Chapter 4
It’d been foreversince Jo woke up early enough to enjoy the sunrise or take photos. Instead of trying to go back to sleep, she’d chugged a cup of coffee and headed out to capture anything that caught her eye.
There really was nothing like a Texas sky. It’d been beautiful and it felt good to spend a couple of hours hunting for the perfect shot. Delia wouldn’t have been happy that Jo missed an entire three-hour ride with Serenity, but Jo needed the time. The sky had lit up with purples and oranges, and she’d even gotten a few candid shots of wildlife.
Looking around the Wish and Roast Café, it looked nothing like it did when she was a kid. Mrs. Shepherd, the woman who owned the place, was a firm believer in if it wasn’t broken, don’t fix it. It was like she was in a completely different café. Her mom had dumped her and this was the first place her grandma had taken her. It’d always reminded her of her mom, and now, it felt so different.
Warm hues of coffee colored paint covered the walls instead of the old dark green. The light fixtures were modern and fit the feel of a cozy spot to drink some coffee, have a pastry, and visit with friends.
“Jo?”
The voice seemed familiar. Jo turned and gasped. “Lucy?”
Through high school, Lucy Bennett was Jo’s best friend. They’d graduated, promised to keep in touch after they left for college, and managed to do it for about six months. Little by little, communication tapered off, and Jo had relegated the friendship to high school. No hard feelings. They were busy and just grew apart. It happened.
“I didn’t realize you were back in Wishing Well,” Jo said.
Lucy smiled as she embraced Jo. “I could say the same about you!” She leaned back. “You look fantastic.”
Between them, in Jo’s opinion, Lucy was the cutest. She still had the prettiest green eyes and red hair. A rare combo that boys loved in high school and no doubt still loved. “You look as beautiful as ever. Your hair is so long.”
“I have a hair blog. Tips and tricks to keep it healthy, shiny, and long.” She dropped her arms from around Jo and stepped back. “What brings you to Wishing Well?”
“I’m writing an article for Eternal Vows Magazine.”
Tilting her head, Lucy said, “Article?” Her gaze dipped to Jo’s camera bag. “I thought for sure you’d be a photographer.”
It wasn’t a dig nor was it meant to sting, but it did. Jo had thought the same thing. “I’m still working on it. In the meantime, I’ll take a few photos to go with my article.” She’d tried doing that when she first began working for the magazine, but Delia had shut her down. Now that she would be photographing, Jo figured it couldn’t hurt to submit them with her article. Maybe the photos would get published, too.
“What are you doing in town?”
“You’re looking at it.”
Jo’s eyes widened. “You own the Wish and Roast café?”
Her lips curved up as she nodded. “Yep. I was running a catering business in Phoenix and came home for a visit about six months ago. Mrs. Shephard wanted to sell the café and retire. It sort of just fell into place, and here I am.”
“That’s fantastic. I’m so happy for you.” Happy and a little jealous. Even in high school, Lucy was brilliant with pastries and coming up with new coffee concoctions. That she had a catering business didn’t surprise Jo at all, and now she had her very own café. At least one of them made their dream come true.
“How long are you staying? You said you were writing an article?”
Nodding, Jo started to reply when the bell above the door jangled, and Serenity and four other women walked inside.
“JO!” She called and immediately approached and hugged Jo.
Jo returned it.
She looked from Jo to Lucy.
Then it hit her that she needed to make some introductions. “Oh, Serenity this is?—”
“Serenity Harper?” Lucy squeaked. “The Serenity Harper?”
“That’s me,” she said and shook Lucy’s hand.
“Is this who you’re writing about?” asked Lucy as she looked at Jo.
“Yeah,” Jo replied.
Lucy’s mouth dropped open. “Oh my gosh, that’s amazing.” She shook her head. “I’d heard something about someone famous having wedding…”
“Serenity,” Jo said, “this is my best friend from high school, Lucy Bennett. She owns this café.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Serenity smiled. “These are my closest and dearest friends. Well, minus one. My maid of honor will be arriving late.” She then introduced each woman to Jo and Lucy. The only one of her friends that seemed even remotely standoffish, Madison, struck Jo as not necessarily unfriendly as introverted. Jo commiserated. Lucy was the outgoing one in high school. How she and Jo had struck up a friendship was still a mystery.
The tallest of the group, Emily, excitedly shook Jo’s hand. “I was so happy when Serenity said you were writing the article. I’ve been reading your stuff since you started with Eternal Vows.”
Jo’s cheeks warmed. “Oh, wow. Uh, thank you.”
Emily turned to the other girls in the party. “She is so sweet. It’s like you’re reading about a friend. There isn’t an article she writes that I’m not a half-box deep in tissues by the time I’m done. It’s almost like reading a romance novel with the way she portrays the bride and groom and the whole affair.”
The woman the same height as Serenity, June, smiled. “Serenity has talked about you non-stop. I almost wonder if she said yes, just so she could meet you.”
The group laughed as Serenity rolled her eyes. “I’m starving,” she said.
During the interview with her, Jo learned that the starlet wanted to use as many local businesses as possible. With that in mind, she motioned to Lucy. “You know, Lucy owned her own catering business in Arizona.”
Serenity perked up. “A caterer? That’s fantastic. My hope was to use businesses located in Wishing Well. You all have been so kind to me. Could we maybe set up a time to meet in the next week to discuss it?”
“Um, sure. I’d love to.”
“Great!”
Lucy waved for them to follow. “Let me take you to a table so that you can have lunch.”
“Thank you,” Serenity said with a giggle.
Once seated, Lucy passed out menus, told them about the specials, and then, after a few more pleasantries, wandered off to check on her other guests.
Jo did her best to stay in the background. She’d learned early on that the less noticeable she was, the better her article. Watching Serenity with her friends was no different than any other bride. The excitement, the hope, the gushing about her guy.
After lunch and a few signed autographs from Serenity, they went to the dress shop. Jo braced for Mrs. Sharpe to realize she was in town. The woman was one of her grandma’s closest friends. The last time Jo visited Wishing Well, she’d been on the coast of South Carolina visiting her grandchildren, so it’d been a while since they’d seen each other.
A sharp gasp. “Josephine Renee Stewart! Charlie said you’d be in town.” She rushed forward and hugged Jo, squishing her good and proper before leaning back. “Look at you. My goodness, you were always gorgeous, but honey, you’re just stunning.”
Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, Jo lowered her gaze to the floor. “You have to say that.”
The woman tipped her chin up. “I don’t either. You’re beautiful.” She smiled as she acknowledged Serenity and the other women. “Hi, Ms. Harper.”
“Serenity, please.” She shook Mrs. Sharpe’s hand. “This is Emily, June, and Madison. Three of my four bridesmaids.”
“Where’s your fourth?”
Jo caught the slight downturn of her lips, but Serenity quickly recovered. “She had something come up, but she swore that she’d fly in this week so she could get fitted.”
“That’s fine. I think I can manage that,” Mrs. Sharpe said and looked Serenity over. “I think with the time constraints, we’ll have to start with something off the rack, but with some modifications, it’ll be perfect. I see you loving clean lines, soft but simple. Not exactly bohemian, but something for an outdoor wedding.”
Jo held in a chuckle. The woman had always been like that. She could sum up a woman’s dress in seconds. She’d expected Serenity to be a little put out that the dress wouldn’t be custome, but Jo was quickly learning the actress was incredibly down to earth. She was getting married to Ethan, not putting on a show. That was sweet.
“Oh, my goodness. How did you do that?”
“It’s what I do,” she said and looked at the bridesmaids. “You want something soft and feminine to align with the overall theme of your wedding. You’re giving them the ability to pick their own styles, too.” She eyed each bridesmaid and summed them up, ending with June.
June stared at the woman. “I know where I’m getting my wedding dress when I get married.”
The women laughed as Jo’s phone rang. “Uh, let me take this really quick. I’ll be back.” She stepped outside and answered the phone. “Hey, Delia, what’s up?”
“How’s it going?”
“Uh,” Jo said and peeked through the dress shop window. “Good. Serenity is dress shopping at the moment and invited me along. I think this is going to be a great article. She’s super relatable, sweet, and funny.”
“That’s great.” She paused a beat. “I have the most amazing news. We just brought Arianna Carter on.”
Arianna Carter? “She’s?—”
“The best wedding photographer out there. I ran into her at a charity benefit this weekend, and we got to talking and I’m not sure how it happened, but she said she’d love to work for Eternal Vows.”
“I mean, that’s great, but I thought there was only one open spot available for another photographer. The spot that was supposed to be mine, remember?”
“I couldn’t turn down Arianna. She’s the most sought-after photographer out there.”
“Does that mean you’re opening up another spot for me?”
Delia scoffed. “No, but there are rumors that Jason is looking to leave in the next couple of months. When he does, I promise you can have his spot, okay?”
Jo raked her hand through her hair and sighed. Delia always did this to her. Made promises and broke them. Reliable disappointment. That just wasn’t good enough anymore. “Delia, we had a deal.”
“Jo, I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do. As soon as the board found out that she was interested, my hands were tied.”
Right. That’s what she always said. Her hands were tied. There was no arguing with her, though. “Okay.”
“That’s my girl. Always a team player.” A muffled sound came from the phone. Most likely Delia put her hand over the speaker. “All right, I need to go. Apparently, there’s an issue with the printer.”
The line went quiet before Jo could even respond. She pulled her phone from her ear and looked at it, then dropped her hand to her side, lightly kicking the brick wall of the shop.
“What’d that wall do to you?”
Jo startled and faced Jack. “It’s nothing.”
He smiled. “Didn’t look like nothing.”
“Really. I’m okay. A moment of frustration.” She shook off the funk of the call and smiled. “What are you doing?”
He nodded to the hardware store. “Needed a few more supplies for Stewart Mansion.”
Nodding, she replied, “Right. How are the repairs going?”
“They’re going good. Of course, there’s always more once you start working on things.”
“I’m sure. That house is too big for my grandma, but she’s?—”
“Not selling.”
They laughed as Jo shook her head. “No, she isn’t.”
Muffled giggles came from inside the dress shop, and Jack turned his attention to the noise. “Looks like they’re having fun.”
“Yeah, I probably need to get back in there.”
He threw a thumb over his shoulder toward the only old pickup sitting in front of the hardware store. “I probably need to get back to work too.” He started to turn away and stopped. “Uh, you wouldn’t want to grab a bite to eat tonight, would you? I mean just, you know, to catch up or whatever.”
Dinner with Jack. Her heart was screaming yes and little hearts were floating out of her ears until the record in her brain scratched. Catch up, Jo, she thought to herself, not make out. He just wanted to talk. “Uh, sure,” she squeaked, cleared her throat, and quickly repeated herself. “Sure.”
His lips stretched into a wide, heart-melting smile. “Great. Maybe you can tell me about that nothing that made you kick a wall, too.”
“Right.”
“I’ll see you tonight. I’ll pick you up around seven. Is that okay?”
Her head wobbled back and forth like it was on a loose spring. “Uh-huh. Sounds great.”
As he walked away, she fanned herself. Man, his front wasn’t the only thing fit. His backside looked just as great now as it did in high school. Shaking her head, she cleared it, opened the shop door, and stepped inside. The moment she saw the group of women, she knew she was in trouble.
“That looked promising.” Serenity grinned.
“Oh, no, he was just… He’s working on my grandma’s house.”
“The way he smiled at you?” June snickered. “That was not a man who was just working on a house.”
Oh geez. She waved them off. “I promise it’s nothing. Even if it was, I’m not staying in Wishing Well. I have a life back in New York.” She pointed to the dresses on the racks. “How about those dresses?”
Serenity exchanged looks with her friends like, nice redirect, girl. “Okay.”
It was a good thing they couldn’t read her mind. The very idea of going out with Jack, even if it was just a casual thing, made her stomach do somersaults. He’d only gotten better looking with age, and he was still warm and kind. Plus, that smile. Goose bumps lined her arms as the exchange replayed in her mind.
What was she even thinking? Her head had no business playing in the clouds. She did have a life in New York, and has no intention of changing that.