and round, the horses going up and down. I’m paying closer attention to the man next to me.

When we get off, we meet Adalie at the exit gate and she has a steaming cup of spiced hot apple cider.

Derek steers me toward the hut with the cider and buys us each one, even though I protest I don’t need it. He even gets me the commemorative cup.

“Why do I need this?” I ask.

“Because it’s part of the experience. Just like the carousel.”

“You didn’t force Adalie to get one. Andyoudidn’t get one.”

He smiles and sips his drink. “We both got ours when we came a couple weeks ago.”

“You have an answer for everything.”

He just winks.

The three of us start a circuit of the vendors, checking out the blown glass ornaments, the knitted items, and the food. There are so many neat things that I find two presents for Lacey—a really cute set of dangling earrings that will match her eyes and a fuzzy scarf and toque set in her favourite colour, pink.

There’s a couple things I like for myself, though I don’t have the money to buy any. I point out a few pretty ornaments and gush with Adalie over some artisan jewellery that is simply gorgeous. Then I refuse when Derek offers to buy me something, pulling him away when he pretends like he’s going to, anyway.

I concentrate instead on taking pictures. Lots of them. Some are of the items for sale, some are of the decorations. There’s a huge tree made from lights that you can walk inside and a large frame where I tell Adalie and Derek to stand so I can take their picture. Then Adalie forces me to switch places.

“Photography isn’t my medium,” she says, “but I know enough not to mess it up. Get in there.”

“I hate getting my picture taken,” I say as she pushes me toward Derek.

“Too bad,” she says.

He grabs my hand and pulls me beside him, wrapping his arms around me so I can’t escape.

“I’m going to get you for this,” I tell him under my breath.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

He drags me to the tunnel of white lights called lover’s lane. After I’ve taken some more pictures, he pulls me inside, stopping us under the mistletoe.

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