Tessa sighed. “Not really.”
“I’d like for you to. Over a picnic dinner? You tell me your story, and I’ll tell you mine.”
“As long as this isn’tshow-and-tell,” she mumbled.
Paul laughed. “If you want to take it in that direction, I’m not going to object.”
Tessa’s mouth went dry, and she wanted to tell Paul that she wouldn’t mind a little show-and-tell. Instead, she arranged the food in a semicircle around them. “I hope buffet-style works for you.”
He uncorked the wine. Then he poured a small amount into two plastic cups. He passed Tessa one. “Cheers to new beginnings in Honeysuckle Hollow!” He raised his cup.
Tessa stared at the cup. When she looked at Paul, he smiled at her and moved his cup closer to hers.
“Are you going to leave me hanging here?”
She lowered her cup. “No, it’s just . . . are you happy for me?”
Paul stopped smiling. “What do you mean?”
“About the house. Do you think I’m a reckless imbecile who made the worst decision of her life?”
Paul lowered his cup. “I sense the need to answer that question carefully. Do I think you’re reckless? Not since I’ve known you. You definitely don’t strike me as an imbecile. Worst decision? I flipped through your high school yearbook, and it’s possible that your senior-year hairstyle was a greater misstep.”
Tessa snorted a laugh. “It was thestyle,” she said, but then the annoying tears returned. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to fall apart on you, but everyone in my life thinks me buying this house is a ridiculous idea. They think I’m in over my head.”
“Are you?”
Tessa shrugged. “Possibly, but it doesn’t feel like the wrong decision. It’s a lot of work, I know. But I can do it. Iwantto do this. And I just wantoneperson to believe in me enough to trust that I’m doing what is bestfor me.”
“Do you believe in you?”
Tessa nodded. “I do,” she said, and then her heart thumped hard against her ribs because the words resonated so deeply within her. She repeated them with more gusto. “Ido.”
Paul lifted his cup again. “That’s what matters. Following your heart takes a lot of courage. It’s easy to go along with what other people are doing. It’s easy to do the safe thing, believe me. The others will come around. Until they do, you have me, and I believe you can do this.”
A flood of gratefulness washed through Tessa. She tapped her cup against Paul’s. “Thank you.”
“Cheers to the second-worst decision you’ve ever made and to new hairstyles,” Paul said, grinning at her.
Tessa snorted into her cup before she sipped the wine. “Don’t pretend you never had a bad hairstyle.”
“Hairstyle? No. Bad fashion? Yes. Ask Mom. There are a few doozies still framed in their house. There’s shot of me and Eddie wearing high-waisted jeans with T-shirts tucked in.”
Tessa grabbed a plate and laughed. She unwrapped a breakfast turnover. “Story time?”
“Ladies first,” Paul said just before he bit into a cinnamon roll.
Tessa talked about her day, starting that morning at the house, leaving out his phone call from Monica. She explained how Charlie had rounded up a crew of displaced workers and how Leon offered to bring over a pair of French doors that were the perfect size. She pointed toward the ceiling and told him about the trunk of pictures in the attic. Then she repeated her conversations with both Lily and Anna and with her mama. When she was finished, Tessa split a cold waffle into quarters. “Discouraging, right? No way your story can top mine.”
Paul smiled at her and leaned his arm against hers. “If this is a contest, I should at least get a turn to see how my story ranks.”
Tessa made a sweeping motion with her hand. “Please proceed.” She couldn’t imagine how Paul’s story would be depressing. He was a globe-trotter who took adventures every week, had just signed on to be a frequent writer forSouthern Living, and had at least two women vying for his attention.
“You know why I came to Mystic Water?” he asked.
“To see your parents?”
Paul shook his head. “I could have visited anytime, but I always used the excuse that I was busy. Because Iwasbusy, but people make time for what they want to make time for. And because I was playing the role of the unfortunate son, I didn’t make time for my parents the way I should have. But I finally found some free time to spend with them.”
