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“My hero,” he chuckled.
The sound eased the panic gripping my heart. Lifting my head from his shoulder, I met his grin with my own relieved smile.
“Just returning the favor after you so valiantly fixed my sign.”
We dissolved into laughter, our joy mingling with the clatter of the fallen ladder beside us. Concerned patrons hurried over, hands outstretched to help us up. For a moment, we remained content lying there wrapped in each other’s arms, relieved the day’s excitement ended in laughter rather than injury.
“Well, would you look at that! Our resident Romeo and Juliet taking a tumble,” Sam’s teasing voice cut through the worried murmurs of the gathering crowd.
I glanced up to see him beaming down at us, mirth dancing in his eyes. Beside him stood Linda, lips pressed together in a poorly suppressed smile.
“That was quite the acrobatic act you two put on,” she added, extending a hand to help me up.
Caleb let out an exaggerated groan as he rolled off of me and pushed himself to his feet. “I think I pulled a muscle trying to impress our fair lady here.”
I swatted his arm but couldn’t help grinning. Linda and Sam’s gentle teasing had swept away any lingering awkwardness.
As we dusted ourselves off, I noticed the Pebble’s Brew sign lying damaged on the ground. But the mood remained light-hearted, especially as several regulars offered to help fix or replace it.
“Don’t you worry about a thing, Zoe,” Linda said decisively. “We’ll prop this old thing up for now and figure out a more permanent solution. This community looks after its own.”
Linda’s words were proven true over the next few days. Under her spirited direction, a crew of Pebble Point locals banded together to create a temporary stand for the fallen sign. Their ingenuity and camaraderie warmed my heart.
By week’s end, Linda had applied her talents for restoring antiques to repairing the familiar blue and gold sign. It once again hung proudly above the entrance, eliciting cheers from patrons as they filed in for their morning brews.
On Friday, as the morning rush hit its peak, the door chimed, and Linda breezed in with a broad smile. Trailing behind was a lanky young man I didn’t recognize.
“Zoe!” Mrs. Mason trilled, sweeping me into an unexpected hug. “I want you to meet my friend Claire’s nephew, Nate. He just moved to town.”
Nate shuffled his feet, looking equal parts nervous and eager. “Hey there. Aunt Claire said I just had to check this place out.”
“Well, welcome to Pebble’s Brew.” I extended a hand, which he shook with enthusiasm. Over his shoulder, I noticed Caleb watching us. His eyes narrowed.
“Can I get you a coffee?” I asked Nate. “On the house for first-timers.”
“That’d be awesome,” he said. “I’ll take a small milky decaf, please.”
As I turned to make Nate’s drink, Mrs. Mason leaned in conspiratorially. “He’s single, you know. I thought you two might hit it off.”
I blinked in surprise, and then understanding dawned. She meant well, but clearly didn’t grasp the shift happening between Caleb and me.
“Oh, I’m not really looking to date right now,” I hedged. “But I appreciate the thought.”
Nate seemed oblivious to the matchmaking attempt as he glanced around. “This is a great little spot. Aunt Claire said Pebble Point was friendly, and she was right.”
I handed Nate his milky decaf with an awkward smile. Over his shoulder, Caleb was now full-on glowering. I shot him a helpless look, which he countered with an exaggerated eye roll.
Despite Mrs. Mason’s good intentions, the universe seemed determined to keep things complicated between Caleb and me. For now, at least.
I stifled a laugh at Caleb’s dramatic eye roll, even as I felt a twinge of guilt for Nate. He seemed perfectly nice, not my type - especially when my heart was pulled in another direction.
“So, what brought you to Pebble Point?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation to safer waters.
“Oh, I’m thinking of relocating,” Nate replied brightly. “I’m in accounting so that I can work remotely. Aunt Claire raves about this place, so I thought I’d check it out.”
He smiled encouragingly, and I realized he was waiting for me to sell him on the charms of our little beach town. Meanwhile, Caleb had drifted closer, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed, his eyes fixed on me and Nate.
“Well, we do have a great community here,” I offered half-heartedly.
