Falling Like Leaves (Bramble Falls, #1)(85)

The truck begins to pull away, and Sloane sticks her head out the window, calling behind her. “I’m sorry, Ellis. My mom will kill me if I hold up the parade.”

I nod as I stumble backward. Then I turn to leave. Because Cooper was right—there’s nothing left to say. There’s nothing else to do.

But a few seconds later, a hand wraps around my wrist. I whip around. Cooper.

I glance at his float inching along Oak Avenue, and my eyes widen. “The parade is leaving without you. What are you doing?”

Cooper’s lips slam into mine, and suddenly nothing else matters—not the parade, not the fact that I’m wearing this outlandish costume, not the whooping coming from the floats passing by. Time stands still. The ground beneath us shifts. My stomach swoops, and my heart melts.

When he pulls away, he rests his forehead on mine. “I meant I didn’t want you to chase me anymore because I don’t want to be running. I just want to be with you.”

“You do?” A slow, hesitant smile nudges at my lips.

“Always.”

I kiss him again, even though I can’t stop grinning.

He pulls away, and I take the apron from his hand. I loop it over his head, and he arches an eyebrow at me.

“Go catch your float, and wear it,” I tell him. “It’s great for advertising. Plus, you’ll look more professional handing out your cookies in it, considering you showed up in sweatpants.”

“In my defense, I wasn’t expecting someone to hijack my costume.”

I shrug. “Sort of glad I did now. You look hot in sweatpants.”

He flashes me a dimpled grin and pulls me in for one more kiss before turning around and kneeling in front of me.

“What are you doing?”

“We’ve got a float to catch and cookies to hand out,” he says. “Hop on.”

I laugh and climb onto his back. Doing his best not to ruin the costume, Cooper holds on to my legs and jogs us back to his truck.



* * *



An hour later, the parade is over and we’re at the town square, now free of our costumes.

“Ready to check out this festival?” Cooper asks, coming up behind me and sliding his arm around my waist.

While I was working tirelessly to make Cooper’s apron last night, dozens of volunteers turned this place into an autumn utopia. There are pumpkins everywhere, a petting zoo is now set up next to the leaf-garland-covered gazebo, and a DJ sits just on the edge of the lawn taking requests. There are vendors everywhere selling Falling Leaves Festival sweatshirts, scarves, and socks, apple cider, coffee, and pies. Games and activities, including apple bobbing and face painting, are set up on the lawn and lining the sidewalks.

It’s beautiful. But the best part is the people. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over how much I’ve come to love this little community.

“Sure, but I need to find Fern first.”

Cooper points to where Fern is sitting next to Jake at a picnic table in the shut-down street, and I pull him over to her.

“What’s she doing here, anyway?” he asks.

“Making Falling Leaves Festival posts,” I tell him.

“Why?”

“Because tourism is good for generating money, and Fern’s videos go viral every time. She’s declared Bramble Falls a must-visit destination.” I turn to face him. “Which is also why I had her make a video about your cookies.”

“Um, what?”

“It’s not a charity offering,” I quickly clarify. “I swear Fern literally could not stop talking about that lemon cookie you gave her when she visited. And now, whenever you’re ready to sell them beyond the Caffeinated Cat, people will know your name. Just wait until you open your bakery.”

He smiles and leans in to kiss me. “God, I love you.” His smile falls as he rears back, like he surprised himself. “I mean—”

“I love you too,” I tell him easily.

His eyes widen. “You… do…?”

“Always.”

He grins just before his lips crash into mine.

“Okay, you two, stop making me puke in my mouth,” Fern teases as she approaches.

Cooper lets me go, and I turn my attention to Fern. “Thank you so much, Fernie,” I say, pulling her into a tight hug. “I owe you.”

She squeezes me before dropping her arms and looking at me with a familiar glint in her eye—my best friend is in her element. “Owe me?” she exclaims. “I should be thanking you! People are going absolutely berserk for this content. I’ve already had two reels go viral from this morning alone. I’m gonna milk this place for all it’s worth, starting with Cooper’s Cookies.”

As she grabs Cooper by the arm and drags him back toward his float, he looks over his shoulder and shoots me a wink, once again awakening those pesky butterflies in my stomach. My lips turn upward in an unbridled grin, and I close my eyes, trying to savor this moment—the chilly breeze on my skin, the crunchy leaves beneath my boots, the smell of cinnamon and apple, the sound of laughter—because I truly can’t remember the last time I was this happy.

And while Fern gets him posed for some photos, I open my eyes to savor the sight of the beautiful boy from Bramble Falls who captured my heart one autumn day at a time.