Chapter 21
MIRANDA
The weekend was already magical, and the Fall Harvest Fest had barely begun.
Miranda chatted with friends and other business owners, returning to their shops or heading toward the park for the costume contest. To think that all of this was due to her terrible picture-taking skills.
If she hadn’t done a bang-up job snapping pics of her toes, none of this would be happening now.
It was more proof that Jim’s philosophy on showing up authentically was working.
She parted ways with Jim, Shelby, and Pete, who were off to film the costumes and get some extra B-roll.
“Duty calls, see you at the park in an hour or so?” Jim said, giving her a warm smile as he reached out his hand to help her to her feet.
“I’ll scope out the best spot to film the contest,” he said, pulling away and clearing his throat as if he were trying to compose himself, too.
Miranda knew her cheeks were flaming, but she didn’t care. Jim made her feel like she was floating on air. She watched him leave and began picking up their things.
“Miranda, I have just the woman for Pete,” Astrid Jenkins, the owner of Happy Hounds, a dog bakery around the block, said, catching Miranda’s arm.
“A woman for Pete?” Miranda took off the tape they’d put up to reserve their viewing spot.
Astrid bobbed her head enthusiastically.
She was a free spirit, an artist who had retired to Half Moon Bay to open a shop dedicated to four-legged friends.
“She’s extremely intelligent—a chemical engineer, but she also does stand-up comedy on the weekends.
Well-rounded, wouldn’t you say?” She didn’t wait for Miranda to respond.
She stuffed a bag of leaf-shaped peanut butter dog treats into her tote.
“I’ll get them in touch ASAP. It could be the love connection he’s looking for.
Here’s hoping.” She crossed both her fingers and continued on her way.
“Oh, okay.” Miranda waved as the owner crossed the street.
“Great,” she mumbled under her breath. Was Pete looking for a love connection?
Since when? He hadn’t mentioned anything to her.
Could that be what had been bothering him lately?
She couldn’t put her finger on what it was, but she knew something had been off.
He’d been quieter, more distant. But she didn’t want to pry.
He was an adult. If he wanted to talk, he knew she was always ready to lend an ear.
The chef at the Italian restaurant three doors down, Mangiamo!, stopped her next. “Hey, Miranda, just so you know, my best friend’s daughter’s cousin would be perfect for Pete. Tell him to come by on Sunday. She’s been filling in a few shifts as a favor to me, and I’ll introduce them.”
“Uh, sure, yeah.” Miranda nodded, curious about Pete’s sudden popularity.
Not that he shouldn’t be popular. Any woman would be lucky to date her son.
He was kind, curious, thoughtful, and funny.
Not everyone got to see his dry sense of humor.
He’d always been more internal. He was a careful observer and inherently intuitive.
Once he opened up and felt comfortable, he became a secret prankster and had a natural ability to let the people around him shine.
She was about to ask the chef at Mangiamo!
more, but he was already headed for the popular restaurant.
She finally clued in when Kat Webb, the high school honors English teacher, flagged her down. “Miranda, ooh, I’m so glad I caught you. Please let me help set Pete up. I have a student teacher who needs to meet him immediately. Are you going to the harvest dinner? Is Pete?”
“Yes, we both are.” Miranda tossed the bundle of tape into the garbage can. Something weird was definitely going on.
“Great. I’ll make sure to swing by your table.
” Kat patted Miranda’s arm and then pressed both hands to her chest. “We’re all like you.
We just want our kids to meet someone great, and Pete has always had a special place in my heart.
He’s such a gem. I’m with you, we need to find him a lovely young woman. ”
“Hold on a second.” Miranda stopped her. She brushed her hands on her jeans and grabbed the camp chairs. “Have I missed something? You’re the third person in the span of about five minutes who’s offered to set Pete up.”
“You haven’t seen it?” Kat asked, making room for a group of tuba players to pass.
“Seen what?” Miranda had a bad feeling about this.
“The video.” Kat pulled her phone out of her book bag that was designed to resemble a library card catalog. She scooted closer to show Miranda the viral clip.
“Oh no.” Miranda threw her hand over her mouth and hung her head. “Oh, no. Poor Pete. He’s going to kill me.”
“Why?” Kat tapped the screen to play the video again. “Tell him we all love it. Half Moon Bay is on a mission—find Pete Brown a girlfriend.” She winked. “See you at dinner.”
An uneasy feeling washed over her. Miranda took a minute to gather her thoughts before heading inside.
She might need to be more careful. She wasn’t used to having cameras in her face.
A tiny seed of doubt planted itself in her head.
She was caught up in the excitement of Voyager and “crushing on Jim,” as Elise would say.
But this was a glaring reminder that she needed to take a beat.
She was working with professional marketers.
It wasn’t like the video was bad, but she didn’t want to put Pete in an uncomfortable position.
In fairness, Jim had asked her if it was okay, but the music had been loud, and he said something about a fun video.
She hadn’t pictured this or considered that Pete would be involved.
This felt like an overstep of a boundary.
She was the one who had signed a contract with Voyager. Not Pete.
Her stomach swirled with nerves, but not the good kind.
What were Jim’s motives?
Had she put her trust in the wrong person?
And how could she fix this with Pete?
Pete was her main priority, and she knew he’d be terribly upset by this. She tried to call him, but he didn’t answer. She needed to get back to work, so she left him a voicemail explaining the mishap.
“Honey, I’m so sorry about the video. It’s my fault. I didn’t think it through. I said yes without watching it first. I guess I’m caught up in the excitement of it all, but it will not happen again. Call me or come by the store when you can, okay. I love you.”
Miranda hated that she’d put Pete in the middle, but there wasn’t anything else she could do in the meantime except continue to apologize.
Inside the store was buzzing with activity.
Everyone had followed the mayor’s suggestion and was filling baskets to the brim with wine, honey, fruits, cheeses, and spread.
Miranda tied on an apron and scooted behind the deli counter to help her young staff wrap sandwiches and package soups and salads to go.
It was great to see the store so busy, but if sales kept up at this rate, she would be sold out by Sunday.
Miranda had to be in the moment, so she spent the next forty-five minutes offering customers a taste of award-winning blue cheese and paper-thin slices of prosciutto, while internally she couldn’t stop worrying about Pete.
“There are three key elements to achieving a classic Italian prosciutto,” she said, handing a customer a piece of the dried ham on parchment.
“Sea salt, air, and time. I always like to say that it’s a good metaphor for life.
” She tossed her hand in the direction of the ocean.
“Can’t we all use a bit of the salt sea, a fresh ocean breeze, and the gift of time? ”
The customer agreed and purchased a half pound of the cured meat. Miranda packaged more salads and sandwiches to go and kept everyone caffeinated with their cold brew finished with pumpkin cream and cinnamon foam.
Once the post-parade rush died down, Miranda handed off the store to her capable staff and walked to the park with Elise.
“So, Aunt Mimi, I’m assuming you’ve seen the video?
” Elise stretched out the question as she looped her arm through Miranda’s and practically danced down the street.
Elise had always been a free spirit. Miranda saw a lot of herself in her niece.
Elise was bright and bubbly, quick to laugh, and yet had a much deeper, spiritual side.
She hadn’t said anything to Pete, but Elise had confided in Miranda that she was on a bit of a personal quest to find herself.
She’d gone through a bad breakup a few years ago, and rather than jumping into a new relationship, she was taking time to unpack what she really wanted for herself and out of a partner.
She’d been meditating on the beach every morning, taking yoga classes, swimming, journaling, and concentrating on her floral designs to get to know herself better.
Miranda was so impressed. She hadn’t had that same sense of self-discovery at Elise’s age.
She’d fumbled her way through mistakes and wrong turns, but like she’d told Elise, things always had a way of working out, even if they didn’t work out as expected.
“Unfortunately, I did.” Miranda frowned. “But only right before things got chaotic. Is Pete upset?”
“Define upset?” Elise tipped her head to one side to shield her face from the sunlight. “I mean, yeah, kind of. He shouldn’t be, though. His DMs have been blowing up. He literally has women from all over the U.S. begging to come meet him.”
“That explains my interactions right after the parade.” Miranda filled her in on the multiple offers she received to play matchmaker for her son. “It’s my fault. Jim asked me if he could post something fun and cheeky, and I agreed without even thinking. Is it a bad look?”
“What do you mean?” Elise dug through her oversized purse looking for her sunglasses. The glasses were tinted yellow and reminded Miranda of John Lennon. It was funny to see how fashion trends tended to recycle themselves.
Miranda gave her niece a sheepish shrug.
“I didn’t mean for that to go viral. I am honestly upset with myself and with Jim.
I feel he crossed a line. Yes, technically, he asked me, but is he trying to take advantage of us?
I hate that Pete is upset about it and that suddenly he’s all over the internet. ”
“Oh, no, Aunt Mimi, it’s great. It’s all in good fun.” Elise leaned into her shoulder affectionately. “Pete might be embarrassed, but are you kidding me? This has to be a major ego boost. Who wouldn’t want thousands of smart, funny women reaching out to you?”
“But I looked bumbling again, and Shelby has been very adamant that she wants to ‘elevate’ my brand.” Miranda used air quotes to accentuate her point.
Elise chuckled and tossed away the thought with her wrist. “Yeah, I wouldn’t worry about that.
You’re being yourself. That’s what makes it endearing.
It feels very authentic and real to me. I don’t think Jim meant any harm.
I don’t get that vibe from him at all. It would be one thing if it were staged, but it’s so wholesome.
And, come on, it’s so you, Aunt Mimi. You’re constantly trying to set us both up.
That’s why the video is going viral. Not to mention Pete is such a great catch, but he isn’t totally motivated by the attention. Women go bonkers for that combo.”
Miranda wished she shared Elise’s confidence.
The last thing she wanted was for her partnership with Voyager to make Pete uncomfortable.
She hoped that this experience would be good for all of them, Pete and Elise included.
She needed to find Jim and Shelby and fix this right away.
She could already picture Pete being surrounded by a group of well-intended moms, trying to convince him to date their daughters.