One thing at a time. She had to constantly remind herself of that fact. One day at a time, too.
She stared at her computer screen. The shop had been slow, but that was normal when there were other events happening in town. There was some sort of fall festival starting up and people were flocking to the town square to shop and eat.
It was fine. Wendy had more interesting things in mind for how she wanted to spend her day. Namely the document she had pulled up in front of her.
A smile stretched across her face as she stared at the blinking cursor. Once it had been at the top of the page, mocking her for her inability to produce the words for her story. Now, she was just over ten thousand words into her very first romance and she couldn’t be more thrilled with the progress.
It wasn’t perfect. And several times she’d had to chastise herself for her need to go back and nitpick every single sentence she’d typed out. This was the first draft, for goodness sake! If she continued to allow herself to obsess over what she’d already written, then she wouldn’t be able to move forward.
Perhaps that was the draw with a typewriter. She was kicking herself for not purchasing the ones she’d seen at the estate sales over the summer. It was as if now that the opportunity had passed, there were none to be found. Of course she could go looking for something online, but it wasn’t the same and she couldn’t guarantee that they were in the same condition as the ones she’d already found.
Besides, the shipping was almost as much as the equipment itself.
She sighed and turned her attention to the screen. Just as she was about to start her next chapter, Serenity sidled up beside her. She leaned her hip against the counter and grinned wide. “How’s it going?”
Wendy smiled widely at her friend. “Well,” she drawled, “it’d go a lot faster if my friends didn’t keep interrupting me asking how it’s going.”
Serenity didn’t show one ounce of remorse.
“Have you guys considered that maybe your obsessive natures are what was holding me back all that time?”
Her friend scoffed. “Have you considered that maybe you just needed to find love yourself? There’s a word for it…” She tapped her chin with an exaggerated flair. “Oh, that’s right.Inspiration.”
Wendy rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t deny that when she’d finally allowed herself to give into what Tripp was offering, shehadbeen inspired. She just couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. What if something happened and they realized that they weren’t good for each other? She wasn’t sure she could handle that situation.
Her heart stumbled at the thought and it took some great effort to push away the doubt. Things were good. Really good.
“You love him, don’t you.” It wasn’t a question and Serenity’s low voice captured Wendy’s full attention. “You’ve told him, right?”
“Why… he hasn’t…” she scrambled for a reason why she’d put herself on the line like that when Tripp hadn’t said he loved her yet, either.
“It’s just that I’ve heard the story. He said you were the one. That’s a confession if I ever heard one. But you…” Serenity wasn’t exactly frowning, but the worry she wore couldn’t be missed. “Don’t let yourself stand in the way of something good. I know it’s new and there really shouldn’t be any pressure, but?—”
“Yes,” Wendy whispered. “I do.”
The smile that flooded Serenity’s face lit up the entire room. She glowed and it wasn’t because she was currently pregnant with her third child. “Really?” she whispered back.
Wendy nodded. “Yeah. I do.”
“And you’ve told him?”
At that, Wendy looked away. “Not yet.”
“Why not?”
Chewing on her lower lip, Wendy asked herself the same thing. She was holding back. She was still scared. This was all so new. And yet there wasn’t a reason for her to keep the news to herself. Tripp had laid everything out on the line. Why couldn’t she? Maybe she still needed to hear those words before she allowed herself to completely let go. “I don’t know.”
Serenity sighed as if she understood exactly where Wendy was coming from. She placed a hand on Wendy’s shoulder and squeezed. “It’ll come when you’re ready. For both of you.” She said it like she knew something she wasn’t ready to divulge just yet.
Wendy nodded. Anxiety swirled in her chest. Realizing that she loved Tripp and telling him that she did were different kinds of struggles. She’d tell him. Today. When she saw him. It was her turn to be vulnerable with him. He’d gone through so much growth, it was the least she could do.
As if summoned by the conversation itself, the door opened and Tripp sauntered inside. His eyes immediately found hers and he grinned. Her stomach did a belly flop and she rose from the stool where she’d been sitting. “Hey, sugar bear. You’re a sight for sore eyes.”
Serenity groaned good naturedly, causing Wendy to smile wider. Tripp approached the counter like he always did, and she leaned over it to fist his shirt and tug him to her. She captured his lips with her own, allowing herself to get lost in the way he made her feel.
Their story wasn’t a conventional love story by any means. Heck, something told her that it had started way before she’d even begun to like him.
Tripp moaned into her kiss and his hand clasped around the back of her neck to hold her to him. She could kiss him all day and not tire of it. He was made for her—every last bit of him.
