Chapter 20
SUNDAY
CHELSEY HAD A hard time not texting Taylor back.
She really didn’t want to wait until tomorrow to see him.
She’d slept in until almost ten, then laid in bed and stared at the ceiling.
So many thoughts swirled through her mind as she went over the details of the night: the successful auction; Dan turning the company over to her; being with Taylor.
Having grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade tomato soup with Taylor in his childhood home was the best way to top off the night.
It just felt right and somehow natural. Chelsey had allowed herself to relax and that opened her heart.
Taylor was wearing down the walls she’d put up so many years ago after he left.
No one man had been able to break through her barriers, until the one she’d been protecting herself from came back into her life with his beautiful smile and devastating dimple.
She plopped onto her couch with a sigh. She’d think about it tomorrow, probably all day until dinner.
For now, she stayed in her comfy sweats, and she had a choice to make: take-out and Jane Austen or take-out and Hallmark.
Maybe one for lunch and the other for dinner?
Either would distract her for the rest of the day.
She also planned to take a nap sometime in between shows.
The doorbell rang as Chelsey picked up the TV remote. Probably Heather bringing over food. She always checked on her and brought her healthy snacks to balance out her “brownie obsession.”
“I really don’t eat chocolate all day.” She opened the door and paused. It wasn’t her friend on the other side of the screen door, it was Taylor Compton. Had he been conjured up from the thoughts she’d been having only a moment ago?
Her heart pounded in her chest as she took him in.
He wore a faded pair of jeans and a blue polo that brightened his eyes.
She wasn’t ready to talk to him yet. She’d imagined being in a sundress, makeup and hair perfect.
Instead, she stood before him in sweats and probably still had sleep creases on her face.
She brushed a piece of hair up toward the messy bun she’d wrangled a few hours ago.
“I know you said you weren’t going out of your house today, but I thought you’d need more sustenance than sweets.” He nodded to the take-out bag in his hand.
“I’ll have you know I ate a granola bar today.” He didn’t have to know she ate it a few hours ago and promptly went back to bed. She took a deep breath. She was grateful her stomach didn’t growl. “Chinese?”
“Of course.”
“I guess you’d better come in.” She held the screen door open for him. The scent of woodsy musk and mint wafted as he passed. He’d brushed his teeth before he came over. That thought made her heart pound again.
He held up the food as he crossed to the kitchen. “Thanks. I couldn’t possibly eat all of this honey walnut shrimp on my own.”
“Yes, you can.”
“Who am I kidding, yes I can.” He winked at her over his shoulder, making her insides tickle.
He set the food and a bag of Kisses on the kitchen counter. As he pulled out the food containers, Chelsey grabbed bottled water from her fridge and set it in front of him.
By the time she settled on a barstool next to Taylor, he’d unpacked the food, napkins and chopsticks. “No tater tots, right?”
He huffed. “What kind of animal do you think I am?”
“The kind that tried it our junior year.” Taylor was obsessed with tater tots in high school and for at least six months tried them in all types of ethnic foods. He tried them in spaghetti, tacos, with sauerkraut and smothered in sweet-and-sour sauce.
“Touché.”
Chelsey pulled a container close and opened it. “You remembered my favorite.”
Taylor took the food from Chelsey then picked up one of the shrimps with his chopsticks and stuck it in his mouth. “No. This has always been my favorite.”
“Since when?” Chelsey pulled an onion slice out with her fingers and popped it in her mouth with a trembling hand. Having Taylor so near made her feel like she was in love with him all over again for the first time.
He opened another container and scooted it to her: beef and broccoli, another favorite. She found the rice and scooped some over the food.
“Since the time we snuck out of chemistry our sophomore year to try the new Chinese restaurant.”
“You remembered?” Chelsey didn’t dare look at him. She put her face close to the food to eat. She didn’t want him to see the vulnerability on her face. That was the day she fell head-over-heels in love with Taylor Compton.
“Of course, I remember.” Taylor paused. “It was the first time I knew I liked honey walnut shrimp.”
Is that all he remembered? She never forgot the fortune from the cookie: You will soon gain something you have always wanted. She thought it was fate and kept the slip of paper as a talisman. It was still in a box in her closet.
“That place didn’t stay open long, did it?” she said to take her mind off the past. This was the present, a gift with Taylor here. She would focus on that good fortune.
“The cockroach in the sweet and sour pork might’ve had something to do with the health department shutting them down.”
“Or the mouse that ran up Mrs. Dixon’s leg.” Chelsey opened another container with General Tso’s chicken and put some on her rice.
Taylor threw his head back and laughed. “That was classic. Someone said her screams were heard clear to Denver.”
“Clear to the governor’s mansion where she now resides.”
“Which was a blessing for the town of Juniper Valley when that family moved.” Taylor folded his hands in front of him as if he were praying.
Chelsey chuckled. It was a good day when Mr. Dixon won the governor race and the whole family moved to Denver. They were a little too full of themselves, especially their daughter, Brandy, who went to school with Taylor and Chelsey.
“I guess we should allow them a little grace. That happened over ten years ago and so much has happened since then.”
Taylor pushed his barstool back and stood to stretch. “There’s always something fun going on in Juniper.”
“You can’t be serious.” Chelsey twisted on her stool to see him. “You’ve traveled the world, met celebrities and you’re best friends with a pro baseballer. How can you say Juniper Valley is fun?”
“The world can be lonely, even in the most exotic places.” Taylor’s eyes took on a faraway look. “It’s not about where you are but who you’re with.”
Chelsey’s heart thumped in her chest as they locked gazes. Taylor reached out and brushed his knuckles over her cheek. That touch was quickly becoming her favorite. His eyes flicked to her lips. Her feet glided toward him without her permission.
He’s leaving soon, remember? her brain screamed. Don’t become invested.
Her heart couldn’t take another goodbye. Chelsey put a hand on Taylor’s chest and pushed him gently away from her. He caught her hand and held it to his chest. His dark blue eyes, that she knew as well as her own hazel ones, asked questions she didn’t have the answers to.
Why was he leaving her again?
Why was she letting him?
When would her heart stop hurting?
“I have a project I’m working on that will take at least five months or more.” He took her other hand.
“In Singapore?” Chelsey tried to pull away, but Taylor held it close.
“Nope. Guess again.” He had a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“Utah?”
“So close, but no. Juniper Valley, actually.”
Taylor had a hard time keeping a straight face as Chelsey’s mouth opened and closed as she tried to digest the news that he was staying. “Say that again?”
“I wanted to tell you I’ve changed my plans. The project overseas hit a snag, and they don’t need me for a few months, so the mayor of this fine town has hired me to work on a few more projects downtown.”
Taylor kissed the knuckles of one of her hands. “And during that time, I’d like to court you.”
Shivers ran up Chelsey’s arm when his lips touched her other hand. What did he say?
“And I won’t kiss you again until you ask.”
That caught her attention. How was he so confident she would ask?
He released her hands to gather the empty containers and throw them away, leaving the fortune cookies. He set one in front of her.
How could she pretend that this was just another unemotional moment in time? She shoved her chilly hands in the pockets of her sweats.
“Ready?” He leaned against the kitchen counter and held up a fortune cookie for her.
He’d proven to her that he hadn’t forgotten all the little rituals they’d developed over the years they were together.
“One. Two. Three.” They cracked the cookies open at the same time. “Ladies first.”
Chelsey read hers and laughed. “All your wildest dreams will come true.”
“—but at what cost?” they said at the same time, then laughed together. It was another tradition to add the words “but at what cost” at the end of a fortune.
Taylor leaned forward on his elbows. “What are your wildest dreams, Chelsey Hooper?”
She leaned forward to match his posture and hopefully hide how his question made her feel. “A stamp in my passport.”
He snapped his fingers. “While You Were Sleeping.”
“How do you remember that?”
“You only made me watch it twenty times.”
She nudged him with her elbow. “And you loved it.”
“I did.” He sat back and folded his arms. “Where would you go?”
“Florence,” she answered quickly.
He chuckled. “Not where Lucy from the movie would go. What’s your travel dream?”
She hesitated. She’d never told a soul the one place she wanted to visit. It was the place her parents met. “Meteora.”
“Greece?”
“I’d love to go to there and see the places I learned about in school and eat all the gelato.”
“I’ve only been to Greece once. We can eat gelato every day.” He took a step closer to her. “Together.”
He held her gaze for so long, her face slowly warmed. “I’d love that,” she whispered.
“Well, that’s interesting.” He leaned toward her as if he were going to kiss her but held up his fortune instead. “Now mine.”
“You’re a tease.”
His devastating dimple made an appearance, and she had to turn away so she didn’t grab his face and kiss him.
“Open your heart.”
“—but at what cost,” he said softly after a beat.
What cost, indeed. “What kind of fortune is that?”
“Maybe it’s a suggestion?”
Taylor intertwined his fingers with hers. His eyes roved over her face like he was trying to read his future on her features.
“I’ve gotta go. I have an early dinner date.” He kissed her knuckles one more time before letting her go.
Chelsey tried to keep her face as straight as possible. A little green monster pressed against her ribs. “Is that right?”
He held her gaze a second too long. “Aren’t you going to ask with who?”
“With whom? Nope. You’re a grown-up. I expect you’ll be on your best behavior.”
He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Then he was gone with a wink.
She stepped onto the porch and watched until his truck drove out of sight.
The night air in Juniper Valley carried the faintest scent of strawberries—or maybe it was her imagination since strawberry season was over.
Whatever it was, something shifted in the air, like the season changing.
The end of Strawberry Days always left her feeling a little bit deflated.
Now, she wasn’t sure she’d be here next year.