Knew we'd just crossed a line neither of us could uncross.
Knew I'd decided to jump off the cliff, and he was falling with me.
ChapterSixteen
Callum
I couldn't stop watchingher.
Rosie moved around her booth with an energy that drew people in. The way she laughed with customers. How her hands gestured when she explained her products. That smile she wore that made my chest feel too small for everything happening inside it.
The hug from earlier still hummed under my skin. We'd stood there holding each other like the rest of the world didn't exist, and now I couldn't unknow what she felt like in my arms. Couldn't unsee the way her eyes had gone soft and certain when she'd whisperedyeswithout knowing the question.
Tucker whined beside me.
I glanced down. He'd been sitting patiently for the past hour, watching people pass with his usual calm interest. But now his ears were pulled back, and he kept shifting his weight from paw to paw. When a kid ran past squealing, Tucker pressed against my leg instead of wagging his tail.
Too much stimulation. Too many people. He'd hit his limit.
“Hey, bud.” I crouched beside him, running my hand along his silky coat. “Getting tired?”
Tucker leaned into my touch, his tail giving one half-hearted wag.
“Let's go home.” I straightened, scanning the market. Rosie was handing over a bundle of kale to an elderly woman. The woman said something that made Rosie laugh, and the sound hit me square in the chest.
Rosie looked up as I approached, and her whole face brightened.
“Tucker's done.” I nodded toward the dog pressed against my leg. “Too many people. I'm going to take him back to the barn.”
“Oh.” Her smile faltered. “Right. Of course.”
“I'll come back.” The words came out too fast. “To help you pack.”
“You don't have to do that.”
“I know.”
She studied me for a moment, then her mouth curved into a smile that looked suspiciously like relief. “Well, if you're offering...”
“I am.”
“Then I accept.” She bent to scratch Tucker's ears. “Poor guy. You've been so good today, haven't you?”
Tucker's tail wagged once, polite but exhausted.
“How long will you be?” Rosie straightened, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. The movement drew my attention to the freckles scattered across her cheekbones.
I forced myself to focus. “Twenty minutes. Maybe thirty.”
“Perfect. That gives me time to sell off the rest of this kale.” She gestured at her booth, where bundles of greens were starting to wilt in the afternoon heat. “Or bribe people into taking it.”
“You're not going to bribe anyone.”
“You don't know that.” Her eyes sparkled. “I can be very persuasive.”
I'm aware.
“Just wait for me.” I cleared my throat. “I can help with anything heavy.”