She clicked her way onto the next page and began to scroll down it. She wasn’t seeing anything that she thought Noelle would love, and she was just starting to think she should check out another website, when she gasped.
One of the centerpieces was a set of three glass cylinders, which were meant to be filled with flowers and water and topped with floating candles. Faith’s heart beat faster as she stared at how beautiful they looked filled with orchids, which floated gracefully in the water. She knew it wasn’t the kind of vibe Noelle wanted for her wedding, but it was exactly the sort of thing she wanted for her own.
She was staring at the screen of her laptop, feeling enamored by the centerpiece, when someone sat down next to her. She jumped, startled, and then started to laugh when she realized that it was Ryan.
“Gosh, sweetheart, you scared me.”
“Sorry,” he said, grinning and looking unapologetic despite his words. “I told you I was going to swing by and say hi.”
“So you did.” She smiled and leaned in for a kiss. “I just got totally distracted by what I’m doing here.”
“Yeah?” He scooted his chair closer to hers. “What are you up to?”
“Uh, not too much,” she stammered, suddenly tongue-tied. “I’ve been researching potential decorations for Noelle and Dean’s wedding.”
Ryan cocked his head to one side impishly, raising a quizzical eyebrow. “Is that all? I don’t think that explains why you suddenly look so sheepish.”
She laughed and held her hands to her cheeks, wondering if they were warm from blushing. “I did get a bit side-tracked,” she admitted. “I started browsing options for our own wedding centerpieces, sort of by accident.”
“By accident, huh? Let me see.”
She laughed. “Well, I was looking for Dean and Noelle and I happened to come across some that I think are absolutely divine. What do you think of these?” She turned her laptop toward him, showing him the picture of the glass cylinder centerpieces.
“Wow, so fancy,” he said, affecting a silly posh accent. She laughed and punched him playfully in the arm. “No, really, I love them. They look so elegant. Would you want to put orchids inside them like that?”
“Maybe, but I don’t think so. What would you think of crabapple blossoms? Crabapple blossoms always make me think of you because we had that one date under the crabapple tree when it was flowering.”
He touched his nose to hers. “I love that idea. Show me what else you’re thinking of.”
“Well, I didn’t look at anything else for us today, really, but I did see these golden round tealight holders another time, let me see if I can find those—” Faith’s fingers flew at lightning speed as she searched for the orbs she’d found while browsing the web the other day. “Ah! Here they are. Aren’t they just gorgeous? And those little holes make patterns of light when the tealight is inside. I was at a wedding that had something similar once. It was absolutely gorgeous.”
“Those are so pretty.” Ryan leaned forward, clearly intrigued, which Faith found gratifying. She liked knowing that he wasn’t just acting enthusiastic for her sake, and that he genuinely liked what she was showing him. He clicked on the website page a few times, scrolling down farther to look at more tealight holder options. “What about these? These look cool.”
“The blue glass ones? Yes! Don’t they kind of look like what we have here in the McCormick Brewery? I love that.”
They spent the next few minutes looking at various centerpieces together. Faith was having a blast, and Ryan kept teasing her and suggesting outlandish options, which made it even more fun. Finally with a sigh she reminded herself that their own wedding could wait, and that she needed to stay focused on the task at hand.
“We should get back to looking at items for Dean and Noelle’s wedding,” she said, kissing the side of his forehead. “I’ve got almost as many options written down for Noelle and Dean to look at as I’d wanted to gather, but I want to find at least a couple more.”
“Sounds good.” He watched her with a sweet expression on his face for a few moments, and she laughed.
“What?” she prompted. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I just love how kind you are to everyone, but especially to your family. I think the way you care about people is inspiring. You’re taking important details about the wedding off Noelle’s plate so that she doesn’t have to feel stressed about this venue switch. I know it’s fun for you, but it’s also a lot of work, and I think it’s sweet that you want to help her like that.”
“Thanks. It just feels like something I don’t even have to think about. I love my family so much, and I’m so grateful that they’re a part of my life. They do so much for me, and I want to be able to return the favor, you know?”
Ryan nodded. “I understand. It’s easy to be kind to kind people.”
“And it’s not just my family, it’s the whole town. I’ve felt so welcomed by everyone ever since I first arrived.” She nudged his shoulder with hers. “Especially you.”
He took her hand. “I remember those days. We were both recovering from working too much, and neither of us were sure if you were going to stay in town or not. I’m so happy we’ve ended up where we are.” He stroked his thumb across her engagement ring with a sweet smile.
“Me too. I can hardly believe that if it weren’t for that panic attack, I would still be working myself to the bone in Boston, my head filled with overwhelming amounts of information and my body exhausted and crabby from lack of rest. I had some good times back in those days, and I’m proud of myself for succeeding at my career, but my life is so much better now.”
He nodded. “We’ve both learned to prioritize living in a healthy way over being ‘successful.’”
“Yes! And it’s the people of this town that helped me learn how to do that. I feel like I owe them so much. I wish there was a way I could express my appreciation to everyone for making me feel so welcome here.”
