26. Troy
Completely stunned at Milly’s words, I spin the truck around in the middle of the street and go back the way we’ve just come. I can hardly think straight, but I’m wondering how it’s possible that the restaurant could be on fire. I haven’t been there in over a week. If I’d left the gas on accidentally, surely this would have happened far sooner.
So why is there smoke coming from the restaurant? Is this arson? Is someone trying to put me out of business before I’ve even had the chance to open? But if that is the case, who would do such a thing? I don’t have any enemies in Cherryville. I never did.
None of this is making any sense.
I’m tearing through the traffic on the main street, slamming my horn at anyone who gets in my way.
“Move, will you?” I bellow.
Weaving in and out of the lanes, I hear a lot of horns blaring back at me, but I don’t care. The panic is rising. I still have some capital left, but otherwise, I’ve put my all into this place. It isn’t just about the money. It’s all the time, effort, and energy it’s taken out of me.
Milly is hanging on for dear life, her body thrown back and forth around the cab as I maneuver around the slow drivers in front of us. She looks a little worried, but not terrified. To be honest, I can’t take her fear into consideration right now. This is an emergency.
Five minutes later, I turn onto the street that leads to the restaurant. It only then occurs to me that I haven’t heard any sirens, which is pretty strange. There’s smoke coming from my restaurant. Surely someone has called the fire department.
I fly around the next corner, my eyes open wide, looking for signs of fire as the restaurant comes into view.
But as I scream to a halt directly across the street, I can’t even see any smoke.
“Where is it?” I demand.
But Milly doesn’t answer. She has already jumped out of the truck and started hurrying to the restaurant entrance.
Clambering out of the truck, I strain my neck as I look to the sky, but still, I can’t see anything.
“Where’s the smoke?” I call over the hood.
Milly doesn’t answer, and instead of asking again, I check the ring of keys in my hand. I’m searching for the restaurant key, but no matter how hard I look, I can’t find it. What the devil is going on?
I lift my head and call out to my sister. “Milly—”
But as I go to ask her if she’s seen the key, she pushes the restaurant door open and rushes inside.
What?
This isn’t making any sense. The restaurant should be locked. And where is my key? Seriously, am I in an episode of The Twilight Zone?
Still completely confused, I run across the street and follow her in. On top of wondering where my keys are and how the restaurant is open, my mind is also racing at the thought of how much damage I’m going to find.
I reach the door and slam it open with a flat palm, flying into the place in a panic. But I’m two steps inside when I suddenly come to a screeching halt.
“What the—?”
Milly is nowhere to be seen, but even if she were standing right beside me, I wouldn’t notice. I’m too mesmerized by the complete transformation of the dining area of my restaurant.
To begin with, there’s no smoke. I can’t see it, I can’t smell it—it’s just not there. What I can see are tables set with gleaming cutlery, shining glasses, spotless plates, and perfectly folded napkins, all laid on top of beautifully crisp white linen tablecloths.
The soft lighting from glowing bulbs fitted into the ceiling above is bright enough to see but dim enough to create an atmosphere. There are also circular curtain poles bolted into the ceiling at different intervals, each holding a flowing piece of emerald green chiffon that separates sections of the room while enabling one to see through it.
The walls are painted, and the wall art is positioned perfectly. In the center of the feature wall, a huge, scrolling piece of art featuring the name of the restaurant gleams with striking chrome and silver. The whole place is stunning. Perfectly stunning.
At this point, I’m breathless and completely stunned. And then, as I lower my eyes again to take in the scene, I see Charlie sitting at a corner table, watching me. Behind me, I hear the restaurant door open, but when I spin around, all I can see is Milly darting outside.
And then, everything becomes crystal clear.
Milly hadn’t wanted me to go away with her because she wanted to spend time with me. Well, maybe she did, but it certainly wasn’t the main reason. She and Charlie have been in cahoots. That explains why my key is missing.
Slowly, I move across the dining area of my dreams and come to a stop at the table where Charlie is seated.
“Did you do all this?” I ask, still completely blown away.
She shrugs, and a small smile creeps onto her mouth. “I had a little help.”
“I’ll bet you did,” I gasp. “But it was you, right? You made all of this happen?”
“Yes,” she says. “I made all of it happen.”
“May I sit?” I say, gesturing to the chair.
“It’s your restaurant, Troy.”
Charlie looks at me, but where I feel a mixture of overwhelm and delight, she looks worried, if not a little sad.
I sit down, not taking my eyes off her. “So, no fire?”
She smiles and shakes her head. “No fire. And for the record, that was Milly’s idea.”
I roll my eyes. “Why am I not surprised? That girl was born for drama.”
Charlie nods but doesn’t speak.
In fact, neither of us speaks for a whole minute, but when I can’t stand the silence any longer, I say, “What changed, Charlie? Why all this?” I gesture to the splendor that surrounds us. “You haven’t spoken to me in nearly two weeks. I don’t understand.”
She takes a deep breath in, then breathes out a long sigh. “I was wrong, Troy. That’s what changed. Not only was I wrong, but I jumped to conclusions based on that false belief.”
“You mean about what your dad said,” I acknowledge.
“Yes. I made a grave mistake. I believed him. I’m sorry—”
“You don’t have to apologize,” I cut across her.
“Please, Troy. Let me finish.”
“Sorry.”
She inclines her head and then continues. “I should have given you a chance to at least defend yourself, but I was so angry. That wasn’t right. Nor was it fair.”
“Well,” I say, “perhaps I deserved it. It’s what you get when you lie to the woman you love.”
Her eyes widen for just a second.
“It’s true,” I admit. “I do love you, Charlie. I love you, and I am in love with you.”
“Then I only have one question,” she says.
“Ask it. I will tell you anything you want to know.”
“When we came back from your grandmother’s party, and you invited me in for dinner, we sat and talked for a long time afterward.” I know what her question is going to be, but I remain silent and wait until she gets to it. “I asked you why you left. Do you remember what you told me?”
I nod. “Yes. I do.”
“But that wasn’t the truth.”
“No, Charlie. It wasn’t.”
“Then my question is, why couldn’t you be honest with me? I’m not mistaken if I say that even then, you wanted us to get back together, am I?”
“No. You’re not mistaken.”
“I don’t understand, though. How can you feel so deeply for someone and not be honest with them?”
I look straight at her, mainly because I want her to see how honest I’m being. “Do you remember that day your car wouldn’t start, and I drove you to your clients?”
She nods.
“And do you remember inviting me in for coffee?”
“Sure,” she says, a small frown forming. Clearly, she’s wondering where I am going with this.
“You probably don’t remember that you talked about your dad.”
“No. I remember that, too.” She’s still looking confused. “Is there an end to this story any time before midnight?” She half smirks.
“I’m getting to it. So, you talked about your dad, and what surprised me in that conversation was how well you guys were getting along. When I left, your relationship was precarious at best.”
“Okay.”
“The thing is, while you were standing there telling me how he had kicked the drink and how you guys saw each other all the time, I was seething inside, Charlie. And not because he had blackmailed me into leaving. I remember what your father was like all those years ago. How he treated you, how he yelled at you, what a nasty drunk he was.”
Charlie drops her gaze and nods.
“I hadn’t been here to see his change, his growth. It was after that conversation that I vowed not to say anything to you about what had happened.”
“But why?” Charlie presses.
“Because I didn’t want to ruin what you and your dad had. Can’t you see? You and he finally saw eye to eye. If I told you what he had done, all that would have been ruined.”
Charlie looks a little stunned, and she stares at me for a whole minute. “You mean, the only reason you didn’t tell me the truth was to save my and Dad’s relationship?”
“Yes,” I sigh. “For all the good that did me.”
Charlie leans forward and grabs my two hands in hers. “Troy,” she breathes. “Even after what he put you through?”
“I didn’t do it for him, Charlie. I did it for you.” I’m looking down at our hands as she softly strokes my fingers. “I’ll understand if you can’t get past the fact that I told you a lie or if you can’t forgive me. I know how you feel about all that kind of stuff.”
Charlie pulls her hands away and stands up. She then rounds the table and approaches me. I turn to face her, and she comes in close, standing between my open legs. She takes my face in her two hands and tilts my face up to look up at her.
“You think I would have gone to all this effort if I didn’t forgive you?”
I’m about to reply, but she lowers her head and brushes her lips against mine. She kisses me so tenderly that I can’t catch my breath. I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her in close.
Explosions are going off around my body, mixed with relief, love, and adoration for this woman.
When she pulls away, she gazes into my eyes. “I love you. No more secrets,” she whispers.
“No more secrets,” I repeat. “And I love you, too.”