Riley adjusted the sign in front of Knots and Tangles. Grand Reopening. It was surprisingly cool for a mid-September morning in Arkansas, and since business was usually best on Saturdays, she expected today to go well.
She admired the display of brightly colored yarn in the windows. Not only had Mimi decided not to sell the business, but she also said she would wait until Riley came back to relaunch the store. Riley caught a glimpse of her reflection in the front-door glass and tugged on the hem of her thin, wheat-colored sweater, layered over a plain white T-shirt. She’d half expected Harper to comment on her reopening day outfit, which included jeans and brown slip-ons, but it seemed her friend had finally accepted Riley’s comfortable style.
Her grandmother kept the store open while Riley was in New York and pulled out all the stops for the event this weekend—advertising in the local paper and those of nearby towns, offering special sales, and providing snacks in the back room. Hayden had applied his rehabbing skills and turned the area into a half-workroom, half-storage area. And of course the Bosom Buddies and the Three Musketeers were out in full force. Olivia disliked the nickname. “It’s too cliché,” she’d said more than once, but they hadn’t come up with anything else they could all agree on yet. They were all inside, ready to support Mimi and Riley on their new adventure, starting in about fifteen minutes.
Riley had hoped to return to Maple Falls sooner, but two weeks after she returned to New York, she received a call from one of the small art galleries she’d contacted three years prior about showing her work. She couldn’t believe the owner remembered her, but the woman invited Riley to showcase one of her artworks in an amateur art show she was promoting the following month. Riley had not only finished the mixed media project for Mimi’s store, but she’d also gotten several interested offers for the piece. She’d turned them down. That work of art was for Knots and Tangles and was prominently displayed right above Riley’s new line of dyed yarns. She’d learned the process from Lorri and perfected the technique during her time in New York. She had also decided she would sell some of her art online and in the store when she returned home.
Home.She was finally home.
She moved off the front step, then turned to inspect the store entrance, making sure it was warm and welcoming. Satisfied that it was, she’d started to go inside when she heard Hayden’s low whistle. She turned from the door and faced him, smiling.
“Hello, beautiful.” He joined her on the shop’s stoop. “Ready for today?”
“Definitely.” Like her, his dress was casual—jeans, white T-shirt, black-and-gray plaid shirt—and she nodded her approval. He looked amazing, as usual. She had a few extra minutes before the shop opened, so she sat back down on the stoop, patting the empty space next to her. “You didn’t have to take off work for it, though.”
“But bosses can do that, you know.” He smiled as he sat down, close enough that their legs touched. “I figured I’d stick around and see what it’s like to work in a yarn store.”
“You’ve decided to learn how to knit?”
He shook his head.
“Crochet?”
“Nope.”
“Dye yarn?”
“Tempting, but no.”
She frowned. “Hayden, I think you’re going to be bored out of your mind. I’m sure there’s something you’d rather be doing than hanging out here.”
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do, because you’re here.”
She could barely breathe. She’d only been back in Maple Falls for two weeks, although she and Hayden had talked on the phone every day she was in New York, and he’d taken a weekend to spend with her in the city. Seeing the city through his eyes had been fun, and although they had spent time apart, their relationship was stronger than ever. As he’d promised, he didn’t push her. He was patient and gave her the confidence and trust she needed.
Melody had approved, of course, and although she was sad that Riley was moving, she was also happy for her.
“Couldn’t happen to a better roomie,” she said, hugging Riley before she got on the plane back to Arkansas.
“Come visit me as soon as you can.” Riley fought the tears in her eyes.
“I will.” Melody hugged her again.
“Oh wait.” Riley dug into her purse and handed Melody several bills. “I keep forgetting to give you this.”
Melody took the cash. “What for?”
“The curse jar. I had a bit of a relapse back in July.”
Melody laughed, then waved as Riley headed for the gate. “Invite me to the wedding!” she called out.
The wedding. At the time she had laughed at Melody’s words, thinking they were a lighthearted joke. But lately she thought about it more often, in a fantasy kind of way.
Yet as she sat there with Hayden, on the stoop of the shop she loved, the people she loved on the other side of the door, she realized something that should have been so clear before. “I love you, Hayden.”
His eyes lit up, then closed, and she wondered what he was thinking. When he opened them again, there was a slight sheen to them. “I’ve been waiting to hear you say those words,” he whispered, “from the moment we met.”
“At the airport?”
