Page 34 of Love to Prove You Wrong

The next day, I arrived at the town square early. The picnic wouldn’t be starting for another hour, but I wanted to be the first one at our stand. We weren’t technically expected to man the food stand, but Milly had asked me weeks ago and I couldn’t let her down. Justin agreeing to help as well was a bit unusual, but I wasn’t going to argue with him about it. After all, I’d arrive first, smile all day long, help everyone who needed help, and I’d sell the most popcorn. Excuse me, thebestpopcorn. Why? Because I was planning on adding an extra scoop of popcorn to every serving I made so that Justin seemed like the cheap one.

Mean girl wasn’t my middle name, far from it, and I also didn’t wish failure on Justin. But I did want to be the best when it came to the Spring Picnic. He already had his looks and fame working for him. And the dimples. He had all the advantage. I guess I didn’t want him to steal my Spring Picnic thunder. This was the third consecutive year I’d made food for the event and I loved the way people gushed about my baking skills each year.

I placed ten containers on the table, each one filled to the brim with my signature homemade cookies. I wouldn’t open them until right before the start of the event so they stayed as fresh as possible.

The pizza stand Justin had made looked amazing as well. As we couldn’t man two stands, Helen had agreed to serve the pizza slices.

I pulled one of the folding chairs closer to the table and sat myself down. Since there was still an hour to kill, I used the time to read a book. With the upcoming wedding, Duckota escaping, and the Spring Picnic, I hadn’t been able to sit down with a book in I didn’t even know how long. At least Duckota hadn’t escaped since Justin had put a bigger fence around her piece of the yard.

I let out a blissful sigh and opened my book. It was part of a feel-good series that took place on a cruise ship. As I’d never had the chance to take a cruise before, I lived vicariously through these characters.

Just when the main character was about to go water rafting with a handsome guy, a voice yanked me out of my blissful experience.

“Are those homemade cookies?”

Five minutes. Really? That’s all I’d gotten? Five minutes of peace? I put my book down and got up. Justin was eyeing my cookies and reached for one of the containers.

“Stop, no touching my cookies,” I yelled.

His hand hovered mid-air. “Why not?”

“Because they’re for paying customers,” I said, shoving the containers away from his greedy hands.

“Okay, how much for one of those chocolate chip cookies?” he asked.

He’d already gotten his wallet out of his back pocket.

“For you? Ten dollars,” I said with a grin.

I didn’t mean it, of course. No one in their right mind would pay ten dollars for one cookie, but Justin handed me two fivers, grabbed one, and took a bite.

Then he started making sounds that could only be described as bedroom noises. “Hmmm, oh yes. Wow, Addy. This is something else. I’ve never had a cookie this delicious. Hmmm.”

The sounds that left his perfectly formed mouth stirred my insides. I tried to cover my ears, but that only made me look like a lunatic.

“I’m going to need another one of those,” he said, reaching for his wallet again.

Sweet mother of baby goats, there was no way I was letting him get off on one of those cookies again.

“Uh, there’s a one cookie per person limit.”

He slowly nodded. “I guess that’s not a bad idea. Otherwise they’ll be sold out after half an hour.”

“That’s exactly the reason why I came up with that rule.”

It was a blatant lie, but he didn’t have to know that. Although it might be a good idea after all. Every year, I had to swat people away from my cookies, wanting to get their hands on a dozen of them.

Justin motioned to the other containers. “What other flavors do you have?”

“Banana oatmeal, regular banana, gingersnap, raisin, peanut butter, vanilla, and macadamia nut.”

He smirked. “Nuts, of course. How appropriate.”

“I didn’t use your nuts. The ones you gave me, I mean, not your real nuts,” I said, gesturing at his crotch.

What was wrong with me?Not your real nuts?

Justin let out a bellowing laugh. He even had to place his hand on his perfect stomach to stop him from shaking too hard.

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