Page 50 of Saving Stella

“I forgot.” She slapped her hand on her forehead. “Today is the annual fall carnival.”

“What does that mean?” he asked.

It was the most he’d said to her since last night. After he finished washing his dishes, he mumbled something about checking the perimeter and then she didn’t see him again until the next morning.

“It’s an event we have every year. We don’t have our usual classes, though I have to chaperone and man a booth.” She scratched at her chin. “Now which one did I …”

Oh no.

The faculty sign-up sheets had been sent out weeks ago, and back then, she signed up with Tyler to do the ring toss. He was the last person she wanted to see right now.

“Is it open to the public?”

“Basically, as long as you buy a ticket. It’s a fundraiser for our Christmas project.”

Cliff pulled into one of the empty spots in the faculty lot. “Good. That means I don’t have to stay out here.”

“Right.”

As if it wasn’t bad enough that she had to spend most of the morning with Tyler, Cliff would be breathing down her neck too. But maybe she’d be lucky, and he’d disappear like he did last night.

After he parked, they trudged over to the ticket booth. There was already a line growing, but sales wouldn’t start for another fifteen minutes.

“Okay, well, I should go find my station.” Not bothering to wait for a reply, she marched on ahead. She half expected him to chase after her, but she didn’t even hear him call out to her.

“Hey, partner,” Tyler greeted. He was already at the booth, setting up the bottles for the ring toss game. “Good morning to you.”

“Good morning,” she said politely.

“You’re looking nice today,” he commented.

“Thank you.” If she had remembered it was the carnival, she would have worn jeans, but this morning, she had put on a sweater and a knee-length denim skirt and boots.

“That outfit looks great on you.”

Normally, Tyler’s compliments would have made her blush or had the butterflies in her stomach fluttering. This morning, however, his words barely made a blip on her radar.

Of course, now that she thought about it, perhaps it was her fault for assuming there had been something between them all those weeks ago. After all, if her interactions with Cliff had taught her anything, she tended to read the wrong signals from men.

“Let me help with that.” She made a grab for the bottles.

“Nah, I got it.” He waved her away. “Why don’t you get the rings ready? We’ll be opening soon.”

“All right, will do.”

Though there weren’t a lot of people early on, the carnival became busier as the morning passed. To his credit, Tyler was wonderful with the patrons and students, reminding Stella what had dazzled her about him in the first place. He was incredibly charming, and had the ability to make anyone he talked to feel like there was no one else in the world. Right now, he was making people laugh, even the kid who cried when he lost. Despite her personal opinions about him, no one could deny Tyler Keller was affable and charismatic.

Unlike some other men she knew.

Where was Cliff anyway?

She hadn’t seen him all morning. He didn’t seem like the type to shirk his duties, so maybe he was watching from afar somewhere.

“So, Stella,” Tyler began as he handed her a cold bottle of water. “Sounds like you’ve had an exciting couple of days.”

They had closed the booth for a quick break and were now sitting on some folding chairs as they’d been on their feet most of the day.

“I guess you could say that.”