But life had turned out to be chock full of surprises since she’d moved to Magnolia Shore.
And she didn’t regret one moment of it.
Although, as the adorable novelty clock she’d recently purchased chimed the hour, she realized that one thing had not changed. She still had a tendency to get caught up in her tasks andcompletelylose track of time.
“Shoot!” she exclaimed. “Oh drat, oh no! My book club is going to be here in like fifteen minutes.” She glanced down at her own work outfit, which consisted of a pair of shorts she’d owned for at least a decade and an oversized t-shirt from one of the clubs that her son, Jeremy, had been part of when he was in high school. Both were spattered with yellow paint. And while the color looked cheerful on her door, it wasn’t exactly the kind of accessory she wanted to wear to her book club meeting.
“What do you need done?”
Garrett’s offer was steady and unbothered. Eleanor knew that comparing one’s romantic interests was never a good idea, but sometimes Garrett would do something kind so effortlessly that it made her recognize all that she’d been missing during her marriage. It made her feel so incredibly lucky to have the life she had now.
“Do you mind setting up the snacks while I get dressed?” she asked. “I’ve got stuff in the fridge for a charcuterie board, plus some fruit for another little plate.”
“Of course,” he said. “I can’t promise it will look as good as when you do it, but I can get salami on a plate.”
“Aw, you’re the best,” she said, pecking another kiss on his cheek.
“You say that now,” he teased. “Wait until I grill for you. That’ll really knock your socks off.”
She chuckled even as she raced up the stairs, taking care not to touch the wet paint on her door. She washed her face and hands and quickly put on a light coat of makeup before tossing on a light sundress that she’d recently purchased at Diana’s boutique. It was airy and made her feel beautiful.
Garrett agreed, if the appreciative look he gave her was any indication. Eleanor, for her part, was trying to stop her own heart from getting away from her. They were going slow, she reminded herself. He was just demonstrating such care with the careful way he was putting the pieces of the charcuterie board together. He’d even tried to be artistic about it, she was pretty sure. It was hard to tell, since everything looked a bit… blobbish.
It was extraordinarily sweet.
“You look gorgeous,” he said. She spread her flowy skirt wide and gave a wobbly little curtsey.
“Thank you, sir. And thank you for your fine charcuterie skills.”
He pressed a kiss on her forehead, holding his hands out wide so that he didn’t contaminate his food-service hands.
“I’m not finished,” he said. “Don’t mess with my artistry, woman. Go say hi to your friends and let me wrap this up.”
She laughed, but the bell she’d recently installed near the shop door was chiming, which meant that her friends were, in fact, arriving.
“Oh, hello, gorgeous!”
Miriam Landers, the eldest of their club at a spry and sparkling seventy, greeted Eleanor exuberantly.
“Hi, Miriam,” Eleanor returned.
“Oh ‘hi, Miriam,’ my left elbow,” the older woman scoffed. “Give us a twirl. I am assuming that this is a Diana Madsen original that I’m seeing?”
Eleanor obligingly twirled, her skirt flaring out, as Diana chuckled where she was coming in behind Miriam.
“You do realize that I don’t design the clothes I sell, right, Miriam? I just sell them.”
“And source them and buy them and pair them with the perfect person like our Eleanor here,” Miriam corrected. “Accept the compliment. Don’t fight it.”
“Oh, very well,” Diana agreed, leaning over Miriam’s shoulder to pop a kiss on Miriam’s wrinkled cheek. “If you insist.”
“Not to break up this party,” came a voice from behind them, “but can we move this along? I don’t want to drop this cake.”
“Oops!” Miriam exclaimed, hurrying deeper into the bookstore-to-be.
Behind her stood Cadence and June Caldwell, the latter of whom was balancing a bakery box on one arm while she held her copy for their book club book in the other. Eleanor grabbed the box from June’s arms, then moved toward the front room where they held their meetings.
“You didn’t have to bring anything,” Eleanor exclaimed.
