This may have been a short story, but I honestly could not have asked for a better one. I do not know how Lily does it, but I went through every single stage of falling in love right alongside Malachi and Cadan.
Malachi, the posh model with sharp edges and an even sharper tongue, is everything you expect and nothing you expect at the same time.
“My body is a piece of art they’re posing. They bought it, and for a brief few hours, it belongs to them.”
The snark between him and his grumpy farmer, Cadan, was hilarious and genuinely heartwarming.
“You’re pricklier than a little hedgehog.”
“What a lovely comparison,” I say sniffily.
“I don’t know. Hedgehogs have very soft undersides,” he says, and something about his tone makes my head shoot up.”
And Cadan’s mom… she was everything. Hilarious, warm, motherly, and such a perfect addition to the story.
“Well, maybe I enjoyed coddling you, Malachi. Cadan never allows it.”
“Say it isn’t so,” I say with mock shock, and she laughs.
“I hope I see you again,” I say awkwardly, and her grin widens.
“Oh, darling, I have a feeling that we’ll meet again.”
While Malachi recovers from his horrible bronchitis on Cadan’s farm, it becomes almost impossible for sparks not to fly.
“We’re obviously both on the same page about the stupidity of doing anything when we don’t match. I’m too footloose and flippant. He’s too rooted in Cornish soil and grumpy with it. As long as we keep that silent agreement in place, we won’t make any stupid mistakes.”
And of course the feelings get tangled anyway.
“I want him over me and inside me so badly. I want to wrap my legs around his waist or ride him until he comes and loses himself in me.”
But the ending… oh, the ending. Sniffles. Absolutely fantastic. This is truly one of my favorite reads of 2020 and easily one of the best short stories I have ever read