The room fell silent again until Lydia finally spoke. “Did you need something, or what?”
Charlie cleared his throat. “Right. Yes. Well, I just wanted to stop by. I haven’t seen you in a while, so I thought I’d see how you were doing…”
Jane opened her mouth, but Kitty spoke first. “You mean, after you left without an explanation?”
“And tried to pull the slow fade afterward?” Lydia said, head tilted to the side.
Mary continued, “And then you—”
“You came back after possibly saving our town’s biggest event after Mary’s little episode!” Mrs. Bennet responded quickly, shooting them all a pointed look.
Charlie’s expression contorted in confusion. “I’m sorry?”
“The money you paid to reimburse HamptonFest,” Mrs. Bennet clarified.
“Oh,” Charlie said. “Well, that sounds very generous, but that wasn’t me.”
Mrs. Bennet’s wide grin fell and she turned back to her daughters. “What were you saying?”
Mary opened her mouth to continue where she left off, but Jane interrupted.
“It’s okay. I think we get the gist of it.” Then she turned to Charlie. “Is there anything we can help you with?”
He hesitated. “I just… wanted to see you. Say hello.”
“That’s… very nice of you,” Jane replied softly. “But you can’t come here after all this time to just say hello.”
His face blanched, even as he nodded. “I know. But I wanted… I had to make sure you were okay.”
“I am now.” Tears began to line Jane’s eyes. “But I wasn’t. Not for a long time. Because I fell in love with someone who just… disappeared.” Her voice cracked as Mrs. Bennet gasped. Lizzy, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia watched, mouths hanging open.
Charlie’s expression softened. “You fell in love with me?”
Jane nodded. “And you left before I could tell you. Before I could apologize and explain.”
“Jane—” he whispered.
“You gave up so easily, Charlie,” Jane said. “You can’t just walk in here and expect to pick up where we left off.”
Charlie’s gaze dropped to the floor as he nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Jane replied. Silence fell again, and it was another minute before Jane continued, “I just don’t know what to do now.”
He looked up, meeting her gaze. “We start over.”
He turned around and left the bakery, the bell above the door the only sound in the room until a stunned Mrs. Bennet jumped up from her chair.
“What is happening!” she cried.
Before Jane could answer, the door to the bakery opened again. Charlie stood on the threshold and cleared his throat, then he walked by a gawking Mrs. Bennet, Kitty, Lydia, Mary, and Lizzy to stop in front of Jane.
“Hello.” He held out his hand to Jane. “I’m Charlie.”
A smile tugged at the corner of Jane’s mouth as she tentatively placed her palm in his. “Hi. I’m Jane.”
“It’s a pleasure,” he said softly. “I’m new to town and heard there was a really nice bar nearby. Donato Lodge?”
Lydia scoffed under her breath. “Really nice?”
