Chapter 13 #2
“Hey—” He reached out and took her hand. “We will clean this up together, but for right now, I’ve got another plan for your booth. Trust me.”
Right.
But he left her there as he disappeared into the kitchen.
He returned moments later holding an ice cream container.
“You have plenty of ice cream left over from the Stevenson wedding a few weeks ago, plus what you’ve made in between batches of fudge to, as you say, fuel your creativity .
Sell that today, with whatever fudge you can salvage. ”
“Ice cream?” Lily took her own mental inventory. She had been making a lot of fudge—and yes, ice cream too, as a way to ease the stress over the last few weeks of the competition. “I don’t know.”
“You can do this. You’ve got all those creations sitting in there.” Declan waved toward the walk-in freezer. “Besides, even if I were able to help you make the fudge, I don’t have all your specialty ingredients and?—”
“And your dad would never speak to you again if you loaned me supplies.”
“Probably.” He glanced toward the door, where his parents were likely still waiting. “But I’m working on him, Lily. I am.”
“He doesn’t seem like he’ll ever come around. Your mom, either.” Her chin trembled, but no, this wasn’t the time for tears. It was the time for bravery and fortitude. The time to focus.
Declan’s gaze softened and he pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I’m still in this if you are.”
Lily’s mouth opened to respond, but the kitchen door swung open with a bang. “Are you coming?” Frank stood there, glaring at them once again.
Sighing, Declan dropped his hand from her face, took a step away, and looked at her. “You’ve got this, Lil.” Then he joined his parents.
“I sure hope so,” Lily whispered to herself.
Two hours later, Lily stood under her tent along Main Street, her vendor display nearly complete. Dad had rounded up every fan on the island to dry out the fudge shop, though they’d tripped the breaker and had to dial back her production.
The last thing she needed was to burn down Jonathon Island.
Mia dropped a box of supplies onto the extra table at the back of the booth. “I bought every cone I could find and cleared out the disposable bowl and spoon section in the market,” she said. “Cody will be here in a minute with the rest.”
“You’re a rock star.”
Mia gave her a hug. “I’m happy to help. And look at you—your display is so bright and cheerful.” She pointed to Lily’s yellow sign—the one Declan had helped her order. It was indeed cheerful, and the purple lettering stated “Hart Family Fudge” in gorgeous cursive.
“Thanks. I considered adding ‘and Ice Cream’ to the end of the font in permanent marker, but didn’t think my chicken scratch would look very appealing.”
“Even then, it would still catch more eyes than the Kelley’s Classic Fudge sign.” Chuckling, Mia thumbed over her shoulder across the street, where Declan’s booth sat between Martha’s and Patrick’s—a unifying of the Kelley family.
She couldn’t help but notice the dividing line of Main Street between them.
Or the handsome man behind the booth—the one she’d completely lost her heart to, despite the very unimaginative black-and-white sign with touches of red. Classic indeed, just like her Declan, though his aviators disguised him as a rebel.
But maybe, if he really was willing to defy his family’s expectations and be with Lily, he was more of a rebel than she’d thought.
I’m still in this if you are.
She dearly hoped so.
Lily shoved all negative thoughts away and laughed with Mia. “Guess we’ll see tonight.”
“I believe in you, Lil. Dani does too. She’s racing around here somewhere, but wanted me to tell you how proud she is of you. You’ve got this.”
Right. “Thank you.” At least she had plenty of pistachio, coffee toffee, and even maple bacon ice cream, along with her forty-five pounds of fudge.
All was not lost.
Sunshine warmed her face and filled her with the kind of nostalgic hope of a Norman Rockwell painting.
Colorful flags fluttered from the lampposts along the cobblestone street—which was closed off to all but foot traffic on either side of the long stretch—and the bustling atmosphere developed a buzz as all the vendors completed their displays and early arrivals began venturing through.
Cody dropped a stack of cardboard boxes behind the stand and surveyed her display.
“Oh, wow. You really don’t have a lot of fudge.”
She dumped another bag of ice into the bath her ice cream buckets sat in. “It’s okay. We’re due for a hot day, and everyone will be screamin’ for ice cream, right?”
Please, God, let it be true.
Either way, Lily had done her best. And maybe, just maybe, success was still at her fingertips.
* * *
If anyone looked up cad in the dictionary, Declan was certain his picture would be found.
Even though he’d left Lily with a plan, he still felt like he’d also left her hanging. Again.
But he’d also seen how close Dad had been to exploding.
Hadn’t wanted to expose Lily to that. And his parents’ surprise appearance hadn’t given him time to figure out how best to express to them his true feelings for Lily.
He wanted them to accept the relationship, but with the competition still going on, now wasn’t the time.
Still, walking away from Lily for the second time was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do.
And he hoped with everything in him that she understood.
Declan hefted another box onto his decorated table and placed the wrapped fudge onto his display.
The Beach Boys sang Don’t Worry, Baby over a stereo system, the perfect song for the summer day vibe—and an ironic one too, given Declan’s currently spiraling thoughts.
Lily’s booth was straight across from his, so bright that the sunlight caught the glittery surface of her banner and dutifully blinded everyone walking by.
Thankfully, his suggestion about the ice cream had paid off, because for hours now, she’d been bombarded with tourists, filling order after order and laughing.
It distracted him more than he should admit.
Isaac—who had shown up to help run the Martha’s on Main booth—had even had to call Declan out a few times, reminding him to tend to his own customers instead of staring across the way.
Of course, that had earned more than a few frowns from Mom, though she had yet to actually say anything about finding him and Lily so close this morning in the fudge shop kitchen.
Surely, it was coming, but she too was focused on the Main Street Festival today, running back and forth between her kitchen and the booth to serve up mini meatloaves, turkey sandwiches, sweet potato fries, chili, and a variety of other items off a limited menu.
Declan had already seen so many townspeople and tourists come through, their arms loaded down with purchases from the antiques shop booth, from Mia’s small booth featuring her own paintings, from the maritime-themed booth run by Grace Marconi.
Aunt Whitney had even helped Grandma walk through earlier, when it was much cooler out and not so crowded.
She’d taken a sample of fudge, closed her eyes, smiled, and said, with tears in her eyes, Just the way my Barry and I used to make it.
Then she’d patted Declan’s cheek, told him how proud she was, and shuffled to Mom’s booth.
Hopefully, he wouldn’t let her down. He’d sold a lot of fudge, but Lily’d had a steady line throughout the day.
The crowd had filtered through, winding among the vendor booths, making their way back after hitting the carnival-type games set up in Blueberry Hill Park, eating lunch beneath the trees in the park or at the picnic tables spaced throughout Main Street.
Despite the competition, it was thrilling to see people back on the island.
It wasn’t as extravagant as past events, and there weren’t fireworks or a concert or any other things that had made past festivals great.
But it was a start—a literal small spark.
As construction continued on the Grand Hotel, with targeted recruiting, Jonathon Island really might return to that former glory.
A part of him didn’t want to miss that.
“How’s it going?” Interrupting his thoughts, Brandon walked up to the table and perused the offerings. He carried a generous green scoop in a waffle cone.
“It’s going great, no thanks to you, traitor.”
Brandon licked a drip off his cone. “Oh, yeah—sorry. But, she’s got pistachio, and it’s really good.”
“Whatever, dude.” Declan waved him off. It’s not like he was actually upset, but it was fun to tease his cousin. He’d miss him when Brandon left town?—
Wait—what? Apparently, his heart had already made up its mind.
“I’ll buy from you too. It’ll cancel my purchases out.” Brandon bit into the ice cream. “Seriously, though. This stuff is amazing.”
“I know.” And Declan was okay with that—because, deep down, he really did want Lily to win, despite the fact that he had no idea what kind of aftershocks it might cause Dad if they lost the fudge shop. If Grandma lost her house.
But they’d figure it out, together.
Because he’d finally found someone to share his life with. Someone who saw him as more than a problem solver, more than a title, more than a suit.
Lily saw Declan for who he was—flaws and all—and she accepted him. More than that, she wanted him.
Declan looked over and caught a little smile from Lily. It was the reassurance he’d been needing all day. He grinned back at her.
“Dude, you’ve got it bad.” Brandon leaned in closer. “So I’ve gotta ask—did you take my advice?”
“What advice is that?”
Brandon gave him a look.
Declan busied himself with plating a few fudge samples. “I don’t kiss and tell.”
“My man!” Lifting a hand for a high five, Brandon laughed. “So you did kiss her.”
He pushed Brandon’s hand down. “Shh.” Declan glanced at Mom’s booth, but thankfully she was busy with a customer. “I haven’t told my family yet. That’s a conversation for after the contest, when we know who won.”