We stayed up so late working through a few of Georgie’s DVDs, I was glad I changed my flight to a later one. My body needed a break from the college-freshman-amounts of caffeine I consumed on Serena’s wedding day.
I slept from the second my head hit the pillow to the moment my alarm blared.
As I dressed, I couldn’t help the occasional glance out my window and into the alley. I had to continue reminding myself that I was Margot Wade, the former youngest acquisitionseditor on record at Sterling Publications and future best-selling novelist. Fairytales didn’t exist—Georgie’s romantic comedies were incompatible with real life.
No one appeared at my door on a white steed. And that was perfectly okay.
Life, it seemed, was prettier with all the wrinkles and incongruous bits. How else could I see just howgoodthe good parts were?
I stared down at Georgie, mouth wide open, neck craned at an odd angle, sprawled on my mother’s decades-old couch. She insisted on sleeping over, even if we had no air mattress and the apartment was too small for a guest bedroom. She was grossly sentimental like that.
A chainsaw-esque snore tore from her throat. I fought the urge to pull out my phone and record.
As if on cue, her eyes flew open and she yelped, kicking her legs in the air and successfully hurtling herself onto the floor. She groaned on impact.
I raised an eyebrow. “Gee, you didn’t have to jump for joy. It’s just me.”
Georgie rubbed her hip and glared at me. “Sorry, something about waking up to someone watching me from above puts me in fight-or-flight mode,” she muttered flatly.
“And you chose flight.”
“Ha-ha.”
“Do you think Rhett’s aware of the medical bills in his future?” I asked, helping her up. She flicked my shoulder, which I brushed off and nodded to the kitchen with my chin. “C’mon, my Mom’s making pancakes,” I said.
Later, we sat around the dining table, the only thing left on our plates being tiny pools of syrup.
“When’s your new flight?” my mother asked.
I checked the time. “A few hours. Rhett should be here any minute now.”
Georgie sighed and dropped her chin in her hands. “I wish I could come with you guys,” she murmured.
“You have to close the shop today just to catch up,” I replied with a smile. “When are you finally going to hire some proper help?”
“I’m finishing the application tonight,” she said, sitting up straight and sending me a mock-salute.
“Good.”
A knock sounded on the screen door in the alley. We all rose in tandem, the two of them helping me with my suitcase down the stairs. Georgie greeted Rhett with a hug and a kiss before he heaved my bag over his shoulder and secured it in the bed of his truck.
I rubbed my palms on my pants and gathered a long breath. The clouds overhead were swirled with shades of dark grey, threatening an impending storm. Smiling, I turned to Georgie and my mother, wrapping my coat tighter against the biting gust.
“Well, this is it—” I hesitated, clearing my throat. “I’ll see you both soon, okay?”
That time, I really meant it.
They each pulled me into a bone-crushing hug, separately making me swear that I’d be careful and text them religiously with updates. I laughed away the tears that threatened to spring to my eyes.
“I’m proud of you, darlin’,” my mother said, gripping my shoulders. “Always have been.”
I sniffled. “Thanks, Mom.”
When I climbed into Rhett’s truck, she was smiling wider than I’d ever seen. I watched them in the rear view until we pulled out of the alley and onto Main Street.
We rumbled down Main, tires humming against the pavement. A mist of rain began to coat the windshield, as if Bluebell Cove itself was protesting my departure. He had the radio low—something classic and fuzzy. I kept my eyes on the window, grateful for something to fill the silence, watching the town pass behind glass.
The bakery was already open, a line out the door. I could just make out the silhouette of Rachel slinging drinks through the Morning Bell’s window. Joe lingered on the stoop of Gulliver’s Books, teacup held to his lips as he observed the swarms of passersby. Mrs. Henderson seemed to catch my gaze as she perfected the Cove Market display.
