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Chapter 19
February
I’m sitting at home a few days after the contest…sulking. I know I should be thrilled that Harrison won, because his Love You So Matcha was a really delicious drink.
But I think I’m just feeling sorry for myself.
I haven’t spoken to him in days, because I feel like my life is at a crossroads. There’s a knock on my front door, and I half-expected it to be Harrison standing there when I swing the front door open.
“Are you okay?” Lennon asks me with a bottle of wine in her hands.
We make our way to my kitchen and I pull down some glasses from the shelf.
“I’m fine. I’m really happy Harrison won, but…” My words fall away. I can’t articulate exactly how I’m feeling.
“Is it because of the shop?”
I nod. “I feel like the past few weeks nothing right has happened for me. First my shop, then Drake and Stella having their baby, and now the competition.”
Lennon opens the bottle and pours. “You know that silly competition does not prove your worth.” She slides my glass over to me.
I take a sip before saying, “No, I know. I’m happy Harrison won, really I am. I don’t want to seem like a sore loser, but I think in that moment, everything came crashing down around me.”
“Harrison cares about you,” Lennon says.
I nod. “I know he does. I care a lot about him too.”
Lennon’s phone buzzes, and she glances down at it with a big smile. “Okay, don’t get mad, but I wanted to make sure it was available before I mentioned anything to you.”
“What was available?”
“My cousin in Magnolia Ridge, the little town thirty minutes south of here, well, she has a building with a storefront available.”
“Okay, and?” My heart beat picks up speed a little. What is she saying?
“It’s not far away and you could open your shop there. Want to know the best part?”
I lean in closer, gripping my wine glass close to my chest. “What?”
“You’ll be the only coffee shop around for miles. And I mean many miles.”
I take a sip of my wine, stalling for what to say next. Do I really want to move? Or even open another shop? “I don’t know, Lennon. I feel like I’ve got this life here.”
“You could commute. It’s not that far. Or you could live above the shop in a little apartment. It’s really nice.”
“What about Harrison?” I ask, not wanting to leave him behind.
“I don’t know what the right answer is for you, but if it’s meant to be, it’ll happen.” Lennon smiles at me, and I try to feel better about this whole situation.
I really want to be with Harrison. More than anything. But I’m so darn scared of everything that entails. Can I trust another man again?
“Thank you,” I tell Lennon. I know I need to talk to him. Lennon grabs her things to head off to work, and I walk her out.
After a few more minutes of feeling sorry for myself, I grab my bag to leave. I need to talk with Harrison. Is he feeling the same way I am?
Is he serious about me?
I make my way downtown, past his shop, and then I head to his house. I know he’s off work today, and I need to see him.
