Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
He was silent a moment, then he rolled onto his back. “You’re probably right. But it never felt like something I could talk about. Until you.”
I threw an arm and leg over him and pressed my cheek to his warm, bare chest. “I know you’ll never be a talker like me. But no more hiding the big stuff, okay? That’s the only promise I’ll ask you to make.”
“No hiding things? And I get my second chance?”
“No hiding things. And you get your second chance.”
“Then there’s something I need to show you.” He sat up, bringing me with him.
“What is it?”
He switched on the bedside lamp, got out of bed, and went over to his closet door. “I swear, this is the last thing I was hiding.”
I gave him a strange look. “Okaaaay.” Then he opened the closet door, and I gasped. “My dress!”
“I rescued it from the dumpster.”
Scrambling out of bed, I went over and looked at it, all wrapped in dry cleaner plastic, looking as fresh as the day I’d bought it. “I don’t believe it!”
“I remembered how you were wearing it the night we met. And how you said to me that you couldn’t let it go because it made you feel beautiful and hopeful. Like your life was just beginning.”
My throat closed up, and my eyes filled. “That’s right.”
He drew me into his arms. “I want you to feel that way again.”
“I do.” I laughed, even as tears leaked from my eyes. “I honestly do.”
“Good.” He lifted me off my feet and carried me back to the bed, turning off the lamp before stretching out above me. “Because I’ve gone and gotten my heart set on you, Blair Peacock Beaufort. And I come from a long line of men who are awfully stubborn once they get their hearts set on something.”
I wrapped my arms and legs around him. “I’m so glad you were there that night, to catch me when I fell.”
“I’ll always be there to catch you,” he whispered as his body began to move above mine in the dark. “In my arms is where you belong.”
Twenty-Five
One Year Later
“Blair! You ready?”
“One minute!” I hurried out of the bedroom and saw him standing at the top of the stairs, keys in his hands. “Sorry,” I said breathlessly. “This thing takes a minute to get on. Can you zip me up?”
“I’m better at unzipping this dress, but sure.”
I laughed, turning my back to him. When I was all zipped up in my strapless white gown, I faced him again. “I’m lucky this thing still fits. How do I look?”
“Like a debutante ready for the ball—or at least a photo shoot.”
“Is my tiara on straight?”
He pretended a close assessment. “It’s perfect.”
“Is my lipstick smudged?”
“Nope.”
“Good.” I looked him up and down, and my entire body tingled. “You look cute too.”
He glowered at me. “You know how I feel about cute.”
I laughed. “I can’t help it. The baseball uniform gets me. I know you weren’t actually wearing it the night we met, but I think for the photo shoot, it’s perfect.”
The Bellamy Creek Gazette was running a series on how local couples had met and fallen in love, and Cheyenne had submitted our names and the details. The editor had gone crazy for the story of how I’d gotten myself stranded here after my car broke down and then fallen for the mechanic who fixed it. She especially loved the detail about my wardrobe, and how Griffin had caught me when I fainted. She wanted us to re-enact the scene.
The only difference, besides putting Griffin in his Bulldogs jersey, was that she wanted the photos taken in a different location—rather than in front of the credit union, where it had actually happened, the editor wanted the photographer to snap us in front of the shop I’d just opened up: The Bellamy Creek Boulangerie.
I’d cut the ribbon over the Fourth of July weekend, and business had boomed from the start. Betty’s apple pie was a huge draw, of course, but with Mr. Frankel’s blessing, I’d tweaked things here and there to make it my own. After tasting it, he told me Betty would have been proud. I also served all kinds of cakes and pastries, strata and quiche, rolls and doughnuts, muffins and scones, along with coffee, tea, fresh lemonade, and mimosas on weekends.
Frannie and her family had come down for the ceremony, pushing their new babies in a double stroller—twin girls they’d named Audrey and Emmeline. It meant everything to me to have her there, since she’d been so supportive of me throughout the previous year.
As promised, I’d stayed on at Coffee Darling throughout her entire pregnancy, taking over full-time while she was out on maternity leave. It hadn’t been easy, because at the same time, I’d been in the process of buying the old Main Street Bakery in Bellamy Creek, lining up the financing, designing and overseeing its renovations, and planning for a summer opening.