9. I Think I Melted Something
i think i melted something
Marnie
Marnie had made a decision.
She'd chosen spontaneity. Chosen risk. Chosen Gabriel.
And now, standing backstage at the Tadoussac venue with fifteen minutes until the livestream started, she was trying very hard not to throw up.
"You okay?" Gabriel appeared beside her, looking unfairly calm in a button-down shirt that somehow made him look both professional and devastating.
"Define okay."
"Conscious. Breathing. Not actively fleeing."
"Then yes. Barely."
He smiled and squeezed her hand. "You're going to be great."
"What if I'm not? What if I freeze on camera? What if I say something stupid? What if..."
"Marnie." He turned her to face him. "You've done dozens of these presentations. You're brilliant at this."
"This is different."
"Because I'm here?"
"Because everyone's watching." She gestured vaguely toward the venue, where the audience was gathering. "Because they think we're, they want us to be..."
"Together?"
"Yes."
"And we are. Kind of. Almost." He tilted his head. "What are we, exactly?"
Despite her nerves, Marnie felt a smile tug at her lips. "I don't know. We didn't define terms."
"Very unlike you."
"I'm trying this new thing where I don't plan everything."
"How's that working out?"
"Terrifying."
He laughed and pulled her into a hug. She let herself sink into it for a moment, breathing in woodsmoke and safety.
"We're going to be fine," he murmured against her hair. "Just talk about wine. I'll talk about cheese. We'll let everyone else write their own story."
"And after?"
"After, we write ours."
Marnie pulled back to look at him. "That was smooth."
"I've been practicing."
"Liar."
"Okay, I thought of it this morning and have been waiting to use it."
She laughed, actually laughed, and some of the tightness in her chest loosened.
"Five minutes!" Kayla called from the doorway. "Everyone ready?"
Gabriel offered Marnie his arm. "Ready?"
She took a breath. "Let's do this before I change my mind."
* * *
The venue was perfect.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the Saint Lawrence River, the late afternoon sun turning everything amber and gold.
The audience sat at small tables, wine glasses ready, looking enthusiastic and engaged.
Three cameras were positioned around the room, and Clara was managing the live chat on a large screen.
Marnie stepped up to the main table, Gabriel beside her, and felt the weight of fifty pairs of eyes plus however many thousands were watching online.
She could do this. She'd done this a hundred times.
Just not with her heart pounding quite this hard.
"Good evening, everyone," she said, her voice steady despite everything. "I'm Marnie Cole from Evergreen Estates Winery, and this is Gabriel Bouchard from Fromagerie Bouchard. Thank you for joining us for the final stop of our wine and cheese tour across Ontario and Quebec."
Applause. Warm, genuine.
She could do this.
"Tonight, we're going to explore five pairings that represent the journey we've taken together, from Niagara to here, from strangers to..." She glanced at Gabriel. "Colleagues. Friends. Partners in promoting two incredible regions."
Gabriel picked up smoothly. "We'll be tasting five cheeses from Quebec paired with five Ontario wines, and we want you to experience them with us. We'll explain the choices, the flavors, the stories behind each one."
"And we'll take questions throughout," Marnie added. "Both from our live audience and from those watching online."
The chat was already exploding with comments. Clara read a few aloud:
THEY'RE SO CUTE TOGETHER
When are they going to admit they're dating???
I'M HERE FOR THE ROMANCE
Marnie felt heat creep up her neck. Gabriel just smiled.
"Let's start with our first pairing," he said, holding up a small wheel of cheese. "This is a young chèvre, goat cheese, from our spring production. It's bright, tangy, slightly citrusy."
Marnie held up the corresponding wine. "We're pairing it with our Sauvignon Blanc. The wine has similar citrus notes, grapefruit, lime zest, with a crisp acidity that complements the cheese without fighting it."
They served samples to the audience, walking them through the tasting. Marnie found her rhythm, falling into the familiar pattern of educating, explaining, connecting.
This was what she loved. This was what she was good at.
And having Gabriel beside her, building on her descriptions, adding his own insights, it felt right. Natural. Easy.
They moved through the second pairing, then the third. The audience was engaged, asking questions, laughing at Gabriel's stories about Maurice and the chaos of cheese-making.
Then someone raised their hand.
"Question from the audience," Kayla called out.
It was a young woman in the front row, grinning. "This is less about the pairings and more about you two. Are you actually dating, or is this just really good marketing?"
Marnie's stomach dropped.
Gabriel looked at her, eyebrows raised slightly. Your call.
She could deflect. Keep it professional. Stick to the script.
Or she could be honest.
Marnie took a breath.
"That's a fair question," she said. "The truth is... it's complicated."
The room went very quiet.
"When we started this tour, we were strangers.
We had different styles, different approaches.
Gabriel wanted spontaneity, I wanted structure.
He trusted the process, I needed control.
" She glanced at him. "But somewhere along the way, we figured out how to work together. How to trust each other. How to..."
She stopped, realizing what she was about to say.
Gabriel stepped in smoothly. "How to appreciate what the other person brings.
Marnie taught me that planning isn't about control, it's about care.
Making sure things are done right because you care about the outcome.
" He looked at her. "And maybe she learned that sometimes the best moments are the ones you don't plan for. "
The audience was hanging on every word.
"So are we dating?" Marnie said. "Honestly? We're figuring it out. This tour gave us something unexpected. Something real. And after tonight..." She met Gabriel's eyes. "We'll see what happens next."
The room erupted in applause.
Clara was practically vibrating with excitement as she read the chat:
OMG THAT WAS THE MOST ROMANTIC NON-ANSWER EVER!
JUST KISS ALREADY!
I'M CRYING!!!
Kayla gave Marnie an enthusiastic thumbs-up from the side.
Gabriel's hand found hers under the table, squeezing once.
"Should we continue with the pairings?" Marnie asked the audience, trying to regain some semblance of professional composure.
They moved through the final two pairings, an aged Cheddar with their reserve Chardonnay, and finally, Gabriel's Fleuron with the Riesling that had started everything.
"This pairing," Gabriel said, holding up the cheese, "represents compromise. Marnie wanted one wine, the sommelier wanted another, and I suggested a third option." He grinned. "I was right."
"He was right," Marnie agreed. "And that's not easy for me to admit."
"I know. I'm savoring it."
The audience laughed.
"But here's the thing," Marnie continued. "Good pairing, whether it's wine and cheese or anything else, isn't about being right. It's about finding balance. Complementing each other. Bringing out the best in each other."
She wasn't just talking about wine anymore.
Gabriel knew it. The audience knew it.
She looked at him, and something passed between them, understanding, promise, the beginning of something she couldn't quite name yet but wanted desperately to explore.
"Thank you all for joining us tonight," Gabriel said. "For following along on this tour, for supporting local producers, for..."
"For believing in us," Marnie finished.
More applause. The livestream chat went wild.
And then it was over.
The cameras stopped rolling. The audience mingled, buying wine and cheese. Kayla and Clara were already planning social media posts.
Marnie stood at the table, feeling oddly deflated. They'd done it. The tour was over.
Now what?
* * *
She found Gabriel an hour later, standing alone on the venue's back deck overlooking the water. The sun had set, leaving everything in soft twilight.
"Hey," she said quietly.
He turned, smiling. "Hey. You were incredible in there."
"We were incredible."
"Yeah. We were." He leaned against the railing. "So. The tour's over."
"Yeah."
"What happens now?"
Marnie stepped closer. "I have some thoughts."
"Let's hear them."
"Thought one: I live in Niagara. You live in the Eastern Townships. That's about three hours."
"Manageable."
"Thought two: We both have demanding jobs. Unpredictable schedules. I travel a lot for work."
"So do I, sometimes."
"Thought three: This could be really hard."
Gabriel's expression softened. "Is there a thought four?"
"Thought four is that I don't care. I want to try anyway."
He straightened, closing the distance between them. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." She looked up at him, heart pounding. "I spent so long being afraid of things falling apart that I forgot some things are worth the risk. You're worth the risk, Gabriel."
"That might be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."
"I'm just getting started." She took a breath. "I like you. I really, really like you. You're patient when I'm spiraling, you defend me when I need it, and you make me laugh even when I'm trying to be serious. You've made me want to be braver. And I..."
He kissed her.
Finally, finally kissed her.
His hands came up to cup her face, gentle and sure, and Marnie felt something in her chest crack open, all the careful control, all the planning, all the fear, just dissolving into this moment.
The kiss was soft at first, tentative, like they were both afraid of breaking something fragile.
Then Marnie pressed closer, her hands fisting in his shirt, and it became something else entirely. Something sure and certain and real.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Gabriel rested his forehead against hers.
"I've been wanting to do that since the grilled cheese," he said.
"The grilled cheese was days ago."
"I know. You have no idea how patient I've been."
Marnie laughed, giddy and breathless. "Thank you for waiting."
"Thank you for being worth waiting for."
She kissed him again, softer this time. Sweet. Perfect.
When they pulled back, she said, "So. We're doing this?"
"We're doing this."
"I'm going to panic sometimes."
"I know."
"And overplan everything."
"Looking forward to it."
"And probably try to organize your cheese storage."
"Please don't. It's a delicate system."
She smiled against his mouth. "No promises."
They stood there for a long moment, wrapped up in each other, the river flowing beside them and the stars starting to appear overhead.
"Hey, Marnie?"
"Yeah?"
"What's your favorite book?"
She pulled back to look at him. "What?"
"Your favorite book. I said I wanted to know, back on the bus. So I'm asking."
Marnie felt something warm bloom in her chest. "Pride and Prejudice."
"Of course it is."
"What does that mean?"
"It means you're exactly the kind of person who loves a story about two people who think they hate each other but are actually falling in love."
"Are you saying we're..."
"I'm saying maybe life imitates art." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Or maybe you just have good taste in books."
"Both. Definitely both."
From inside the venue, they heard Kayla's voice calling for them.
"We should go back," Marnie said, not moving.
"Probably."
"They're going to take one look at us and know."
"Good. I'm tired of hiding."
"Gabriel Bouchard, are you saying you want to go public with this relationship?"
"I'm saying I want to go anywhere with this relationship, as long as it's with you."
Marnie kissed him again, just because she could.
They walked back inside hand in hand, and if everyone noticed, if Clara took approximately forty photos and Kayla literally squealed and Darnell gave them a rare smile and a nod, well.