After we get to the top of the hill, Seth takes us to where the Golden Delicious apples are, and along with a few other varieties, we end up with six full bags of fruit by the time we're done. My thighs flex tightly as we walk back down the steep hill. "I think we've got enough apples for two months' worth of pie," I say.

Seth chuckles. "Maybe for witches, but have you forgotten how much pizza I ate last night?"

"I—" The uneven ground makes me stumble, and I fall to my knees while my bags of apples thud on the ground.

Seth stops moving to rush to me. "Are you okay?"

"The apples!" I cry out because many of the ones that spilled out of my bags are rolling down the hill. I scramble to my feet and begin to run to save them.

Seth joins me and gets to them faster, but when he tries to stop, the momentum from the pitch of the hill must be too much, because he doesn't halt in time. He steps on an apple, and I gasp when his arms fly up in an attempt to hold on to his balance. It doesn't work, and he goes down. Hard.

"Seth!" I move quickly to drop by his side. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

He squeezes his eyes shut and lets out a strangled noise. "I'm fine." He opens his emerald-green eyes to look at me. "But my ego is suffering right now."

"Aw." I flash to when I made a fool of myself in front of him and reach out to smooth his hair back. "I think it's cute that even a warrior falls."

He closes his eyes again as he lets out a groan. I know better than anyone how it feels to be embarrassed like this, and I think Seth needs to be distracted from his self-loathing, so I lean down and kiss him. It's the right thing to do, because he responds by cradling my head and kissing me back.

When Seth lifts up on his elbow, I think about how we're in a place where small children are and resist the urge to push Seth to the ground and lie on top of him. It's a good thing, too, because we hear a sweet little voice.

"Hi, Mr. Brewster."

Seth jerks away from me, and I see a boy who appears to be about five. His blue eyes seem too big for his face as he blinks at us.

"Hey, Stuart," says Seth. He chuckles as he smooths down his hair and picks up an apple. "Would you look at the mess we made? Now we have to pick up all the apples."

"Stuart!" A woman comes rushing over and grabs the boy's hand as her expression relaxes with her apparent relief. She looks at us as Seth scrambles to his feet. "Mr. Brewster." She smiles. "I should have known."

"Hi, Karen," says Seth as I stand up too. When the mother glances at me, he quickly says, "This is my friend Nina. We had a little mishap."

Friend? I give her a little wave and notice the smirk on her face. Karen's also playing with her hair, and I flash to the body-language video my therapist had me study to learn visual cues. I recall that women who play with their hair are flirting. Oh my god! Is there something between Seth and this mother? I study her closer and wonder if her grin is saying, "Nice try, but he's clearly into me."

I frown as I look at Seth to see his reaction.

He appears uncomfortable as Karen says, "We'll leave you to your mishap."

Seth lets out a nervous chuckle. "See you later, Stuart."

"Bye, Mr. Brewster," the boy says before his mother leads him away.

"Was that your chaperone?" I snap at Seth as soon as they're out of earshot.

"What?"

He reaches over, and I flinch back.

"Whoa, Nina. I'm just trying to get the leaf out of your hair that Karen was trying to tell you about."

"Leaf?" I reach up, and the surface of a yellow leaf is smooth in my fingers when I pluck it out of my hair. "Oh." Heat rushes to my face. "Of course."

Seth grins at me. "You were jealous."

I shrug. "And now I'm embarrassed."

"I know what fixes that." Seth leans in and kisses me quickly. "It's cute when a witch gets jealous."

I roll my eyes at him and push at his chest. "Cute. So how do you know Stuart and Karen?"

He sighs. "I work at the school."

He loves kids. I smile as I imagine him as the father of our children. And I envision us apple picking with our own little boy someday. I'm not sure why Seth thinks working with children is something to be bashful about, though, and wonder if he's worried it tarnishes his warrior reputation even more than when he fell. "I think it's great you work with children. It shows your nurturing side."

"You do?"

"Of course. It means you'll make a great dad for our—" I slap my hand over my mouth, because it's way too early to be fantasizing out loud about our future.

He grins and grabs my shirt near my stomach to pull me close. "You see us having a family one day."

Since he's smiling and it's too late to pretend otherwise, I say, "Maybe."

Seth shakes his head as he grabs my hips. "I know it too, Nina. We're soul mates, because I've been in love with you since the first time we met."

"You—lo—you-you love me?" I think about how amazing our kisses are and the way my heart dances the entire time I'm with Seth. But love in just two days?

"I do, my little witch, and you love me."

My heart stops, because I think Seth might be right, and that scares me more than speaking in front of a group of people. "Is that how the soul-mate thing really works?"

He nods.

"Oh boy." I step back away from his touch.

"What's wrong?"

This isn't how things are supposed to go. I've done the research. I imagined I'd have a few practice relationships before I found the man I'd marry. I'm supposed to get a boyfriend and fall in love, and then we'd move past infatuation to comfortable. One day, the love fades or one of us wants to move on to someone else. This is too fast. "I'm not ready."

"That's okay. The beauty of soul mates is we have the rest of our lives together." Seth holds out his hand. "I can move as slowly as you need me to, Nina."

I gaze into his face and wonder how it is he knows what to say to me. Or why he's so willing to accept my fears as if they're no big deal. "Really? Like as slow as a snail slow?" I take his hand. "Because I have to tell you, I'm scared."

He squeezes my fingers tight. "You've got nothing to be afraid of. You've found someone who loves you unconditionally. Try to enjoy it."

I chuckle. "I am enjoying it." I glance around at our apples on the ground and think about baking with Seth, and I remember him mentioning cooking dinner for me with music and wine. I may be afraid of something serious, but I'm not afraid of being with Seth. I squat down to pick up fruit and ask, "What's for dinner?"