“If you go back to Chicago and you regret leaving here.”He pulled her infinitesimally closer.“At least you’d know you felt something.That’s more than you had before.”
The truth of it hit her squarely.She’d been numb for so long.Buried under deadlines and the constant pressure to prove she was indispensable.
Here, in this ridiculously wonderful small town with its struggling festival and stubborn fishermen, she’d started feeling again.Joy, frustration, and hope.All the messy, complicated emotions she’d been too busy to process.
“When did you get so smart?”she asked.
“I’ve always been smart.You were just too stubborn to notice.”
She laughed again.
The song ended, and the band announced they were taking a short break.Couples began drifting away from the dance floor, but Bryan didn’t let go of her hand.
“I’m going to get us drinks,” he said.“Don’t run away.”
“Where would I go?”
“Your cottage.Your laptop.Chicago.”His thumb brushed across her knuckles.“You have options.”
“I’m not running.”
“Good.”He released her hand slowly, like he wasn’t quite ready to let go.“I’ll be right back.”
She watched him navigate through the crowd toward the refreshment table.Sally caught his arm and said something that made him laugh.Marty clapped him on the shoulder.Bryan belonged here in a way she had never belonged anywhere.
“You two make a lovely couple.”
Cassidy turned.Dorothy stood beside her with a knowing smile and a plate of pie.
“We’re not a couple,” she said automatically.
“Of course not.”Dorothy’s tone suggested she didn’t believe that for a second.
“We’re co-chairing the festival.That’s all.”
“Mmm-hmm.”Dorothy took a bite of pie.“That’s why you were looking at him like he hung the moon.”
“I was not?—”
“Honey, I’ve been watching people fall in love in this town for...well, a lot of years.I know what I’m seeing.”
Fall in love.The words sent panic skittering through her.
“I’m leaving in three weeks,” she said.“My sabbatical ends.I have a job waiting for me in Chicago.”
“Do you want that job?”
The question was so simple and so direct.And Cassidy had no idea how to answer it.
Three months ago, she would have said yes without hesitation.Now?Now she wasn’t sure.
“It’s complicated,” she said finally.
Dorothy patted her arm.“Life usually is, dear.But that doesn’t mean the answer has to be.”
She drifted away before Cassidy could respond, leaving her standing alone with thoughts that felt far too big for a town square fundraiser.
Bryan returned with two cups of lemonade.“You okay?You look like you’re solving world hunger.”
