Page 33 of Postmarked December

She ran her fingertips over the wax seal. Who was it? And why was this happening to her? Whatever the reason, the trip had brought her to Nick. And now, she wasn’t sure which she was more excited about—sharing a car with him to the airport or getting this letter.

With a deep breath, she picked off the seal, opened the envelope, then pulled out the note and read it.

I’ll bet you can’t remember where we got the cider? (I knew you’d be asking yourself that.) It’s because you’d stopped into a shop to look at candles, and I popped out to get us each a cup. I never understood your fascination with balls of wax that you light on fire, but I loved the way your face lit up when you got that new one that day. I didn’t send you to the orchard for the cider. I sent you to get you doing things new to you. The orchard is your new place, somewhere I’ve never been. I hope you find more spots just for you. I also hope you had a great trip and made some memories that you can take home with you. When you get home, something will be waiting for you.

Tears brimmed in her eyes and goose bumps rose on her skin. She’d had almost that same thought about making new memories when she was enjoying her pie. How could Toby know that?

While she hadn’t recalled the cider that day, she did remember the candle.

“Smell it!” She’d chased him down the sidewalk with the open jar in one hand and her cider in the other as he pretended to be repulsed.

“It’ll make me sneeze.” He put his hand over his mouth and nose.

“This one won’t. The scent is subtle.” She fumbled the jar shut, dropped it into the bag, and attempted to pry his fingers off his face, but he was too strong for her.

“There’s only one way you’ll get my hand off my nose,” he said.

“And what is that?”

They stood in the middle of the sidewalk while people maneuvered around them.

“Kiss me.”

She playfully rolled her eyes and then she pushed herself up onto her toes. Gently, he put his hand on her face and drew her in. His lips met hers delicately.

“This scent is way better than that ol’ candle.”

She blinked the tears away, the memory having dropped into her mind like a heavy weight. These notes were definitely from Toby—there was no question at this point. How was he doing this? Someone had to be delivering them, right? As much as Toby worried about privacy, wouldn’t he also know she’d be a nervous wreck at the thought of someone waiting around in the shadows, giving her the notes? There was no other way to make it happen, right? He could’ve organized these last few with the hotel, but had he also prearranged all the others to be at the locations where she’d received them? And had he guessed the exact times and dates she’d arrive at each spot, all while unable to leave his bed? And then there was the situation with the white SUV… It wasn’t as if Toby himself were able to come back to life and drive away at top speed. She got up and looked through the peephole, checking to see if anyone was lurking. The coast was clear.

Her mind reeling, she called Marion.

“How was the work party?” Heather asked.

“Decent. Good cocktails, boring company—apart from Anthony. He and I actually enjoyed ourselves.”

“That’s good.”

“It’s easy to do when we don’t mention the elephant in the room. I adore him, but our opposing views on that specific subject are too large to overcome long term, and I still don’t know what to do. I have to choose my love for him or a future family. That’s an impossible choice. And I’m angry that he didn’t let me know this so we could figure it out before we got married.” She let out a sigh. “But we have a therapy session scheduled after the holiday, so there’s that.”

“I really hope you two can find common ground.”

“Yeah… But enough about my drama, what’s up with you?”

Heather told her all about her day.

“Someone delivered the note while Nick and I were at the orchard,” she explained to her friend. “To get it up here, and know what room number to leave it at, I think it would have to be planned through the hotel staff.”

“Have you asked them if they could tell you who was delivering the notes?”

“They didn’t know who it was. They said it could have been a courier.”

“Mm.” Her disappointment came down the line. “I wonder if you’ll ever know.”

“I have no idea, but it’s killing me. I don’t understand how Toby could’ve done all this and been so precise while he was sick. It’s so unbelievable that I find myself believing in miracles.”

“That’s not a bad thing. So how was your day with Nick?”

“It was really great. Like, unusually great. I like him.”