“Don’t ‘Bea’ me. Seth’s told me stories about Nate being miserable at the station for years.Years, Cara.” She waves a hand dramatically. “Now they’re all smiles and Theo keepsbringing extra vegetables to the bar because he ‘has too many’ and Nate actually said hello to me last week.Hello. Voluntarily.”
“That does sound serious.”
“It’s a miracle is what it is.” She pulls me into a hug. “I’m happy for you. Really. You deserve this.”
“Thanks, Bea.”
“Now.” She pulls back, eyes sparkling. “Tell me everything. How’s the farmhouse? Is Lucas still insufferably organized? Does Theo really talk to his plants?”
Maeve chuckles from behind the counter. “I’ll make you a decaf, Bea. This sounds like it’s going to take a while.”
I’m trying to formulate an escape plan when Mrs. Patterson materializes at my elbow.
“Cara.” She pats my arm warmly. “I just have to say—we’re allsohappy for you. When I saw those three boys at your grandmother’s house all those years, shoveling her driveway and tending her garden, I always thought—well.” She sighs fondly. “I always hoped.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Patterson.”
“And the books!” She lowers her voice conspiratorially. “I’ve been dying to ask—the scene in book two, with the hayloft? Was that based on something that actually happened back in high school, or?—”
“I should really get going.” I take a large gulp of coffee. “Lots of errands. Nice seeing you both!”
I escape before she can finish that sentence, but I hear their combined sighs of disappointment behind me.
Some things are better left to the imagination.
The grocery storeis less eventful, thank god. I find Theo’s rosemary, the good stuff, in the back. Grab the other items on his list, and manage to check out with only three people commenting on howniceit is to see me settling down.
By the time I get home, Theo’s already commandeered the kitchen. He’s got music playing—something soft and acoustic—and he’s humming along while he preps vegetables.
“Got everything?” he asks without turning around.
“Including the rosemary that is definitely rosemary and not cilantro.” I set the bags on the counter. “The town is very invested in our relationship, by the way. Mrs. Patterson asked about the hayloft scene.”
Theo chokes on a laugh. “Which hayloft scene?”
“Book two.”
“Ah.” His ears go pink. “The one with the?—”
“Yep.”
“That was a good scene.”
“It was based on something that actually happened, Theo.”
“I know.” He grins over his shoulder. “I was there.”
I throw a dish towel at him, and he catches it without looking, still grinning.
Through the bond, I feel his joy. I’m smiling back before I can stop myself.
“Grandma’s coming at six,” I say, starting to unpack the groceries. “She texted to confirm. Also to remind me that she expects grandchildren within the decade.”
“She’s ambitious.”
“She’s Eileen Donovan. Ambition is her love language.”
Theo laughs.
