Chapter 35
T ori strolled down Main Street toward The Word Well, her phone pressed to her ear. “I doubt that,” she said, a teasing lilt in her voice. “Alex, he kissed you.”
Inside the bookstore, where Alex was filling in for Tori, she paced behind the counter, her phone cradled between her shoulder and ear, her brow furrowed in thought.
“The more I think about it,” she murmured, “it was more of a friendly kiss. I mean, he’s a romantic—he writes about love. Maybe he’s just... like that.”
Tori let out a scoff as she weaved past a chalkboard sign advertising that week’s book club pick. “I think you’re reading too much into it. Nobody is so romantic that they go around kissing everyone.”
Alex paused, fiddling with Will’s pen as her voice dipped lower. “You should’ve seen how he hugged this... Margot. It was an affectionate embrace. There might have been a cheek kiss in there.”
“Talk to him,” Tori urged gently. “Don’t let your past get in the way of your future. In the meantime, come outside and see why I needed you to cover me today.”
Still on the call, Alex made her way toward the front of the store, her curiosity piqued.
When she stepped through the door, the crisp morning air rushed to greet her, carrying the scent of cinnamon rolls and early chatter from the street.
There stood Tori—smiling like she’d just dropped the hottest gossip in town—beside a tall, broad-shouldered man in his thirties. Alex’s eyes went wide.
She quickly ended the call, tucked her phone away, and raced down the steps. “Tye?” she cried, her voice rising with delight. “What an incredible surprise!”
Tye Sullivan beamed and opened his arms wide. “Hey, Sis. It’s so good to see you.”
Alex threw her arms around him. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m on a business trip and thought I’d swing by to see everyone,” he said, pulling back to grin at her. “But it sounds like I’m here to beat up the guy messing with your heart.”
Laughing, Alex gave him a playful swat. “Don’t you dare.” She turned toward Tori with mock exasperation. “Tori, you really need to stop using speakerphone.”
But her attention quickly returned to Tye as she hugged him again. “Wow, it’s so good to see you, Tye.”
Just a few blocks away, the front porch of Whispering Pines creaked under Will’s boots as he stepped out, ruffling his hair with one hand and scanning the street with an easy smile—until his gaze snagged on the bookstore. Or, more precisely, the scene playing out in front of it.
There was Alex, lit up with laughter like someone had flipped on a spotlight inside her. Her arms were flung around a broad-shouldered stranger, and before Will could process what he was seeing, the guy lifted her clean off the ground in one swooping, joyful spin.
Will’s steps slowed. His smile wavered, then faded altogether as he watched Alex beam, her head thrown back, that infectious laugh of hers echoing faintly down the block.
The easygoing confidence he’d left the inn with took a sudden nosedive, landing somewhere between confusion and something a lot like disappointment.
He stood there, frozen in place, the breeze tugging at his collar, trying to convince himself it wasn’t what it looked like—even as every instinct told him it absolutely was.
“Just who I was looking for,” he murmured to himself, though the words came out flat.
He watched a beat longer, then glanced down, the expression on his face unreadable. Pulling out his phone, he made a quick call.
“Hey, Margot,” Will said quietly. “Save me a seat on the train. I’ll, uh... help you pitch the next series after all.”
Without waiting for a response, he ended the call, slipped his phone back into his pocket, and cast one last look down the street toward Alex—still laughing, still in someone else’s arms—before turning and disappearing inside.
* * *
The B&B settled into its midday rhythm as Alex and Tori breezed through the front doors. The scent of lemon polish and cinnamon lingered in the air––the kind of small-town comfort that wrapped around you like a favorite sweater.
Behind the desk, Zach looked up with an easy smile. Relaxed, alert, and clearly in his element, he radiated the calm confidence of someone who had everything under control—and didn’t mind letting the world know it.
"Thanks for covering, Zack," Alex said, leaning on the counter. "Any messages? Water line breaks? Or other earth-shattering news?"
Zach chuckled and replied, “No problem, and no. Everything is fine here.”
Tori let out a relieved breath beside her.
Zach added, “If you don’t need anything else, I’ll get a jumpstart on dinner.”
“I’ve got it from here. Thanks,” Alex said with a nod.
“Always happy to help,” Zach said, turning to go. But he stopped halfway, pivoting back with a finger raised like he’d just remembered something important.
“Oh! I almost forgot,” he said, directing his words at Alex. “Mr. Hartman checked out and said to thank you for the hospitality.”
Alex’s brows lifted. “Checked out?” she asked quickly. “Did he leave a note?”
“No ma’am,” Zach said, shaking his head. “He was in a hurry—said he had to catch the train.”
With that, Zach offered a polite smile and made his exit, disappearing into the back with the same breezy energy he’d arrived with.
Alex stood frozen, the smile slipping from her face. She turned to Tori, something raw and flickering behind her eyes.
“I knew it,” she said softly, her voice tight with disbelief. “He left… with her. Margot. None of this was… real.”
Her fingers instinctively closed around the necklace resting at her collarbone—the one Will had given her. She held it like it might somehow explain everything, or at the very least, keep her heart from completely unraveling.