Chapter 23
Chapter 23
I STOOD IN THE Cozy Cottage kitchen, leaning up against Josh, one of his arms wrapped around my middle, the other holding a frosty glass of champagne. It had been nine weeks since The Color Run and we had been getting to know one another and spending a lot of time together. It had been nothing short of blissful.
We had been on our first date together the day of the run, and many, many more since, virtually living in one another’s pockets. He’d spent time with Dad, discussing his new Paleo lifestyle and giving him exercise tips, and he’d opened up to me about his brother and how horrible it had all been. We’d even visited Dan’s grave together one Sunday afternoon with his mother, Meredith, and Bailey.
We were in that wonderful first flush of a new relationship, and life could not be better.
“I would like to make a toast to my new partner,” Bailey said, raising her champagne flute in the air. “Paige, without you, tonight would probably never have happened, so thanks for all your ideas and enthusiasm. I think the Cozy Cottage is a better place with you in it.” She grinned at me and a blush climbed up my cheeks. “To Paige.”
Cassie, Will, Marissa, and Josh repeated, “To Paige,” and we all clinked glasses and took a sip.
“Tonight might have been my brainchild, but without you , I would probably be stuck in some job I hated, spending as much time as possible on the other side of the counter here, so here’s to you, Bailey.” I raised my glass, and everyone toasted Bailey. “And it helped the singer was cute.”
“Oh, my! He was,” Marissa said, fanning her face.
“Hey!” Josh protested playfully.
I turned to face him. “Not as cute as you, of course.”
He grinned at me before planting a kiss, firmly on my lips. “That’s good to hear.”
I smiled at him, the butterflies still having a party in my tummy every time our eyes locked. Even though he was the same old Josh with the same old puns on his T-shirts—tonight’s edition reading “Cool Beans” with a coffee bean in shades—he was my Josh. And it had to be just about the best darn feeling in the world.
I raised my glass. “Here’s to the first of what we hope will be many more successful ‘Cozy Cottage Jams.’ Ooh, there’s an idea. We could do a line of jellies!” I raised my eyebrows at Bailey.
She shook her head. “Let’s just deal with the Friday night concerts first, shall we? Baby steps, remember?” she laughed.
Tonight had been our inaugural “Cozy Cottage Jam,” and the café had been packed to the gills, all tickets sold out over a week ago. It could have been because people loved this place almost as much as we did, or because the food here was so good, or it could have been because the acoustic guitar-singer was a fantastic local guy who wrote and played his own songs. The fact he looked a bit like a young Johnny Depp hadn’t hurt, either.
Whatever it was, tonight had been a smash hit, Bailey’s and my first new venture as Cozy Cottage partners. It was a great start.
“Now, everyone, eat up. We’ve been slaving away on our new line of pies, and we need you all to be our guinea pigs,” Bailey said, uncovering the four pies on the kitchen table she and I had been devising together over the previous weeks. “This one is pumpkin with a cinnamon twist, this one is deep-pan apple and raisin, this one is rhubarb and strawberry, and this one I bet will be the girls’ favorite: chocolate mud pie.”
“With pleasure,” Will said, grabbing a fork and plate from the stack.
“We don’t need to be asked twice,” Josh added, joining him.
I leaned up against the counter with Bailey as we watched our friends devour the pies, exclaiming each one was better than the last.
“We’re good at this, you know,” she commented, nudging me in the side.
“I know,” I replied, nudging her back.
With only a matter of crumbs left on three of the four pie dishes fifteen minutes later—we may need to revisit the pumpkin pie recipe—Marissa cleared her throat. “I have an announcement to make.” She paused for effect. “I’ve met someone.” Her face was shining. “Well, a few someones , actually.”
We all laughed, Cassie exclaiming, “What?”
“Isn’t it meant to be One Last First Date, Marissa? Not Three or Four Last First Dates?” Bailey asked with a chortle.
“Well, to be fair, we didn’t quite manage to get it right first time, did we?” Cassie said to me.
“But we did in the end.” I gave Josh a small smile, and he winked back at me.
“Yeah, but not a whole sports team!” Will chimed.
Marissa put her hand in the air. “I know, I know. And it’s only three.”
“ Only three?” My eyes were wide.
“Okay, here’s the thing. You guys are always going on about how fussy I am about men, right?”
We nodded. “It’s true, she is,” Cassie said.
“I figured I’d go on Three Last First Dates and pick the best one of the lot. It’s a numbers game, don’t you see? Plus, I want what you two have got,” she said, nodding at Cassie and me. “Well, not Josh and Will, of course. My own guy.”
“So, you’ve decided to take this seriously, huh?” I asked.
“I have,” she replied with conviction. “Things have . . . changed for me, and I want to find him.”
Cassie shook her head as we all laughed at Marissa’s audacity, admirable as it was. “You know what? I think it’s a great strategy. Just having One Last First Date didn’t work out for us”—she pointed at both me and herself—“so I say why not?”
“Thank you. I will take that as your blessing.” Marissa beamed.
“Only you would go on Three Last First Dates, Marissa,” I commented, shaking my head, wondering exactly what it was that had changed for her.
Before I had the chance to ask, Cassie said, “What about you, Bailey? Are you thinking of looking for your One Last First Date?”
“Or five,” Will added with a chuckle.
I glanced at Bailey, hoping the question hadn’t upset her. As far as I was aware, the others didn’t know about her fiancé. But then, she had agreed to the One Last First Date pact on the beach that night, so perhaps she was ready to move on and meet someone new?
“I might very well be.” She had a quiet air of confidence to her, and when she looked at me, we shared a smile. “But right now, we’ve got a kitchen to clean up and beds to get to. Some of us have work in the morning.”
We set to it, cleaning and stacking the dishes and straightening the kitchen up. With everyone gone, Bailey wished Josh and me good night and slipped out the front door.
“You know what?” Josh said, pulling me in for a hug.
I looked up into his eyes, my heart clenching at the sight of him. “What?”
“I think my brother would be happy with the way things turned out.” He kissed me on the tip of my nose. “You did good.”
“I hope so.”
He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine, kissing me so long and so well, I swear I saw stars by the time we were done.
“Come on, you. Let’s head home.”
As I flicked the light switch off and Josh held the door for us to leave, I took a final look around the Cozy Cottage. The chairs were stacked on the tables, the only light coming from the drinks refrigerator behind the counter. I let out a contented sigh. This . This was where I wanted to be. This was my home.
Out on the street, I locked the door behind us. I slipped my hand into Josh’s. As he squeezed my hand and smiled at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling the way they did, I knew what I’d known since our very first kiss, what others had seen before I had any clue: Josh was my Last First Date, and I was the luckiest girl in the world.
THE END