Page 67 of A Fall to Remember

The last thing Jim needed was more coffee, but he headed downstairs, found a seat in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of the ocean, and waited for Shelby. He could hear her heavy footsteps before she arrived. She flopped onto the chair next to him and gave him a hard stare.

“What the actual hell, Jim?” Shelby didn’t hold back. “Are you trying to get us both fired?”

The lobby was quiet. It was early on a Sunday. Most guests were sleeping in and enjoying lazy coffee and pastries in bed after last night’s bonfire. “As I said, it’s on me. This has nothing to do with you. I will take full credit for the post.” Jim’s voice was even and measured.

“I don’t get it. Why? What’s your angle on this?” Shelby bounced her foot on the patterned carpet. She was clearly a bundle of nerves.

Jim knew she was worried about her job. He would put her out of her misery. “It’s because of Miranda,” he said softly, meeting her eyes and letting the implication sink in.

It took her a minute. She ran her fingers through her curls, which were still damp, and rested her chin in her hands. After a second, she drew in a breath. “Oh, oh, wait. Oh, God. You’re in love with Miranda?”

Jim couldn’t contain a smile as he nodded. “I fell for her hard.”

Shelby opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, then shut it again.

“I did not stage the video.” He raised his hand like he was swearing a solid oath. “That was pure Miranda. I would have stopped her from walking through the proposal had I noticed, but I’ve been so caught up in her that I haven’t been able to tear my eyes away from her. I missed it, too. I will admit I did encourage her to weave in one of my pumpkin puns, but that was the extent of it.”

“Right. Yeah. Got it.” Shelby clasped her hands to her face and shook her head. “Well, damn, this is bad.”

“She’s very upset. Understandably. I tried to explain last night, but I think she’s lost trust in me. I’ve watched every single video with the Half Moon Bay Harvest Fest hashtag, but I couldn’t find anything showing the proposal, so I decided to do something desperate this morning.” Desperate was the wrong choice of words, at least regarding any potential fallout from Voyager. His only desperation was to prove his love to Miranda. “When I struck out, I decided I had to take more drastic measures. I am fully responsible for this, and I’ll explain this to the team. You don’t need to worry about your job. I’m out of the running for the promotion with this stunt. You’re getting credit for all the wonderful engagement and traction. In fact, there’s a very generous bonus coming your way probably along with a promotion.”

Shelby was silent.

He’d never seen Shelby at a loss for words.

A family with young children broke the uncomfortable calm, as the kids filled plates with apple cider donuts, scrambled eggs, and sausage while their bleary-eyed parents made a beeline for the coffee station.

Shelby threw her hand over her mouth and shook her head. “Jim, I’m so sorry. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have flipped out about the video. I was convinced that you set it up for likes, but God, I know that’s not your style. I seriously had no idea, but now that I’m replaying this weekend, I’m an idiot. Of course, I should have seen it. Miranda is so lovely, and she’s obviously into you, too. I’ve ruined it for you.”

A wave of relief washed over him. He was glad to have the air cleared between them. “It’s not ruined,” he replied, reaching for his phone. “My post worked. Look.”

Shelby took the phone. “You found them! They’re looking for her?”

Jim’s smile widened. “The happy couple is still here in town. They’re ready to share the video their photographer shot from the other angle, and they want to invite Miranda to the wedding.” He couldn’t believe his luck, or how quickly the internet had worked its magic.

“Oh, Jim, I’m so happy for you.” Shelby leaned in to give him a hug. Then she pulled away and jumped to her feet. “What are we waiting for? We need to find them!”

“Now?” Jim glanced at his watch. It wasn’t even eight yet.

“You’re in love with Miranda, yes?” Shelby folded her arms across her chest and gave him her most piercing stare.

“Yes.” Jim nodded slowly.

“Then what are we waiting for? I know exactly how we fix this.” She grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the lobby.

52

MIRANDA

A day later, the Green Grocer already felt empty. She felt empty. Everything felt empty. The weekend had not gone as she had expected. Whether or not Jim had staged the video was almost secondary. She wanted to believe him. He sounded entirely sincere and almost gutted when they’d spoken about it at the bonfire, but it was more than that. She’d gotten swept up in the romance of the weekend, the fall vibes, Jim’s attention, everything. Now she was grounded back in the real world again.

Jim and Shelby were long gone, back in Seattle. It was time for Miranda to return to normal, too. The store needed her attention. It had been picked over. No complaints. She was happy to restock and rearrange. It gave her something useful to do.

But she dragged through the motions, feeling groggy and sluggish. Had she been too quick to judge with Jim? Should she have given him another chance?

The only good thing that had come of this weekend was her breakthrough with Pete yesterday. Her intuition was right. Something had been bothering him. She was glad he’d finally opened up and told her the truth about wanting to find his birth father. She wasn’t upset, and as she said the other night, she truly had exhausted every possibility of trying to track him down when she learned she was pregnant. She wasn’t harboring a deep, dark secret about him. She was happy to support his search and offered to pay to hire the private detectives.

Miranda went through the opening procedures in a slight trance. She wiped down tables, rearranged the displays, and organized the shelves.