Just then, his eyes lifted. It was only for a second, while he raised the splitting maul to swing again, but she was right.
My stomach fluttered and I had to press my lips together to hide my smile.
“You’re so cute,” Sandra said. “Quit it, I’m getting jealous.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m just coming to terms with the fact that there aren’t any decent eligible men my age in this town.”
“Of course there are.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Who?”
“I don’t know, I’m still new here. But there must be. This town isn’t that small.”
“Miracles do happen, I suppose.”
A tingle ran down my spine and the hairs on my arms stood on end. I glanced over my shoulder, wondering why I suddenly felt like I was being watched. There were people everywhere, of course eyes would be on me. That didn’t mean someone was intentionally watching me.
I didn’t see anyone, but the image of Colin stepping behind a group of people to stay hidden came to mind.
No. He wasn’t there. No one was watching me. I was just being dramatic again.
The crowd started counting down from ten, drawing my attention back to the competition. Josiah and Levi chopped faster, their piles of split wood growing.
Five, four, three, two, one!
They both dropped their splitting mauls and held their arms up. I wasn’t sure exactly how it would be determined who won—presumably by the amount of wood they’d chopped, but their piles looked about the same to me.
The crowd quieted while two judges picked through the wood, then conferred with each other. Finally, they brought Josiah and Levi in front of the chopped wood with one of the judges in between them. He held each man’s wrist, like it was the end of a boxing match, then raised Josiah’s arm in the air.
Cheers erupted. I let the camera dangle from the strap around my neck so I could clap and scream.
Levi smiled and shook Josiah’s hand, bringing him in for a back-slapping bro hug. It was pretty adorable. He moved off to the side where his wife and kids waited for him. They were such a cute family, it made my ovaries ache.
Josiah met my eyes and the corners of his mouth turned up in a subtle smile. A thrill swept through me and heat rushed to my cheeks.
“Here, give me the camera,” Sandra said. “I’ll hold it while you go love on your sweaty boyfriend.”
“I don’t know if he’s my—”
“Just go,” she said with a laugh.
I lifted the camera strap over my head and handed it to Sandra, then crossed the grass to meet Josiah.
He did smile then and it made my heart feel like it could burst.
I was in so much trouble.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hi.” I popped up on my tiptoes to kiss him. “Nice work, champion.”
“I’m surprised I kept up with him. He beat Luke again last year, so my brothers goaded me into competing this time.” He pulled his t-shirt on over his sweaty body.
I was slightly disappointed.
“Do you win something or just the honor of being the fastest wood chopper in town.”
“Oh yeah, I get pie.”
“Pie?”
He looked at me like I was weird for questioning that. “Yeah. I guess if you’ve never had Gram Bailey’s pie, you wouldn’t understand.”
“Will you share some with me so I can experience this magical pie?”
“I don’t know if I like you that much.” The corners of his mouth lifted and he slid his hands around my waist to the small of my back, pulling me against him. “Then again, maybe I do.”
“That’s very generous of you.”
“Will you go out with me tonight?”
Coming out of nowhere, the question caught me by surprise. “What?”
His eyebrows drew in. “I thought that was how you asked a girl out.”
“No, that’s right, I just didn’t expect it.”
“You didn’t expect me to ask you out?” He pressed me tighter against his muscular body. “What are we doing, then? I’ve been out of the loop for a while, but I thought that was how dating worked.”
I laughed. “Sorry, you just keep taking me by surprise.”
“I told you I’m bad with people.”
“You’re not bad with people. Sometimes you’re just kind of blunt or abrupt.”
“So, yes or no. I’m not good with subtle cues, you’re going to have to be straightforward.”