I laughed weakly, then took a breath. “I don’t want space between us.”
“Then don’t let it grow,” Lucy said.
I looked toward the door again. The hallway outside was quiet. The inn was still busy, but for a moment, the kitchen felt like its own small world. It was safe, warm, and familiar.
Braxton was somewhere in this building. He was probably working.He was probably telling himself the same thing I told myself, that none of this mattered, that feelings could be managed by ignoring them.
I picked up my towel again and folded it with too much care, putting off the moment because I was a coward at heart which hurt even more. “After dinner.”
Lucy’s eyes brightened. “After dinner you will talk to him.”
“I will try,” I corrected.
Lucy smiled like that was enough. “Good. Now, we need to update Meri and we need to make Kitty order chairs before she forgets numbers exist.”
I managed a real smile that time. “Yes.”
As we moved back into the rhythm of the day, I kept one thought tucked close like a warm mug in cold hands.
Braxton hadn’t shown up today. The space between us was growing.
And if I don't step forward soon, it might become permanent.
Chapter Thirteen: The Worst Bachelor Party on Record
Braxton
I had just decided that waiting any longer to clear the air with Jane was a mistake when she appeared at the far end of the lobby.
Supper had ended, plates cleared and stacked with the soft clatter of finality, and the Snowdrop Inn had settled into the after dinner activities where people enjoyed either chatting with each other in the reception room or went to their own bedrooms for the night. The Christmas lights reflected softly in the front windows, the glass fogged slightly from the cold outside. Snow drifted down in slow, lazy flakes, as if the weather itself was in no hurry.
I sat by the fireplace in the reception room, my mind turning over the same thoughts for the tenth time, my laptop completely forgotten on the table beside me.
Say something. Say anything. don't lose another moment.
Jane hesitated when she saw me. She adjusted the edge of her sweater, took a breath, and started toward me with clear intent.
Relief hit me hard as I stood up. She was just as ready to have this conversation as I was.
Then Kitty appeared.
She came down the hallway at speed, clipboard clutched to her chest like a shield, eyes bright with the sort of determination that meant someone else’s plans were about to be commandeered. Her boots struck the floor with purpose.
“There you all are,” she said with stressed forced brightness.
Jane stopped short. I pushed down any frustration I felt at the interruption.
“We need to do the bachelor party,” Kitty continued briskly. “Now.”
Dex, who had just entered the reception room while scrolling through something on his phone, looked up slowly. “We do?”
“Yes. The groom is painfully awkward, his groomsmen are enthusiastic but useless, and I don't trust them unsupervised for even one hour. Therefore.” Kitty insisted. She gestured broadlyat the three of us. “I can’t be ata bachelor party as I’m not a guy. You two and Dad will handle it.”
Jane opened her mouth. I opened mine too.
Kitty was already moving again. “Shoes on. Coats. To the lobby, pronto! Please don’t lose the groom or any of the groomsmen. I’m in enough hot water with this wedding already.”
She vanished down the hall before objections could form.
