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“Whoa, what’s this all about?” Belinda asked. “Are you crying?”
“I c-can’t help it.” Noelle gulped between sobs. The safer she felt, the more she cried.
“Come now, I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
Did she want to bet? Sniffing back her tears, Noelle let herself catch her breath before speaking. “Fryer’s gone,” she said, sniffing again. “The Boston office wants him put in storage.” And it was all her fault because she’d been a childish coward.
“Don’t tell me all these tears are because of a battered old elk,” Belinda said.
She stepped back and looked Noelle in the eye. “I know you’re fond of tradition, sweetheart, but he’s only an old statue. I tried to convince Ned to get rid of him for years. Thing takes up way too much space on the floor.”
Great. In addition to dashing out on James, she’d been protecting a tradition no one else wanted.
How fitting.
“Then I guess you’ve finally gotten your wish.” Backing out of her mother-in-law’s embrace, Noelle turned back to her desk. “If I’d known you didn’t care, I wouldn’t have put up a fight.”
“Don’t be silly,” Belinda said. “Of course you would have. You’ll fight for every tradition. It’s who you are. But something tells me all these tears aren’t for our soon-to-be-departed mascot. Something’s been bothering you all week.”
“That obvious, is it?”
“Thirty seconds ago you were sobbing on my sweater. A billboard would be less obvious. What’s wrong?”
Where to start? “It’s complicated.”
“Is it my retiring? I know my leaving for Florida is happening quickly.”
“The business is only part of the problem,” Noelle replied.
“I see.” She wore Kevin’s same skeptical expression as she folded her arms. “What’s the other part?”
Shame burned in Noelle’s stomach. Thinking her mistakes were bad enough, but speaking them aloud?
“I messed up,” she said. “I did something really, really stupid.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” The older woman stepped up and rested a hand on Noelle’s shoulder. “I’m sure you’re exaggerating. Todd would have told me if it was super serious.”
“Todd doesn’t know, and worse, it’s too late to fix things.”
“You don’t know that, sweetheart. Nothing is so horrible it can’t be repaired.”
“Not this time,” Noelle replied, turning around. Taking a deep breath, she relayed what had happened in New York.
“Well,” Belinda said when she finished, “that explains why James mysteriously cancelled our Monday meeting and why you were acting so strangely when you came by the house on Sunday afternoon. Why on earth would you run off and leave him like that?”
“Because I freaked out.” She rubbed her forehead, the pain from the back of her head having decided to relocate there. “The way he made me feel. The emotions. They were too overwhelming. I’ve never felt like that before.”
“Not even with Kevin?”
Noelle froze. Here she thought she couldn’t mess up any further. “Kevin was... That is, I loved Kevin...”
“It’s all right,” Belinda said. “I know what you meant.”
“Y-you do?”
“You and Kevin were practically babies when you started dating. Only natural the grown-up you would feel things a little differently.
“Maybe...” Her mother-in-law’s smile was indulgent as she cupped Noelle’s cheek. “Maybe even a little stronger.”
How did she earn such a wonderful person in her life?
“You have to know, I loved Kevin,” Noelle replied. “I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.” Who knows how things would have worked out between them if he’d returned? They’d already had a strong foundation. Passion might have blossomed eventually, as well.
“No matter what, he’ll always own a big piece of my heart.”
Belinda smiled down at her. “I know, sweetheart. Now, the question is—does James Hammond own any of that heart? Are you in love with him?”
Was she? Noelle shook her head. “We’ve only known each other four days.” Far too soon to fall head over heels. “But...” She thought about how her heart felt fuller when he walked into a room.
“But you could see yourself falling in love with him someday,” Belinda finished for her.
“Yes.” Very much so, Noelle thought as she looked to the ground. She had the sinking feeling she was halfway in love now. Not that it mattered given her foolish behavior. “I’m sorry.”
