Page 87 of I Can't Help It

Maren shakes her head before turning to me, and she offers a warm smile. “And how are you, Ava? What a fun coincidence that we all ended up here at the same lodge, huh?”

A fun coincidence.

I don’t think that’s what Luke would call it. But he’s listening to Carter talk about his most recent basketball game, so I’m sure he didn’t hear what Maren said. Also, I didn’t need another reason to like Luke, but seeing him interact with Carter has given me a new one. Swoon.

“Ava? You okay, hon?”

Oh crap! Did she notice me staring at Luke?

“I’m good. I’ve been good.” I focus my attention back on her. “How are you?”

“Doing well,” she says, brushing some of her dark, shoulder-length hair away from her face. “I’ve just been busy with work and Carter, while also trying to make sure Wyatt and Trista don’t kill each other.”

Speaking of, the two of them are now arguing over the best way to throw an axe, and it’s hard to tell who’s winning. “Yeah, their bickering seems like it’s gotten worse.”

Maren hums in agreement. “I know, but I think that maybe—”

“Mommy!” Carter comes barreling toward us and throws his arms around Maren’s legs. “Luke says they have pumpkin carving! Can we do it?”

“Pumpkin carving sounds good to me.” She leans down to kiss the top of his head. “Let’s ask Uncle Wyatt and Trissy about it, okay?”

While they walk over to Wyatt and Trista, I park myself next to Luke. “Does this mean we’re carving pumpkins next?”

He lifts a shoulder. “I thought it might be fun.”

“I love it,” I say, letting my fingertips graze the side of his hand. “I haven’t carved a pumpkin since middle school, but that used to be one of my favorite fall activities.”

His pinky slowly curls around mine, and my stomach quivers when he smiles at me. “Same here.”

I really hope this means he’s not as upset about the whole Wyatt-thing now…

I CAN’T DO THIS

Luke

Never have I ever wanted to hate Wyatt so badly.

I can’t believe he was giving Ava pointers about axe-throwing just like I was giving her pointers about cornhole last night. Watching them together felt like a cruel joke, and I dreaded every second of it. Thankfully, he’s been occupied with driving Trista crazy, but I’ve noticed that he also keeps glancing at Ava when she’s not looking, and it’s beyond annoying.

I scoop out another handful of pumpkin guts and dump them into the bucket that’s next to me. When we were set up at our table for pumpkin carving, one of the festival workers told us that everyone is supposed to save the messy innards for an upcoming festival event, but she didn’t give any other details. I guess it’s supposed to be a fun surprise?

I’ve already been surprised once today though, and that’s been more than enough.

“What kind of carving are you going to do, Luke?” Ava asks, tossing some pumpkin guts into her own bucket.

You see that, Wyat?? She’s asking ME, not YOU, so why don’t you just keep those wandering eyes to yourself?

“I don’t know…” I trail off, scraping the inside of my pumpkin once again. “I’m not confident enough in my carving skills to do this without a stencil though.”

The last time I tried to carve without a stencil, I ended up with a cutout that looked more like a butt rather than a mouth like I had originally planned.

“Me either. I think I’m going to use one of the stars and moon stencils.”

“Am I the only one who isn’t using a stencil?” Wyatt speaks up, looking around our table. “Guys, trust me, it’s way more fun to freestyle. Mine is coming along great.”

Trista leans over to study his pumpkin, and then she scoffs. “You carved out one eye smaller than the other.”

He smirks at her. “You were my inspiration.”

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