#Chapter 26: Roots

Ava “Care to join me for the party?” I couldn’t help but return Chris’s smile, although I felt my heart fluttering at the sight of him standing there in the dimly lit doorway—which, of course, I would never admit. “I’d love to,” I replied, rising from the window seat and smoothing my hands over the soft fabric of my dress. Chris extended his arm out to me in an almost chivalrous gesture, his eyes crinkling at the corners in that boyish kind of way as I looped my own through the crook of his elbow. “Shall we, then?” he murmured, leaning a little closer so that his breath tickled my ear. I could only nod, allowing him to lead me out of my house and into the warm evening air outside. It was a particularly pleasant night; it had rained briefly during the afternoon, making the air smell sweet and the underbrush teeming with birds, frogs, and insects. Soon, the sounds of laughter and music grew louder as we made our way down the winding path towards the village square, t