Read Online Unexpected Wedding by Carla Rossi - Free Book Online

that huge purple teddy bear, but I need to do some carb-loading first.”
    “OK, good. I need that. But that’s not my question.”
    “Shoot.”
    “Where do you stand on the so-called politically correct terms to describe your disability? And don’t make fun of me because I asked you where you stand on something.”
    “Wouldn’t think of it.” He slowed his pace and tried to speak loud enough to cover the din of the crowd. “What specific terms are you asking about?”
    “Well, when working with children we try so hard to not say anything that would hurt their self-esteem or make them feel less capable. We don’t say ‘that’s an autistic child,’ for example. We say ‘that child has autism.’ And we wouldn’t say a kid is ‘paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair,’ we would say that person ‘has paraplegia and is a wheelchair user.’”
    He came to a stop in the catfish line. The smell of bubbling oil and hushpuppies in the fryer made his stomach growl. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. I don’t care. I understand you have to be careful with children, but it seems to me the only people who are concerned about what’s politically correct are people who don’t have disabilities. It may not be socially appropriate these days to say I’m wheelchair bound or confined to this chair, but I pretty much am. I wouldn’t get many places without it.”
    She shrugged and moved forward. “I get that.”
    He surrendered a bunch of tickets to the overheated, crimson-faced teenager at the door of the tent. “The only word I really hate is handicapped. It’s like a slap in the face. And challenged doesn’t make sense to me. It’s like sugar-coating handicapped. Bottom line is, it’s up to the individual and it doesn’t matter to me.”
    She handed him a plastic tray. “Thanks for telling me.”
    He handed her bundle of plastic utensils. “You’re welcome.”
    “What about—”
    “No more questions, woman. You’re wearing me out. I never talk this much. Are you always so intense?”
    “Well—”
    “Don’t answer that, but hey, would you please grab that jar of tartar sauce and find a table?”
    She slipped her paper plate full of fried food off the counter. “Anything else?”
    “Ketchup.”
    “There’s ketchup on the table.”
    “Then grab that bottle of cocktail sauce and a bunch of those salt packets.”
    She put a cup of iced tea on her tray. “And you seem like such a health-conscious guy.”
    “I am. We’ll come back for dessert.”
    He scooted to the table she claimed and unloaded his dinner.
    There was a quick fuzzy-like moment when they both bowed their heads and gave thanks, and then a corny-like chuckling moment when they both realized what they’d done. All the flirty goofiness somehow boosted his confidence.
    He leaned back a little and rested his hand on the back of her chair. “Maybe later I can get you on the Ferris wheel.”
    “Absolutely not.”
    “Why?”
    “I don’t do travelling carnival rides. It’s not safe, and I don’t need to be dangling in the air when I’m stuffed full of fried catfish and blueberry pie.”
    He moved closer, now with so much oozing charm he thought he might hurt himself if he didn’t unleash it on her. “Not even with me and a promise I won’t let you fall out?”
    She took a sip of tea and looked straight into his eyes with a chocolate-chip-colored gaze. “Not even if Channing Tatum and Ryan Gosling offered me a seat between them.”
     
    ****
     
    Gia ran her finger across the plastic nose of the plush four-inch baby yellow bear. “I think he’s cute.”
    “He’s too small. You should have let me keep trying for the giant one.”
    She pulled a fresh bottle of water out of the pouch on Rocky’s chair and sat on the brick wall that circled a massive oak in the center of the grounds. Nightfall had shaved a few degrees off the stagnant heat, and a rare breeze caught the multi-colored paper lanterns above them. They crinkled