It’s still early spring, and most days are still wet and cold. But the air is warm enough to allow me to walk today, something I have missed being able to do often when I first moved back. It’s only a few blocks from my parent’s house, and I enjoy getting the fresh air and exercise after being stuck inside all winter.
I swing by Double Shot, where Ronin has already learned my coffee order and has it waiting for me every morning now, even on the days he isn’t working. I pick up my mocha latte from the same older, teenage girl working the front counter, who I now know as Rachel, and who happens to be very sweet. We’vebecome fast friends with my frequent stops at the diner over the last couple of months. I make sure to grab Sydney’s usual, knowing she opened the store early for a delivery and could use the pick-me-up.
I make it to The Reading Nook, sweeping into the entryway as the bell chimes my arrival.
“Good morning, Syd! Ah, I see that back-order came in,” I reply, coming around the counter.
She accepts her coffee with a grateful smile, and I place my latte on the counter, picking up the invoice she has been studying behind the tall stack of books. “At least they got the quantity right this time, even if we had to wait an extra two weeks for them.”
Placing the paper back on the counter, I turn to head into the employee lounge and call over my shoulder, “Be right out!”
I drop my belongings at the office desk, drape my coat over the chair, and stow away my lunch in the mini fridge. At this point, the office is starting to feel more like my own, with Nora making the occasional appearance every now and then. With the help of Sydney, I’ve been running the shop for Nora for the last few weeks.
We get swept up in the day as customers filter in and out. It’s that time of year when the tourists start trickling in. Though they haven’t bloomed yet, the blue flowers that grow around town will bring in crowds during the spring and summer. They’re quite photogenic, I’ll grant the flowers that much.
It seemed magical when we first moved here. I remember the first time we drove past one of the fields and the realization of the town’s name dawned on me as I stared in awe at the fields of flowers before me.
Now, however, part of the magic lies in the influx of business, and for that, the town is thankful. Myself included, as somehow I’ve already been inducted into the club of shop owners located on Main Street. Everyone has been incredibly welcoming and extremely helpful. Someone from the strip of shops stops in to check on me at the bookstorealmost daily.
It’s been an odd transition going from a former town troublemaker to now a somewhat respected shop runner. Jokes on them because most days I feel like a total imposter.
Seemingly right on cue, Imogen, co-owner of the flower shop down the street, breezes through the door.
“Morning, Mellie! How’s your mother doing these days? Tell her to stop by soon. Erica and I miss her dearly!” Erica is Imogen’s wife, the other owner of the flower shop. Mom used to work there part time during busy seasons when I was younger.
I offer Imogen a lollipop from the basket we keep on the checkout counter as we catch up, and she doesn’t hesitate before launching into a dramatic retelling of all the week’s town gossip. Ten minutes later and feeling slightly scandalized, I wave goodbye as she breezes back out into the chilly air, two more lollipops in hand.
After work, I say goodbye to Sydney as we part ways outside of the storefront. It’s raining and chilly, so I shrug on my coat and pop open my umbrella before I start off down the sidewalk. I made plans to have dinner at Evan and Cat’s, so I head in that direction.
As I pass by the diner, I can’t help but glance through the large glass windows, my eyes searching for the same thing, the same person they always seem to seek out these days. I spy him waiting tables, his back to me as he takes someone’s order. It’s as if Ronin can feel my eyes boring into him because he slowly turns, meeting my gaze through the glass. I wave, smiling at him, and I’m rewarded with one of his slow, sexy grins as he waves back. My damn heart flutters as I continue on my way, my thoughts lost in a certain pair of deep blue orbs.
I make it to my brother’s home and knock on their front door. A moment later, it swings open and Catalina ushers me inside. Water drips all over their foyer, and as she runs off for a towel, I place my umbrella by the door and toe off my sneakers, then hang my jacket on their coat rack to dry. Cat returns with a fluffy blue towel and I take it gratefully, wiping any excess water from my body before swiping it across the damp floor.
“Hey, Mellie.” Evan greets me from the stove where he’s stirring something in a large pot that smells absolutely amazing. “I hope you’re hungry. Cat insisted on making gumbo to feed an army.”
“Oh, that smells divine,” I answer, leaning in to inhale deeply. “And I’m starving, I haven’t eaten since lunch.”
“So, how goes the wedding planning?” I ask Cat as I flop into a stool. She pours two glasses of homemade lemonade from a crystal pitcher on the other side of the counter. “You had a cake tasting today, right?”
“We did! I think we’ve settled on a triple fudge chocolate cake with raspberry filling. We just have to decide on what it looks like.” She hands me a glass. “I have a couple of ideas. Do you want to see them?”
“Um, yes please,” I reply.
Cat and I have been knee deep in bridal magazines and Pinterest wedding boards for weeks. Who knew planning a wedding was so much fun?
She hops onto the stool next to me and pulls her tablet over, propping it up in front of us. Opening Pinterest, she swipes to the dessert board we’ve been collaborating on.
“Okay, this is the first one. It’s a bit rustic, but I think it would really work with the theme since the wedding will be outside in the town square.”
I lean in to get a closer look. The cake is three-tiered, set upon a wood slice with an assortment of nuts on each layer of what might be chocolate ganache, which drips artfully down the sides.
“Okay, love this one. I like the chocolate drips. Very Food Network. What’s next?” I sip my lemonade, appreciating the cold, crisp flavor.
She swipes to the next photo, which is another three-tiered chocolate cake with a cascade of colorful flowers flowing down one side. “It’s a bit fancier than the first one. The flowers would be in my colors, so a wine red, deep orange,and a sort of mustard-toned yellow. With it being a fall wedding, I want to play into the season’s aesthetic with my theme.”
“Oh man, it’s hard to choose.” I swipe between the two images, considering both cakes. “I think the first one is so rustic, like you said, and would look amazing with the fall foliage in the square. But I think this one has my vote.” I point at the second cake. “I love the idea of the fall-colored flowers against the dark brown of the chocolate.”
Cat flips the tablet around to show Evan. “What do you think, hun? Is this our cake?”
