“No? Tell Ben that. He went around town for weeks bragging about it.” Jake pointed to his brother.
“Hey, I was proud of her.” Ben smiled, putting an arm around Molly. Evidently, he was still proud. It didn’t bother me anymore. I had Becca.
Becca laughed. “Wow, Miss Clayton Falls. Pretty impressive. Were you Homecoming Queen too?”
“No, definitely not. But he was Homecoming King.” Molly pointed to Jake.
“You? You were Homecoming King?” Becca asked incredulously.
Jake pretended to be offended. “What? Does that really surprise you that much?”
“Yes, it does actually.”
“Yeah, that honor usually goes to the quarterback around here.” Ben grinned at Jake.
“Quarterback? How did I not know about your high school glory days, Jake?” Becca laughed.
“You never asked.” He grinned. He was definitely enjoying this. “What about you? Were you Homecoming Queen?”
“Not exactly. We didn’t even have a homecoming game. I went to an all-girls school.” Becca’s face wore a far off look. I wondered what memory the conversation had triggered.
“Really?” I guess there was a lot I didn’t know about Becca.
“Did you wear a uniform?” Jake asked with a smile. “Like those short skirts and stuff?”
I glared at him.
“We had uniforms, but the skirts weren’t that short.” Her eyes were playful. She didn’t seem to mind his question as much as I did.
“Too bad.”
She swatted at his arm playfully. “What about you, Gavin? Any high school secrets you’re holding onto?”
“Nothing too exciting. But if we’re done reminiscing about high school, are you ready to go on some rides?”
“Rides?” Becca’s eyes got big.
“Have you really never been to a fair before? Of course there are rides.”
“Naturally, I’ve been to a fair, but there are really rides here?”
I leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Yes, hon, and I think the Ferris Wheel has our name on it.”
“Ferris Wheel?”
I laughed. “Yes, the rides are set up on the other side, over there.” I pointed to one of the parking lots.
Molly jumped in. “The games are fun too.”
“Games? We have to do those first.” Becca literally bounced.
“All right, whatever you want.”
Becca and I walked down to the games. I put an arm around her, loving how childlike she looked. She was eating it all up.
“You’re going to have to win me one of those.”
We’d stopped in front of one of those knock-over-the-bottle games. I checked out the prizes to see what had caught her attention. “You would notice the one Red Sox bear prize in the whole place.”
“How’d you know that’s the bear I wanted?” She grabbed onto my arm.
“I’d pick the Brave’s one myself, but I doubt that would fly with you.”
“Nope.” She kissed me on the cheek. “Are you going to win it for me or what?”
I laughed and pulled a dollar out of my wallet.
“Here you go, sir.” The kid running the booth handed me two red balls the size of baseballs.
The first ball slammed against the back wall of the booth after knocking over all the bottles. I probably shouldn’t have used so much force, but I couldn’t resist showing off a little.
“She’d like the Red Sox bear.”
Becca actually jumped up and down. She was seriously far too cute.
I took the bear from the kid but didn’t give it to Becca right away.
She grabbed for it, but I held it away from her. “First, you’re going to do something for me.”
“What?”
“You need to experience the Festival food first. Eat a funnel cake and cotton candy.”
“Both?” She sounded excited at the prospect.
“Yes. Then you get your bear.”
“Okay, I like sweets. Which one is first?”
“I guess the cocoa and biscotti obsession should have been a dead giveaway about your sweet tooth.”
“You’d think.” She took my hand and led me over to the food booths.
She stopped short. “Change of plans. Forget the funnel cake.”
I followed her gaze. She’d noticed Gail’s stand. “All right. I agree. What should we get?”
“Pecan pie. Definitely Gail’s pecan pie.”
We waited as a couple in front of us ordered, and then it was our turn. “Hi Gail!” Becca said excitedly.
“Hi, you two. Are you enjoying your first Clayton Falls Fest?”
“Definitely, but it would be even better with a slice of your pecan pie.” Becca’s eyes were already glued on the display behind Gail.
“Absolutely. You really do love this pie, don’t you?”
“I wish I’d known the extent of your sweet tooth,” I teased.
“Then you’d have tried to stuff me full, and I can’t resist.”
“And that would be bad because…”
“You eat everything without gaining a pound. You wouldn’t get it.”
“Like you have to worry about—”
“Gavin, a word of advice?” Gail handed over Becca’s piece of pie.
“Sure, Gail.”
“You are never going to win an argument with a woman about weight, so let it go.”
“All right. I’ll take your word for it.”
“Here’s your pie, hon. Don’t let him get to you. I just have to say, you two make such a nice couple.”
I smiled. Gail’s compliments were always genuine. “Thanks.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Becca
Still enjoying the lingering taste of pecan pie, I picked at the blue cotton candy Gavin had bought us. We walked down the beach holding hands and watching the stars. I was pretty sure there was nothing as beautiful as a star filled sky on a beach.
“Having a good time?” Gavin asked.
“Definitely.” I swung our arms a little, holding back the urge to skip. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d had so much fun.
“I love seeing you like this.”
“Like what?”
“Like this.” He twirled me around, and we danced to the distant music.
“I like feeling like this.” I lay down on the sand, loving the light breeze.
He dropped down next to me. “You have the most beautiful smile in the world.”