19. Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Nineteen
Luna
Thomas family meetings are boisterous, and this one is no different.
It’s the second one they’ve had today, but with baked goods and coffee involved, no one complains.
Catching sight of Vivien, it hits me that this is real.
I’m back in the fold of this beautiful family, and my heart swells.
It feels like just yesterday that I dropped in on Lorelai in the Thomas’ mountain cabin along with Vivien, Emma, and Ella.
Back then, I didn’t think I’d ever fix things with Rafe. And now? I’m going to be his wife.
“Is it safe to assume someone talked you out of selling Sweet and Salty?” Mav asks, glancing at Rafe and me. His eyes travel down to our linked hands and he smiles with that undeniable mission accomplished grin.
“Not exactly,” Mr. Thomas says and settles into a chair near the display. “We had an offer to buy already.”
“What?” Vivien whines. “Already?”
Mrs. Thomas nods. “Yes, and we have agreed to a partnership with an eventual take over.” She motions toward Rafe and me and smiles. “Meet the soon-to-be new owners of Sweet and Salty.”
“Rafe and Luna?” Silas asks. He glances between us and our parents. “Does this mean…” He leaves the question open-ended for us to fill in.
Rafe squeezes my hand and looks at me. “Luna and I are officially engaged. She’s moving back to Coldstone Creek once her exhibit opens, and we’ll transition to full ownership of the bakery over the next year.”
Silas throws his hands in the air and laughs. “Great, now I’ll have to wait even longer to propose to Ella.”
Evidently, he forgot Ella was in the room, sitting right beside him, holding his hand. She sits straighter than a pin and slowly turns her head to look at him. “You’re…planning to propose?”
Silas’ mouth falls open, and I truly believe he just now realized what he said aloud. “Well…yeah…we talked about it, right? We said we would when the time is right.”
“Yes,” Ella says, nodding along with her reply.
“So, yeah, I’ve been trying to make the time right, and these guys keep stealing it.”
“We are not—”
“Shh!” Emma nudges Lev while her eyes are glued on Silas and Ella.
“No, I mean, yes. Yes, I’ll marry you,” Ella says, ignoring the rest of the very full room.
“But I didn’t—”
“Just agree,” Ella says. “I’ve been waiting and waiting. Just agree, Silas.”
“You’re sure you don’t want—”
“I want you. That’s all.” Ella’s eyes water and it seems to finally hit Silas. She doesn’t need something special, some big show of love. She just needs him.
Rafe squeezes my hand. It’s too bad we figured out the same thing the hard way, but it looks like Silas and Ella aren’t going to make the same mistake.
“I just want you, too. Will you marry me, Ella?”
Ella nods her head again and throws herself onto him while everyone’s uproar of encouragement still cannot drown out Mrs. Thomas’ squeal. Once Ella is free from Silas’ grip, Mrs. Thomas squeezes her next future daughter-in-law.
“You know,” Mrs. Thomas sits straighter and gets that sparkle in her eyes that says something insane is about to come out of her mouth, and we may or may not escape whatever plan she has concocted.
For the first time, I realize that Mrs. Kilmer might have worn off on her.
“Your cousins, May and Calliope, had a double wedding. I could definitely pull off a triple wedding with a little help.”
Lev’s nose scrunches at the very idea. “Mom, no.”
“Oh, come on. What’s wrong with a triple wedding? Then half of my boys will be settled down with the best women a mom could want for daughters-in-law, and then I can move on to worrying about the other five.”
“I’m nineteen, Mom. I have time,” Mav says as he slowly slinks toward the exit.
“You’re almost twenty,” she reminds. Yep, he’s in her crosshairs too. The youngest Thomas has officially gotten on the marriage radar.
I lean close to Rafe and cup his ear with my hand. “You wanna scram and tell my parents before we get roped into this?”
“Absolutely, before we end up underwater with this triple wedding idea. Unless, of course, you’re up for it?”
I grimace.
“Enough said. But one question, can we just go back to our farmhouse and pick out new curtains?”
“No, sir. You have to go talk to my father.”
“I was afraid of that. Scale of one to ten, how much does he hate me?”
The truth is, I’m pretty sure my parents were more upset with me than him over the breakup.
Of course, they supported my move to the city to take a great job, but they were less than happy about my methods and actions.
Turns out, they were right. It wasn’t very good of me to give Rafe an ultimatum—with a healthy dose of bad attitude, mind you—then get mad at him when he didn’t fight for me.
I’d presented it as a decision made, one he had no say in, and I paid the price for that.
“He doesn’t hate you. He and Mom will be happy we’re back together, especially since I’ll be moving back home.”
“So is it settled then? Triple engagement party?” Mrs. Thomas’ voice brings Rafe and me back into the conversation.
“Wait, what?” Rafe asks.
Silas and Lev look like they were just beaten into submission, but neither twin is willing to let their mother down.
I glance between them and Audrey, and realize this is my strong suit.
This is where I have more clout than the other ladies, except maybe Vivien and Lorelai.
I’ve been around for a long time, and I know how this family loves one another way too much to say no.
But I’m good at compromise.
“How about this, let’s take things slow and feel it out.
Once Emma and Ella have time to talk to their parents, we can decide what to do.
If they agree, we can plan from there. If the ladies want a triple party, we can do it for sure.
As for weddings, I’d kind of like to keep those separate.
” I top it off with a wide smile and bright, wide eyes so that Rafe’s mom feels like she’s a part of making us all happy.
And she is. Truly. She’s going to be an amazing mother-in-law, but sometimes she loves us just a little too much.
“I can live with that,” she agrees. “Shall we have some lunch?”
And just like that, this family has changed topics at breakneck speed. We’re congratulated a few more times before Rafe finally grabs my hand. “Okay, I really want to talk to your parents, then go back to our house to make plans. Ready?”
“I am. Let’s go, husband,” I tease.
“Oh, not yet, but I like the sound of that, wifey.”
With a playful nudge, I push him out the door and into the open of Main Street, Coldstone Creek.
I’m in love with my high school sweetheart all over again, and this little town has brightened my day once more.
I don’t regret going to Chatswain City in some ways.
I made an amazing best friend, I got to curate an entire exhibit, and I learned what I actually want and need in my life.
More importantly, I learned that trusting God’s plan for me will always be better than what I can dream for myself.