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Chapter Fourteen
An hour later Darcy sat across from Gracie in Earl’s Diner. The blonde was dressed in a pair of jeans and a yellow top that hugged her curves and brought out the pink in her complexion.
Gracie smiled and took a sip of her Diet Dr Pepper. “How’s it being back in Revival? Must be strange after all these years.”
Darcy looked out the window at the Main Street that hadn’t changed much since she’d been a kid. It was still like Mayberry. She shrugged. “Yes and no. It’s like a very vivid dream. It’s so different from my life in New York, but it kind of feels like home. You know?”
Darcy was surprised the words came out of her mouth, but as soon as she said them she knew they were true. Even though she hadn’t realized it. Revival did feel like home, like a comfortable old blanket, or crawling into sweats after a long day in a dress and heels.
Gracie nodded. “I do know. James and I travel back and forth all the time between Revival and Chicago, trying to make a go of this dual residency thing. Sometimes with the bakery in Chicago and school being in session we spend way more time in Chicago and Revival starts to feel like something I can give up.” She smiled again, and waved a hand back toward the window and the people walking down Main Street. “But then I come home—and that’s how it feels. Like something I didn’t even know I was missing.” She sighed. “We’re going to have to make some changes, because the truth is Chicago life is more demanding, but this will always be home.”
Darcy thought of her life in New York. She’d been here over a week and she’d slipped right out of it. She’d written every day, met her deadlines, but she hadn’t really thought about her life there. She hadn’t called her friends, or missed going to clubs, or gone into withdrawal without a Bloomingdale’s.
Although it had only been a week and as soon as she went back, she’d forget all about Revival. At least in theory.
She took a deep breath and decided to get to the heart of the matter so she could enjoy the rest of lunch. “So I have to ask you something.”
“Shoot,” Gracie said, looking interested.
“It’s about the town project.”
Gracie raised a brow but didn’t say anything.
“I’m caught between a rock and a hard place. Revival isn’t my home anymore and I’m not invested in it. I also love my mom and I don’t want her to be unhappy. But I also don’t want to help her hurt a lot of innocent people, either. So I’m asking, as an old friend, off the record—what do you really think of the project?”
Gracie sat back in the booth, and her expression turned serious. “I think the town needs it, Darcy. Revival needs to be dragged into this century. Without it, the town will slowly perish. I honestly believe it will help revitalize the economy here. This is only the first step of Griffin’s plan; the next phase is development by putting money back into the community and businesses. He’s worked really hard and faced a lot of opposition, but he believes in what he’s doing, and so I do.”
Darcy’s shoulders slumped. “That’s what I thought.”
Gracie reached across the table and touched Darcy’s hand. “I’m sorry it has to hurt your mom, but the reward is great. It will help a whole lot of people in this town. I know you don’t have any fondness for this place, and I don’t blame you, but it’s a good thing for Revival. Even if your mom doesn’t see that yet.”
“I read the plans.” Darcy looked out the window and toward city hall. “It’s hard to see a downside.”
“It is.”
“She wants me to save her, you know?”
Gracie offered a soft smile. “Who knows, maybe you are. Life has a funny way of working out in ways you don’t expect but are better than what you thought you wanted.”
Darcy grinned. “Are we talking about you now?”
Gracie raised her hands in a helpless gesture. “What can I say? I’m living proof. James is nothing like the man I envisioned myself with, but he’s about a thousand times better. He gives me everything I didn’t even know I needed.”
Darcy stared down into her pop glass, bubbling away. Griffin was exactly the man Darcy envisioned herself with. Even after all these years. She compared any man she dated to him and they always came up short. There was always something.
They weren’t as smart as him.
Or as handsome.
They weren’t as sexy, or as open.
They didn’t know where the clitoris was or how to fix a broken window.
They didn’t listen when she talked. Didn’t care about her dreams.
But the truth was, they just weren’t him.
“Are you thinking about Griffin?” Gracie asked, her voice soft and curious.
