Page 93 of Choosing You

“Okay, but…you were playing for a really long time, so I was thinking about it.”

“If you want to change his name…”

“Will?”

“Hmm?”

“His name is William. End of story. Now, can we go to the haunted house?”

“Are you sure? It’s very scary. Terrifying, actually.”

The house was straight ahead, and a group of kids—including Jade’s son, Silas—came out laughing hysterically.

“Terrifying? Really?”

“You can’t trust kids. They’re probably all just acting like it wasn’t a big deal so they look cool.”

“Well, I think I’m up to it,” she told him. “And if I get too scared, I’ve got you and William to hold on to. I know you’re not going to let anything happen to me.”

“You got that right. Let’s go!”

A few minutes later, she was beginning to notice a theme.

Clearly, Will’s bravado was maybe a little bit of an act. He screamed way more than she did while they walked through the haunted house, and by the time they walked out, he looked pale, but confident.

“Good thing you were holding onto me,” she said, snuggling close. “That was very scary.”

“Don’t you ever worry, Sloane. I’ve got you.”

He might suck at carnival games and scare easily sometimes, but there wasn’t another man she wanted with her. “Yes, you do.”

They were dancing Sunday night at the Monster Mash Ball and having a great time. Looking into her eyes, Will was amazed. “I still can’t believe you pulled this off.”

“Still?” she laughed. “We’ve been talking about it for two days. You know how I did it.”

“Yeah, I know. But I can’t believe that I didn’t know! I’m always in the thick of everything. I was the one who organized getting Devin and MacKenzie back together. I had the entire town involved in that. I can’t believe no one let me in on it. Bunch of traitors.”

“Oh, stop. It was perfect. I’ll never forget the look on your face when I turned around in that booth.”

“It was the costume. It was better than my fantasies.”

She blushed. “You’re better than my fantasies.”

“I like the sound of that,” he murmured, his voice a bit husky against her ear. He was about to suggest they leave, but when he looked up, he spotted Devin and MacKenzie making their way over.

“Hey! You two all set for tomorrow?” MacKenzie asked.

“Absolutely,” Sloane replied. “It’s going to be wild, but I’m ready for it to finally be done.”

“And you’re sure you don’t mind?” Will asked, specifically looking at Devin.

“Everything’s already covered,” Devin confirmed. “Everyone’s more than happy to help. We’ve got the shop covered for the day, and I’ll be by in the morning to help you unload what you need to, and then I’ll go to work in the afternoon.”

“I kind of feel bad,” Will said. “I don’t want to put anyone out.”

Devin laughed. “If this means you’ll finally stop moping around, I’ll gladly be inconvenienced! And that sentiment is shared by pretty much everyone at the shop.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny.”

---