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Any time one of the women looked at each other, there wasn’t a hint of malice or jealousy to be found. Nothing but true affection shined on the faces of the business owners, and Valerie couldn’t quite believe it.
“This place is like something out of a movie,” she murmured in awe.
“You would know,” Mindy joked, shooting Valerie a grin.
She had wondered briefly if the other woman had known who she was when she had walked in, but that comment definitely confirmed it. But even though Mindy had recognized her, she hadn’t once treated her like it was anything special. In fact, the way that Mindy and Sarah were talking to her was as if she was already a part of their trio, as if the three of them had been friends for a while, and Valerie couldn’t help but want to lean into it a bit.
There was a lull in customers as a few of the people at the tables filed out the front door and no new ones walked in, and Mindy used that time to take off her apron, walk around the counter, and have a seat on the stool on the other side of Valerie. The two women began peppering her with questions, asking how she was liking the town so far, and who all she had met.
Valerie gave them a run down, but the list was rather short. And when she got to the run-in with Clark and Derek at the hardware, their eyes lit up.
“Oh, Clark is lovely,” Sarah gushed. “He’s so helpful. Any time we need anything fixed, he’s the first one we call.”
“He sounds like he’s more handyman than he is business owner,” Valerie mused. “He showed me the house they’re fixing up for that family.”
Sarah and Mindy shared a pointed look before turning their attention back to Valerie.
“Did he, now?” Mindy asked, and Valerie could tell that the woman was trying to keep her tone light and inconspicuous. Not that she was succeeding. “And how did that come about?”
“You don’t happen to have a boyfriend, do you?” Sarah blurted before Valerie had a chance to answer the other woman’s question.
Valerie paused, taking the time to raise her latte to her lips and take a hearty sip, letting the liquid warm her from the inside out.
“Single as a pringle,” she answered finally, and once again the other two women shared a pointed glance.
“Well,” Sarah began, her words flying out of her mouth so quickly Valerie found it hard to keep up. “We have plenty of eligible bachelors here. You’d be surprised. We might be a small town, but since it’s so close to great skiing and great hunting, and just outdoorsy stuff in general, men seem to flock to here. And a lot of them end up staying.”
“Men like Clark, for instance,” Mindy said, studying her fingernails as if she wasn’t interested in the conversation, despite the conspiratorial smile that was tugging up the corners of her lips.
“Clark isverysingle,” Sarah chimed in, waggling her eyebrows at Valerie, making her laugh despite the awkward topic.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she answered around a bite of her sandwich. “But honestly, I don’t know if I’m looking for that while I’m here.”
“It might be fun though.” Sarah shrugged one shoulder. “Getting dressed up, going on a date. Even if it doesn’t amount to anything.”
Valerie shook her head, but despite her protests, she couldn’t entirely banish the idea from her mind. She felt the color rising in her cheeks as an image flashed in her mind, one of her and Clark seated across from each other at one of the bakeries, or maybe on a walk together through the town square.
She shook her head quickly, forcing the image to vanish as she turned her attention back to Mindy and Sarah.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said noncommittally, and the other two women gave her a soft, understanding smile.
Thankfully, they allowed the subject to drop, launching into a conversation surrounding the upcoming showcase instead. Valerie listened in while she finished eating, liking the way that the other two women didn’t even have to try to make her feel included, it just seemed to come naturally.
They were planning their limited menu that they’d be offering during the festival, and they wanted each of their shops to tie in together, while still maintaining their own unique style. They asked Valerie for feedback and ideas, bouncing things off of her as easily as they were with each other.
And Valerie tried her best to pay attention, she truly did. But every so often, when Mindy and Sarah were talking to each other and her thoughts had a spare second to wander, that same image of her and Clark would pop up in her mind.
Valerie had to admit that she found the man attractive, and also incredibly interesting. Even if she would only admit it to herself.
CHAPTEREIGHT
Mindy’s phone buzzed in the pocket of her apron, jolting her attention to it as she ran the rag over the countertop to clear it from crumbs. Sarah and Valerie had left a couple hours earlier, and she’d been busy with back-to-back customers ever since. But now, as the afternoon was beginning to fade into evening and it was getting closer to closing time, things were starting to slow down.
She discarded the rag onto the countertop and pulled the phone out of her pocket. And the moment she swiped up on the screen and saw what the notification was, her heart gave a weary, saddened pang.
LANDON: Hey, I know it’s last minute, but I need to bail on tonight. I’m sorry and I’ll make it up to you.
Mindy heaved a disappointed sigh before typing out a quick response, letting him know that it was okay, and they’d reschedule for another time. She had been seeing Landon Schaper for a few months now, but somehow things weren’t picking up. They’d had plans to go on a date that evening, and just like the last two times they’d tried to meet up, it looked like this date was going to fall through.
