Page 35 of Love to Prove You Wrong

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, very funny. Not immature at all.”

This was just great. Now I was going to think of Justin’s nether regions every time someone ordered a macadamia nut cookie.

“I love how you mess with me in the most innocent way,” he said, shoulders still shaking with the aftershock of his laughter.

“Get a grip, wonder boy. People will start arriving soon and the popcorn machine needs to warm up.”

I had no clue whether or not popcorn machines needed warming up, but I figured it couldn’t hurt either way. At least it would get Justin to stop laughing and think about other things than cookies and nuts.

We went to work and greeted our first customer exactly forty minutes later. The Spring Picnic had been an Old Pine Cove tradition as long as I could remember. People would fill their basket with all the treats on offer, then enjoy each other’s company while a live band played in the background. The night always ended with a movie. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly every year, and today was no different.

My cookies did sell way faster than the previous years, but I think it might’ve had something to do with my cookie colleague. The girls from the bingo club couldn’t stop giggling and blushing when Justin handed them each a bag of popcorn and a cookie. They kept talking about how they’d known Justin as a baby and how he’d grown into such a handsome, eligible bachelor. Their words, not mine.

I served a lot of inn guests who told me they loved all the activities that Old Pine Cove had to offer during spring. I let every single one of them know about the other fun events that were held annually in Old Pine Cove, like the Winter Walk, the Snow Ball, and the Autumn Festival. Couldn’t hurt to let them know and have them come back during a different season, right?

Plus, their positive feedback would do wonders for my Yelp score. Not that I needed it – I had been the proud owner of 4.5 Yelp stars for years.

Before the picnic, I’d been afraid that our peaceful day might get crashed by another group of Justin’s fans, but I hadn’t spotted any star-crazed women so far. Apart from the local ones, but they were harmless.

By the time the movie was about to start, all we had left were about a dozen servings of popcorn.

“Your cookies sold well,” Justin said. “Not surprisingly. They were delicious.”

“Thanks, I’m glad you approve of them. You know, everyone’s settling into their seats for the movie. I can man the stand on my own if you want to leave.”

“Nonsense. I’m staying. Besides, we can watch the movie from here as well.”

He plopped down in one of the folding chairs. He stretched his arms above his head and flexed his toes. “I can’t believe how good it feels to finally sit down.”

“I wish I could put my feet up,” I said. “They’re killing me. I’m used to walking around all the time, but today felt like a marathon.”

Justin got up again and picked up a chair that had been abandoned near the gazebo.

“Here. Now we can both put our feet up,” he said, plopping the chair in front of us.

He kicked his shoes off, swung his feet up, and let out another one of his toe-curling moans. “This feels so good.”

Why did every sound he made seem so seductive?

I longingly looked at the chair Justin had put in front of us. It seemed a bit too small for two pairs of feet.

Justin cocked his eyebrow. “What? I don’t have a contagious foot disease, you know. Just put your feet up and enjoy the movie.”

I reluctantly slid my flats off and placed them beside my chair. The opening tunes to the movie blasted through the speakers. Justin’s eyes were glued to the big screen, or at least he was pretending. I couldn’t imagine him being this captivated bySingin’ in the Rain.

That’s right. The entire committee had vetoed every single one of our modern movie proposals. They said they were “too risqué”, even though I didn’t understand what could be considered racy aboutA Dog’s Tropical Vacationor the latestWizard Kidsremake.

I put my feet on the edge of the chair Justin had placed in front of us and let out a contented sigh of my own. My feet started tingling, happy to finally get some rest. Just then, Milly stopped at our stand to get herself a bag of popcorn.

“I’ll get this one,” Justin said.

Once Milly was on her way, Justin sat back down, only this time, his feet touched mine. Just the tip of one of his toes, really, but the sensation set me ablaze. I couldn’t possibly focus on Gene Kelly now that our extremities were touching, but still I fixed my gaze on the screen.

After half an hour, my neck started to hurt. It was really hard not to move it an inch, and I finally caved. The moment I stole a glance at Justin, he stole one at me. A lazy smile made his face look even better than usual.

He opened his mouth to speak, but I stopped him in his tracks. No doubt he was going to start giving me that nonsense about checking him out again.

“I’m flexing my neck muscles,” I said.

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