Chapter Nine
Caroline
We originally called Lila about last-minute wedding details, but it quickly turned into details about Tom and me.
I don’t leave out anything—the candlelit dinner, the potpie, the story behind the cake.
All of it. But when I reach the part about the kiss, I hesitate.
Do I admit that I gave in to my desires and went for it?
It just seems so intimate, too special. And against everything I’ve told myself.
But Maggie nudges me with a knowing grin. “Don’t you dare leave out the juicy parts, Care.”
I take a deep breath and blow it out. “And then…I kissed him.”
I watch the screen as Lila’s mouth drops, and Maggie, sitting next to me, gasps.
With Maggie’s wedding just one week away, the reality of what transpired hits me like a ton of bricks. Once this wedding is over, I’m leaving for Charlotte. What’s supposed to happen then?
“Oh no,” Lila starts. “She’s biting her lip. She’s overthinking!”
Maggie nudges me again. “Stop it, Care. This is good news!”
“Mags, I…” My voice trembles.
“I’ve been rooting for the two of you since the Summer Festival.”
Lila chimes in, “Yes, you two had instant chemistry.”
“And Tom is the sweetest. He’s such a good match for you,” Maggie continues.
Despite myself, a smile tugs at the corners of my lips. I think of him bringing me coffee, the way I feel calm and myself when I’m around him, the electricity I felt when we kissed.
“I, just…what comes after this? What happens when I leave after the wedding? Our lives are in different places.”
“Caroline,” Maggie turns her body to face me, “you’re always planning. Always trying to control everything. Life isn’t meant to be completely planned out. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and see it unfold.”
“Mags is right,” Lila adds. “And it seems to me like you really like Tom. Maybe it’s time to take a chance.”
They’re right, I can admit that (just maybe not out loud yet). Maybe it is time for a change. Maybe it is time to just live. But there’s still a twisting feeling in my stomach, like a fist clenching tighter.
“What if he doesn’t feel the same way?” I whisper, tracing the rim of my coffee mug. “What if he doesn’t want to do long-distance or doesn’t see this as a long-term relationship? Right now, we’re just flirty friends who have now kissed.”
Lila’s pixelated face softens. “Have you talked to him?”
I shake my head.
“Well, I’d start there.” Maggie sets her hand on my arm. “But Tom isn’t one to play games, Care. If he’s shown interest in you, it’s because he genuinely likes you. And believe me when I say, he blushes every time I’ve mentioned your name, even before you got here.”
A blush? Really? I imagine Tom, all rugged five-foot-ten of him, blushing like a schoolboy at the mere mention of my name. It’s almost too adorable to bear.
“Alright, I’ll think about it.” I straighten the stack of wedding binders on the coffee table. “Now, enough about me. Let’s get back to your wedding. I still have a few things to get from Charlotte. Let’s iron out the day before prep.”
Our conversation shifts to fairy lights that need to be strung, and who’s in charge of what in these final frantic days.
I flip through my color-coded planner, reassuring myself that my trusted coordinator, Jen, will handle the day-of chaos so I can focus on Mags.
And what comes after the bouquet toss and the last dance?
The pages of my planner offer no answers when it comes to Tom and me.
I’m heading back from Charlotte for a few last-minute errands, and every muscle in my body aches with exhaustion.
It’s only a few-hour drive, but I’ve been going nonstop since four a.m. Pulling into Blue Alder Cove, my temporary home for just two more days, a sense of calm washes over me like cool water.
The hustle of seeing the florist, wrestling boxes out of the storage unit, and the final meeting with Jen, just to turn around and navigate rush-hour traffic back here, has left my temples throbbing.
I juggle twice this workload daily without blinking, but something about this small town has rewired my internal clock.
I turn off the highway onto the two-lane road leading straight to Blue Alder Cove.
It’s open fields with the lake coming into view.
As I enter town, I mistakenly take a left instead of a right, and before I turn around, I spot a big red sign.
A “For Sale” sign stands in front of an old abandoned two-story Victorian house with peeling paint and missing shingles.
It has charm to it, even though it desperately needs some tender loving care.
It’s a large property with a picturesque view of the lake.
Not quite on the lake, but close enough.
A scene plays in my head of weddings and events held there.
String lights sway between the oak trees, white chairs in neat rows, and a flower-draped archway framing the water, one like Mags and Jake built.
I shake the images out of my head and make a U-turn for Maggie’s house.
I pull into the driveway, greeted by the beautiful sunset-painted lake.
Tom’s cherry-red truck sits next to me on Jake’s side.
We haven’t talked much since that candlelit dinner.
I’ve buried myself in seating charts and vendor calls, and yes, okay—maybe I have purposefully filled every minute because I’m terrified about what’s next.
I struggle with the boxes from my trunk when a warm, woodsy scent of sandalwood fills my nose. Tom.
“Let me, Caroline.” His voice sends a shiver down my spine as his calloused hands brush against mine, taking the boxes with effortless strength.
“Thank you,” I manage, suddenly aware of how I must look after today. I rub my hands down my hair and underneath my eyes. “So what are you doing here?”
“Returning some tools I borrowed from Jake. Figured we might need them.”
“Mmm, yes. Tomorrow.”
“You look tired. Long day?” His warm brown eyes scan my face with such tenderness that my knees nearly buckle.
“You have no idea.” I exhale, opening Maggie’s front door. “But it’s all for Mags and Jake. So it’s worth it.”
He raises an eyebrow, a smirk playing on those lips I can’t stop thinking about. “Want to talk about it?”
“Unless you’re interested in centerpiece emergencies,” I shoot back, folding my arms across my chest. “I don’t think so.”
Tom chuckles. “Maybe I am, Red. Enlighten me.”
His teasing, calm tone brings a smile to my face. He’s grown on me. As much as I try to keep my feelings safely locked away, he makes it really hard to do so.
Deciding to play along, I launch into the story of my day, starting with the centerpiece mishap that I fixed in a jiffy, a near collision with a delivery truck that missed my bumper by inches (his fault, not mine), and how my usual Charlotte coffee shop made me long for Edna’s Caramel Macchiato at the Driftwood Diner.
“I guess I’ve just gotten used to the way Edna makes it.”
He has a funny look on his face, a half-smile where one corner of his mouth quirks up higher than the other, like he wants to say something. He sets the boxes down on Maggie’s polished hardwood floor, and when he stands back up and looks at me, I squint my eyes at him. “What’s that look for?”
“Oh, nothing. Just, uh, listening intently.” His deep voice has that teasing lilt that makes my stomach flutter.
I roll my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. “No, it’s something more. Come on, spit it out.”
He takes a step closer to me. “Well, Red, sounds to me like our little town has grown on you.”
“What?”
“You had a million tasks to do today, but since you’ve been here, it’s been slower for you.
” His warm brown eyes hold mine, refusing to let go.
“You encountered crazy drivers in the city, but the only crazy driver you’ll find here is Edna.
And she’s the same one who makes your coffee just right, so I think you let it slide. ”
I take a moment to process everything he said, and he’s right. I think I’ve grown accustomed to this town over the last month. It’s the quiet streets, the unhurried pace—Tom.
He takes a step closer to me, but I step back too, until my shoulder blades press into the wall. He stands inches away from me now, looking right into my eyes.
“Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong,” his voice drops to that husky timbre that makes my skin tingle, “but I think you like it here. You’ve come to cherish the simplicity that Blue Alder Cove provides. And you’ve gotten attached to the people…to me.”
“You have one thing right,” I whisper, my heart hammering against my ribs.
“What’s that?”
“I have grown accustomed to one thing.” I close the distance between our bodies and lean toward his ear, my lips brushing against his ear. “Edna’s coffee.”
Tom’s eyes snap to mine, surprise melting into amusement as he catches the smirk playing on my lips.
He shakes his head, a slow smile spreading across his face.
One hand comes up to cup my cheek, and the other rests on my hip as he leans in and captures my lips with his.
I kiss him back, my fingers curling into the soft cotton of his shirt, anchoring myself to him as the world around us fades away.
A throat clears behind Tom, the sound like a hammer shattering the bubble we were in. I jerk back to see Jake leaning against the doorframe, his eyebrows raised so high they nearly touch his hairline. Beside him, Maggie’s pink-glossed lips press together, barely containing her delight.
“Are we interrupting something?” Jake’s voice drips with exaggerated innocence.
“Not at all,” Tom replies at the same time I blurt, “Just discussing some wedding details.” My hands flutter uselessly at my sides.
Maggie nudges Jake with her elbow. “Honey, they’re having a meeting.”
“Yes, a meeting,” I echo, my voice an octave too high.
They both dissolve into peals of laughter.
“What?” I ask, rubbing my palms against my jeans.
“Matthew and Beth were caught kissing, and they said they were having a ‘meeting.’ So now that’s what we call it.” Maggie clarifies, stifling her laugh.
Heat crawls up my neck and floods my cheeks until they burn like embers.
Tom’s fingers find mine, intertwining them with casual confidence. “I like our meetings.”