Page 18 of Make Me Love You

“Two lamb burgers with yuca fries, a glass of water with lemon, and a Coke,” the server said cheerfully, completely unaware of what he was interrupting. He set the food down. “I’ll be back to check on you when you’ve had a minute to try everything.”

“Thank you,” they said in unison, both slightly subdued.

Emma shook out her napkin and spread it on her lap, glaring at Eli the entire time. Still glaring, she grabbed a fry, popped it into her mouth, and chewed. It was hard to stay angry with so much deliciousness happening in her mouth, but she managed it through sheer force of will.

After swallowing, she said, “Fine. I’ll find someone else to replace me. Maybe Kate? She owns Sweet Things. You know, the candy store on Main Street by Nana’s Yarn?”

“Sure...” His voice trailed off as his gaze drifted to something past Emma’s shoulder. His expression turned comically perplexed.

“What? What is it?”

“She’s taking a picture of her food.”

Emma shrugged. “Yeah. People do that. I do that, sometimes.”

“Not like this.”

She turned to see what he was talking about. It was hard to miss. There was a girl—early twenties, maybe?—standing on her chair, aiming her digital camera down at the table. Her friend had a ring light that appeared to plug into her phone, and a white board they appeared to be using as some sort of backdrop.

“Huh,” Emma said. “Maybe Delmy is about to get a stellar review in Food and Wine Magazine or something.” She turned her attention back to her food. “Anyway. What else do we need to do?”

“A walk-through of the fairgrounds wouldn’t be a bad idea. Make sure we know where everyone is supposed to set up. What vendor goes where.” He studied his burger like it was the most interesting thing in the world. “We should do that together.”

Together. Emma choked on a mouthful of burger. “Is that really necessary?”

He raised an eyebrow. “The Fourth of July celebration is a huge deal. But if you want to ruin it for everyone, that’s your call, I guess.”

Damn him. “All right. Together.”

Funny how the more she tried to stay away from him, the harder fate threw them together. But she didn’t believe in fate. What she did believe in was this: Come July 5, the votes of Hart’s Ridge would be tallied, and she would never speak to Eli Carter again.

Chapter Five

It was one o’clock, which meant that it was time for Eli to make his standard Wednesday afternoon rounds. He usually began at the south side of town, where the Donnelly family had been raising chickens for three generations, and made his way to the north side and the Christmas tree farm, with several stops along the way. Checking in with neighbors. Heading off disputes before they could become a crisis. That was what he should do.

Instead, he was rooted to the sidewalk, wondering what it was about seeing Emma swoop her pale hair off her neck and twist it into a tidy bun with smooth, efficient motions that made it difficult to breathe.

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