3. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
H e had changed.
It wasn’t just physically. He was more reserved.
Carrie didn’t know how she felt after seeing Jackson again. When they were kids, he was the boy next door—the friend she turned to when she was bored—the person who taught her to fish—the one she’d confided in when she’d had her first crush on the most popular boy in school.
Jackson had been there when she’d had her first heartbreak. She’d thought he would always be there. But when he’d wanted more than she was willing to give, he’d gone off to college while she stayed in Bayberry, working and saving her money. And their communications had dwindled.
She’d lost her best friend.
Today’s reunion had only driven home the reality of the situation. He hadn’t even offered her a hug like they’d done so many times in the past. Her heart cracked. She’d lost someone very special, and it hurt. A lot.
But she didn’t have time to feel sorry for herself, because Alice was counting on her. She should have returned by now.
On her way back to Totally Chocolate, she ran into the delivery guy, Archie Crosby. “Good morning.”
He sent her a sunny smile. “Hey, Carrie. How’s it going?”
“Good.” As long as Jackson quit pounding on the wall.
“You sure look pretty today.”
“Thank you.” He was always handy with the compliments. He was a really nice guy. “I can’t really talk today. I have to get back to work.”
“No problem. I don’t have much for you today.” He handed her a small cardboard box.
“Thank you. Have a good day.” She rushed back inside Totally Chocolate.
After dropping the box off on the work table, she washed up and then moved to the front of the store. As she rushed to the counter to help the customers, she was quite certain the number of people in the shop now exceeded the fire code. Wow! This was a bigger turnout than she could have ever hoped for. She knew it was a one-time thing. Everyone was curious to see the new business.
The rest of the day moved by swiftly. However, Jackson was never far from her thoughts. The more she replayed their reunion, the more she noticed signs that something was wrong. Sure, he was still as handsome as ever, but there were worry lines marring his face and shadows under his eyes. Was he working too hard? Her thoughts didn’t linger for long, because there was always another customer to wait on.
By the end of the day, she was exhausted. But since they’d ended up staying open longer than their normal store hours, she thanked Alice for her help and sent her home while Carrie stayed behind to close up.
And that was exactly what she was doing when there was a knock at the door.
“We’re closed!” she called out from behind the counter.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Someone was certainly persistent. And with the blinds drawn, she wasn’t able to see who it was. Could it be Jackson? Had he decided to stop by after all?
Spurred on by curiosity, she got up and headed for the door. She pulled back the blinds to look out at her three closest friends: Kate, Abby, and Sadie.
Carrie quickly unlocked the door. “What are you guys doing back here?”
The three of them had all visited the shop when it had opened that morning. She really appreciated their support, but she hadn’t expected them back that evening.
“We came to take you to dinner,” Kate said.
“Not just any dinner,” Abby said.
“It’s a celebratory dinner.” Sadie smiled at her.
Carrie glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was already going on seven o’clock. The shop was supposed to have closed at six. No wonder she was hungry.
“Let me just finish up here.” When her friends frowned at her, she said, “It won’t take me long.”
And it didn’t take her more than ten minutes. She would be in early the next morning to replenish the chocolates. But her friends were right: tonight was for celebrating—even if Jackson hadn’t bothered to come to her grand opening.
She stopped her train of thought. She didn’t want to think about him now. Every time she thought of him, it torpedoed her mood. She didn’t know why she thought they’d be able to overcome their problems and resurrect their friendship. Lots of people grow up as friends but eventually go their separate ways. This was not any different.
After she locked the front door of the shop, she glanced at the vacant storefront next door. Was it her imagination or was there a faint glow of light coming from the cracks in the plywood covering the front of the store?
She didn’t have time to give it a closer look, because her friends were dragging her away. Besides, what did it matter that he was there late? Whatever he did was none of her business.
When they arrived at Romano’s Ristorante, they got a table toward the back. Her friends were in great moods. The chatter was on high speed and non-stop.
Abby lightly elbowed her. “Hey, what’s the matter with you? I thought you’d be over the moon excited after your grand opening.”
Carrie affixed a smile to her face. “I am.” She didn’t want to mention what was really on her mind, so she said, “I think I’m just exhausted. It was a lot of work, and today we were incredibly busy.”
“But that’s what you want? Right?” Sadie asked.
“Of course. I just hope we get some business tomorrow. I can’t help but wonder if people just stopped by out of curiosity. Now that they’ve seen the place, they won’t be back.”
Kate’s mouth gaped. It took a moment for her to gather herself. “You can’t be serious.” When Carrie shrugged, Kate said, “But didn’t those people buy your chocolates?” When Carrie nodded, Kate continued. “Then you have nothing to worry about. They are addictive.”
Carrie smiled at her friend. “Thank you for the kind words, but you’re just saying that because we are friends.”
“No, I’m not. And I’ll prove it.” Kate reached into her purse and pulled out one of the brown and pink boxes that Carrie had specially ordered for the shop. When she placed it on the table and lifted the lid, it was empty.
Carrie’s gaze went from the empty box to the pout on her friend’s face. “You ate them all?”
Kate nodded. “I totally blew my diet, and it was so worth it.”
Carrie’s smile grew. “You really liked them that much?”
“Of course,” Kate said.
“Me too.” Abby withdrew a little box from her purse. It was empty too.
When Sadie withdrew her box from her purse, there was one chocolate in it. She quickly popped it into her mouth and let out a moan as she devoured it. “So good.”
“On second thought,” Kate said. “Maybe this chocolate shop isn’t such a good idea after all.”
“Why would you say that?” Sadie asked.
“Because soon none of my clothes are going to fit.” Kate’s voice took on a teasing tone.
“Aw... But see then you have the perfect excuse to buy a new wardrobe,” Abby said.
Kate smiled and nodded. “I like the way you think. There’s nothing better than shopping for a new wardrobe.”
Carrie continued to smile as she looked at the three of them. She may have lost her friendship with Jackson, but at least her friendship with Kate, Abby, and Sadie had endured the test of time.
“What would I do without the three of you?” She didn’t even want to imagine it. “Thank you all. You’re the best.”
Later, as they ate their pasta dinners, the conversation turned to a bit of gossip around town. In Bayberry, gossip was a daily occurrence. And sometimes it was almost a competition to see who could unearth the news before anyone else.
“Guess what I heard today.” Abby didn’t wait for any of them to answer. “Florence Wright ran off to get married.”
“Wait.” Kate looked confused. “I thought my aunt said Florence was off on another of those bus tours she likes to take.”
“Now that you mention it,” Abby said. “I heard Florence was in London visiting Jackson. But obviously that’s not right if he’s here in town.”
When everyone looked at Sadie, she said, “What are you all looking at me for? I haven’t heard any of the gossip.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be on top of this stuff?” Abby asked. “After all, your dad owns the Bayberry Gazette .”
“Stop.” Carrie looked at Abby, who nodded. Most everyone in Bayberry had noticed Florence’s absence. It was like she left town in what felt like the middle of the night without a word to anyone, which was unlike her. And now everyone was guessing at the reason. Each guess got more outlandish than the last one. “That’s ridiculous. I know for a fact that she’s off visiting friends.”
It wasn’t until the words were out of her mouth and her friends were all staring at her that she realized she might have made a mistake by revealing this information.
“What?” Carrie looked at each of them.
“Where exactly did you get your information?” Kate arched a brow.
Carrie thought about her conversation with Jackson. He didn’t say anything about his mother’s trip being a secret or anything, so why not tell her friends?
“Actually, Jackson told me,” Carrie said.
“Jackson?” Sadie’s gaze narrowed in on her. “I didn’t think you two spoke anymore.”
“We don’t.” Her answer was a little too quick and caused more arched brows. “We don’t.” The denial came out slower that time, but it was too late to convince her friends that there wasn’t something secretive going on.
Kate took a sip of her pop before setting it aside. “Then how did you find out about Florence going to visit friends?”
Carrie glanced down at her partially empty plate of spaghetti and meatballs. “I ran into him today.”
“He’s in town?” Abby asked. “Why is this the first we’re hearing about it?”
Carrie shrugged. “I don’t know. All I know is there was this loud banging sound during the grand opening. When I went to investigate, I found Jackson next door in the vacant storefront.”
“That’s strange,” Kate said. “What was he doing there?”
“He had a sledgehammer. It looked like he was demoing the place.”
“Interesting,” Abby said. The other two nodded their heads in agreement. “Wonder if his mother knows what he’s up to?”
They all shrugged.
What happened with Florence and her son was none of their business—and that included her. At that moment, she just wanted to end this line of conversation.
“But…” Abby said. “It makes you wonder why he’s in town if his mother is visiting friends.”
That was a good point. Carrie inwardly groaned. Now she had something else to wonder about. It was a very odd time for him to be in Bayberry and he wasn’t acting like himself. Something was going on… Then she reminded herself that it was none of her business.
Sadie asked, “Is he married yet?”
When everyone looked in Carrie’s direction, she resisted the urge to squirm in her seat. “Stop looking at me. It’s not like he confides in me. These days he’s more like a stranger than an old friend. If you want to know if he’s married, you’ll have to ask him.”
Kate studied her for a moment. “What happened? I thought you two used to be good friends.”
Carrie never told them about the evening that changed everything between her and Jackson. “We were kids back then. We grew apart when he left for college, and I stayed here.”
“It’s a shame,” Abby said. “He’s so good-looking.”
Not wanting to continue this discussion about Jackson, Carrie chose to change the subject. “So, what’s everybody up to for Valentine’s?”
Kate smiled. “Wes said he has something special planned.”
Carrie was so happy that Kate and Wes had found each other again. They were so happy together. “What are you going to do?”
“That’s the problem,” Kate said. “I don’t have a clue. And he won’t tell me, so I don’t know what to wear. What about you?”
Carrie shook her head. “Just working and going home.”
Everyone looked at Abby. Her eyes widened. “Why is everyone looking at me? You all know that Matt and I broke up.”
“It’s been a while,” Kate said. “You could meet someone new.”
Abby rolled her eyes. “I don’t think so.”
Kate turned to Sadie. “And what about you? Do you have a Valentine?”
Sadie shook her head and waved her off. “No. And I don’t have any interest in getting one. I have enough other problems.”
Kate leaned back in her chair and looked around the table at them all. “Are you really telling me that you all are giving up on love?”
Carrie nodded. “I don’t have time.”
Abby nodded. “I’m not ready to start over.”
Sadie nodded. “I’m not interested.”
“You just haven’t met the right guy yet.” Kate paused, as though she were thinking up some sort of plan to introduce them to the right guys.
Carrie got an uneasy feeling in her stomach. When Kate made her mind up about something, she could be very determined. And now that Kate was head over heels in love with a truly great guy, she wanted everyone else around her to be just as happy.
Carrie didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but that wasn’t going to happen—at least not for her. She was keeping her eye on the prize—her chocolate shop. She didn’t need to be distracted by some guy—even if it was the most romantic time of the year.
Kate’s eyes widened as she stared toward the front door. “Oh, look. There’s Codi. Carrie, doesn’t he want to get back with you?”
Carrie inwardly groaned. Kate knew it was true because she’d told her about him messaging her. Codi had his chance and blew it when he’d dumped her to date someone else. She wasn’t going to take him back after the other woman blew him off.
Carrie narrowed her gaze and said firmly. “That’s never going to happen.”
Kate nodded. “I understand.”
As Carrie made her way back to her apartment, she couldn’t believe Kate had attempted to play matchmaker. Although, this wasn’t the first time she’d done it. Back in high school, she’d done it when none of them had been asked to the prom. Of course, they had all been disappointed.
In the end, Kate asked their guy friends to be their escorts. At first, Carrie liked the idea of attending the prom with her best friend. Although Jackson had been hesitant about the date.
He’d told Kate he wasn’t planning to go. Her friend finally convinced him to go. The evening started nice enough but ended when he’d attempted to kiss her. She’d turned her head and the kiss landed on her cheek.
It had caught her totally off guard. It felt as though the ground beneath her feet had shifted and left her struggling to regain her bearings. Scared that she was about to lose her best friend, she’d tried to explain away his spontaneous action as just getting caught up in moment—after all they were on a date.
But that just made the awkward moment worse. He was upset with her and she felt awful for hurting him. She just never looked at him that way. After all, he had always been the boy next door—the one she never had to put on appearances for—the one person she could be one hundred percent herself around. She’d never thought of him being anything other than her friend.
She could still remember the way he’d stared at her with that dejected look on his face. The memory tugged at her heart strings. She remembered him turning his back on her.
She hadn’t let herself remember that evening in a very long time. Things had never been right between them after the almost-kiss. That summer Jackson had been busy getting ready to go to college in New York, where he’d earned a full ride scholarship. Eventually they talked but it was different. There was a distance between them that she couldn’t traverse, no matter how hard she tried.
Had enough time passed for them to fix what they’d broken all of those years ago? She liked to think so, but only time would tell.