Chapter 35
Willow
Willow stood next to the matcha wagon, the bright spring sunshine warming her bare arms. The line was a particularly long one and she wanted to get a good shot for her socials.
Tommy waved at her as he served another new customer.
They were getting so busy, on weekends especially; she was able to pay him a decent wage, which was helping him save for college.
Willow studied the photo she had just taken. It was a pretty good one and showed off the bunting that Lucas had looped over the wagon and linked across to The Diner. Strung up on the decorations was a brightly painted sign made by Rachel.
Matcha Mel Day
Because that was what this day was now. A double celebration for Lucas’s mom and the matcha van’s success. They had decided to make a day of it together, or actually, Lucas had.
‘I want our businesses to be more connected,’ he explained. ‘And I think Mom would have loved the matcha wagon and what it represented.’
And he was right. It had worked out so well; the whole town had come out to support them, alongside so many people she didn’t recognize.
It was so nice to see Ava and Alice sitting with Eric and giving him time, now that he was in recovery.
On another table, Macguire sat with Rachel, deep in conversation as they both studied his laptop.
He was helping her try to find an agent apparently.
Macguire was always boasting about the contacts he had.
In The Diner, Janice and Lucas were busy serving double helpings of blueberry cheesecake. It complemented Willow’s blueberry bomb iced matchas perfectly.
Willow walked over to the nearest table. Esmae and Sapphire were sitting together quietly talking. Esmae had come here on three vacations with her boyfriend and was already smitten with the place, and Sapphire seemed to be spending most of her weekends visiting the town.
‘What are you two plotting?’ Willow asked with a grin.
Esmae flapped her hand dismissively. ‘Oh, it’s nothing …’
‘Nothing!’ Sapphire rolled her eyes. ‘It’s really not nothing. Willow, we have decided to join forces.’
‘Really?’ Willow’s grin broadened. To think she once thought these two were sworn enemies. ‘Is this an online thing?’
‘Oh no.’ Esmae pulled a face. ‘I’m so done with that! No, we’re setting up a podcast together.’
‘We’re going to focus on highlighting women who need more promotion.
Influencers. Small businesses owners. Authors.
Matcha sellers – you name it,’ Sapphire declared.
‘We want to show that women can help women. I’ve already got the Parker sisters lined up.
They are going to do a piece on the hospitality world. ’
‘Sounds great!’ Willow said. ‘And certainly, makes sense after your experience, Esmae.’
‘Oh that.’ Esmae pushed up her sunglasses onto her head and studied Willow hard. ‘That was never another woman, Willow. I did that to myself.’
Willow’s mouth fell open. Realizing how rude it looked, she quickly snapped it shut again. ‘Why – I mean, Esmae – why on earth would you do that?’
Esmae shrugged. ‘I’d had a few drinks that night. I was feeling sad and a little desperate. I needed to get out of that world – it was too toxic – and I decided to press the nuke button. I wanted everyone to see how fickle it really was.’
‘But you nearly destroyed your career? Your life?’
‘I was lucky. I had savings and Jed,’ Esmae replied. ‘I was so unhappy, Willow. It was the best thing I ever did.’
‘It was crazy,’ Sapphire added. ‘But I get it, I really do. Sometimes you feel so trapped that it’s difficult to see a way out.’
Willow thought of her own life back in Seattle and a sense of sadness washed over her. She knew she had no right to judge. ‘Well,’ she said finally, ‘the podcast sounds great.’
‘We’ll have you on and you can talk about the success of this place,’ Esmae said, raising her cup. ‘It tastes so good, Willow. I can see why they’re so addictive.’
‘I guess we were lucky in some ways. The landslide brought so much press attention to Honey Springs, suddenly everyone wants to know about us,’ Willow explained. ‘The Honey Pot Inn is fully booked every night, the Watering Hole is packed most evenings and The Diner has never been so busy.’
‘It’s no more than you guys deserve,’ Sapphire said gently.
‘Hey! Who ordered cheesecake!’
Willow turned and then burst out laughing as she saw Toby and Jed rushing towards them, clutching plates of Lucas’s famous dish.
She loved having Toby here to visit. He’d already made a good impression on Rachel, who loved the fact that he was an avid writer too – who could have guessed?
She’d already given him the first draft of her latest novel to read.
‘I’ll be sad to see you go back,’ Willow whispered to Toby as he passed her. He handed out a plate to Sapphire, while Jed settled down with his and Esmae’s. Toby remained next to Willow.
‘I’ll be visiting again, that’s for sure,’ Toby replied. ‘Kirk is driving me crazy with his latest demands. Apparently, our campaign isn’t sexy enough, so we need to go back to the drawing board.’
Willow felt a tug of sympathy. Toby was looking less fresh faced these days and a little more drawn. ‘He’s a hard man to please,’ she reminded him. ‘Don’t let him steal your light.’
‘I’ll try not to,’ Toby promised. ‘I only need to look at you to see the difference getting away did. I’m planning lots of breaks. I really do like it here.’
‘We like having you.’
Willow had recently moved into Lucas’s apartment. It made sense. They wanted to be together, and Mia was happy to take Jenn’s cabin once it had been repaired. Jenn was due back from her travels in a few weeks but had already said that Mia could stay with her.
‘Do I really look that different?’ Willow asked, curious.
‘Totally.’ He smiled. ‘You’re glowing. It’s actually sickening.’
She swatted his arm. ‘You’ll be sickened once you eat all the cheesecake.’
‘I can’t wait. It looks too good to be true.’ He paused. ‘But seriously, Willow. You deserve this. All this.’
‘Thank you.’
Toby leaned over and gave her a shaky kiss on the cheek. He stepped back, his cheeks glowing red. ‘I just wanted you to know that I do appreciate all the help you gave me early on.’
‘And I appreciate your help too, Toby. Not many people believed in the matcha wagon. I had doubts myself.’
‘I always believed,’ Toby said gently. ‘Because you’re Willow Davis. You make stuff happen.’
Later, Willow curled up in a corner seat in The Diner. She loved this time of evening. The crowds had died away, the place was warm and snug and the jukebox was playing a sweet love song from the eighties.
She stared at her phone, trying to get the wording right on her latest post. She knew she didn’t have long. Greg, Rachel, Mia and Adam were waiting for them at the Watering Hole. They were going to raise a glass to the success of Matcha Mel Day. Hopefully, it would be the start of many.
‘What are you doing?’
Lucas slid into the seat next to her. His familiar scent wrapped around her as she leaned into him. Damn, his body always felt so good. She reached up and stroked his cheek.
‘I need to finish this post about today. I’m just finding it hard to choose the right words.’
Lucas took her hand and kissed her fingers gently. ‘Just say it was perfect. That is all you need to say.’
They locked eyes. Lucas still made her tingle every time she looked at him. No one made her feel like he did. She thought of his hands moving down and across her body, pulling her against him, and fire burned deep between her thighs.
‘We could skip tonight?’ she purred. ‘We could do other stuff?’
He leaned in. His mouth against hers, rough at first and then gentle. His teeth against her lip. She wanted to bite him back, to cry out, but they were in a public place. He pulled away and she held back her groan.
‘You’re such a tease,’ she muttered.
‘I know.’ He nudged the phone. ‘Make the post and then we need to go.’
She nodded. She knew he was right. She needed to share her and Lucas’s success online. Matcha Mel Day was just the start. Their businesses were hopefully going to continue to boom.
She tapped out the words and then pressed post.
‘Done!’
Lucas gently eased her up. ‘Come on then. They’re waiting.’
‘Do you think they know why we wanted to meet them?’
Lucas laughed. ‘They think it’s about today. They have no clue.’
‘I dunno – Mia was looking at me a bit suspiciously this morning.’
‘Mia always looks suspicious. That’s just her face. Come on.’
They waved goodbye to Janice as they left the building. The bunting and sign were still flapping gently in the breeze. Willow’s Matcha Wagon was sitting proudly in front of them – now a part of The Diner, not separate.
Lucas’s arm whipped around Willow and pulled her in close.
‘Today was wonderful,’ he whispered.
‘I know,’ she replied. ‘It really was.’
‘The whole year was wonderful and now we have a whole future to plan together …’
‘It’s exciting.’
‘It’s extraordinary.’ He laughed.
‘We really did get our happy ending,’ she added.
‘I know. Rachel is beside herself.’
They began walking into town. Somewhere in the distance an owl hooted. It sounded like it was laughing alongside them. A warm spring breeze rippled through them, stirring the blossoms at their feet.
Willow came to Honey Springs to sell matcha, hoping that this special drink would help her find clarity and focus, but in the end it gave her more than that.
It also found her love.
In Willow’s pocket, her phone buzzed as her post started to build traction, but she had another engagement to think about now.
In the fading evening light, her ring twinkled and shone, like the brightest star in Honey Springs.