“Romantic gesture or not, it’s ugly,” Margot replied. She pushed her glasses back on her head and slid my drink toward me. “And I’m pretty sure it’s scaring the customers away.”
I laughed and rolled my eyes, shooing her away as a young girl ambled up to the counter.
“Excuse me, did you say that your sign was aromantic gesture?” She set a mug down as I nodded. “Oh my, that’s just so— so—”
“Romantic?” Margot finished flatly, watching her from behind a coffee cup.
The girl didn’t seem to mind, instead launching into a sparkly-eyed story of the boy she liked back at home. I wrapped her mug and rang her up, tucking a business card in the bag and telling her to come back and give me updates the next time she visited Bluebell Cove. Margot waited for the bell to chime as the door closed before speaking again.
“So,” she said, “When are you going to hire some help?”
A burst of excitement unraveled in my chest. Not long ago, I thought I would be going down with the Marigold’s ship, and now I was so busy with Georgie’s that I neededhelp.
I leaned on the counter and hummed. “Let’s see—I believe my best friend Margot is still in town and unemployed.”
“Hey now, uncalled for,” she quipped, but the corner of her maroon lips lifted. “I don’t really have aretailpersonality. I’m more suited for—” Pausing, she snapped her fingers and mock-gasped at the flyers on my counter. “Would you look at that? The Fallfest is coming up, and as it turns out, your favorite assistant is still available.”
“Oh really?” I pursed my lips and studied my cuticles, pretending to think about it.
“You’re ridiculous,” she muttered.
Laughing, I took a long swig of my drink and set it down with a sigh. “Of course I’m kidding. And it will sorta be a bit of a reunion!”
Margot looked uncharacteristically confused.
“Well, you know the Summer’s End Festival got all sorts of press coverage thanks to the Governor.” She nodded, so I continued: “And as it turns out,Travel and Tastewants to cover Fallfest! It’ll be a whole spread, and supposedly it’ll make tourism skyrocket—”
“Travel and Taste?” Margot interrupted, face blank.
“Oh, right. You might not know. Teddy works there now as their travel photographer.”
She paled, her lips parting but no sound leaving them. I frowned.
Her sunglasses slid back over her eyes, shielding whatever flickered there. “Well. Isn’t that… interesting.”
And with that, she strutted out the door like a woman headed for battle.
“Is everything okay, Margot?”
I trailed her outside, eyebrows stitched together, and watched as she marched straight to the diner and disappeared. They had dated in high school, but it was so brief and she never mentioned it again. I made a mental note to pry some more later.
“Everything okay, Georgette?” Joe asked, braids gathered on his head as he swept the stoop.
“Yeah…” My eyes lingered on the doors to Captain’s for a moment longer before I turned to him, wrapping my cardigan tighter against the creeping autumn chill. “How’s business?”
He smiled. “Booming. You really didn’t have to share that grant with me.”
“We all deserved it,” I replied, “But I’m glad I could help.”
“Well, you’ll never believe it—” He leaned closer and dropped his voice to a whisper, as though his next words were unfavorable. “They’re loving the romance section. Turns out you’re not the only one, Miss Wheeler.” Joe paused and squinted at me. “But how much longer will it be MissWheeler, I wonder?”
A furious blush colored my cheeks.
“Not as long as I can help it,” A voice behind me answered, before I was swept backward into two strong arms.
“Don’t encourage the gossips,” I hissed at Rhett and twisted in his hold. “Next thing you know, they’re all going to think we’re engaged.”
He lifted a brow at me, eyes glittering. “Why is that abadthing?”
