Page 105 of Blue Jean Summer

She let out a huff that blew a loose strand of hair away from her eyes. “I can’t find my crown.”

My brows rose. “Hello to you too.”

Catherine spun and went back to digging through her closet. “I’m sorry. I have to be out the door in ten minutes, and I can’t find the flipping crown. How was the trip back?”

“Lots of traffic,” I said as I started looking too.

“That’s NoVA for you,” she grumbled as she pawed around.

“I don’t miss it.”

“That’s surprising.”

“I missed you,” I admitted as I searched the shelves above her head. “It was weird being back at my place.”

Since the conference had started Thursday and stretched late into Saturday night, I had stayed at my place in Bethesda. Everything was just as I had left it, but the bed felt too big. The kitchen was too cold. The tree-lined street had nothing on the lane that led in and out of the estate.

Most of all, I missed her.

That, of course, had led to the two of us texting almost nonstop. It shouldn’t have been a big deal, but it was. Catherine and I didn’t have to keep up the ruse when Lewis wasn’t watching our every move.

But I wanted to keep talking to her.

The notion took me back to the early days on the estate when I had first lost my parents. During the nights when I couldn’t sleep, I’d tiptoe out of my bedroom and sneak downstairs, only to find my grandparents curled up on the couch, talking into the wee hours of the night.

I had never found someone I wanted to talk to endlessly.

Well, until her.

Catherine’s hands stilled on a bin. “I missed you too.”

“Hallie told me you kicked ass hosting the owners’ luncheon,” I said as I combed through a shelf of mostly shoes. “Thank you for doing that.”

“Of course. Part of the job,” she clipped as she yanked a square box out of a bin of socks. “Found it.” Catherine let out a sigh of relief, hurried out of the closet, dropped the crown box onto the bathroom vanity, and started pulling the rollers out of her hair. I stood behind her and helped, unclipping the rollers and gently unfurling them until her hair lay in smooth curls.

“You look beautiful. I’m a little disappointed I didn’t get to see you dressed up as Miss Virginia until your last day.”

Catherine laughed as she teased and sprayed her hair. “I’m not getting dressed until I get to Roanoke. Driving in a gown is not fun.”

“I can reschedule my meeting today and go with you.”

“Don’t,” Catherine said gently. “Tonight isn’t about me. I’m just popping up at the end to crown the new Miss Virginia.”

For me, every day was about her, and I didn’t mind that in the slightest. I wanted everything to be about her.

I also knew I couldn’t reschedule my meeting.

Her jacket was unzipped enough for me to pull the collar aside and drop a kiss to her shoulder. “You are incomparably beautiful.”

“Can we catch up tomorrow? Maybe go riding or something?” she asked. “It’ll be really late when I get back tonight, but I made so much progress on the Learning Cottage while you were gone, and I want to tell you about it.”

I kissed her temple. “I’ll clear my schedule.”

She beamed. Catherine reached for the box and popped the latch. Her crown was nestled inside on a satin cushion. “I just need to make sure it sits right on my hair. Sometimes the curls don’t want to cooperate.”

I watched as she carefully positioned it on her head and started to fiddle with the curls. The crown slipped, tilting to the side, but I was faster.

Catherine’s eyes met mine in the mirror as I straightened her crown. “Thank you,” she said softly.