This was either the best idea she’d ever agreed to... or the most dangerous.
But ready or not—her heart needed to know the answer.
Chapter 18
@TeaThymyNC:Just because we have to work together to cater a wedding doesn’t mean our tastes are the same. The battle of Team Tea vs. Team Pub is still very much on. It’s a simple choice: elegance, refinement, and a proper afternoon tea experience... or, well, whatever @TGDpub serves.
How to Join #TeamTea:
Order a classic Afternoon Tea at Tea Thyme
Dress with dignity (bonus points for hats)
Recite a Jane Austen quote at checkout for a very small but very dignified discount
Join us and prove that culture still exists in this town.??
#TeaOverGrease #ChooseWisely #GotToSupportWisteriaGeneralStore
@TGDpub:Oh, it’s on. Since @TeaThymeNC insists that dainty sandwiches and lukewarm tea count as a meal, allow me to present an alternative: #Team Pub. Do you want tiny snacksor a real meal? Do you want food you barely nibble at or food you remember with tears in your eyes and sauce on your chin? Exactly.
How to Join #TeamPub:
Order a burger, wings, or anything that requires two hands to eat
Toast to the supremacy of hearty food
Bonus points, and a possible discount if you roast a tea drinker in the process #EatLikeYouMeanIt #BurgersBeforeBiscuits #NoTinyForksNeeded
Comments:
@TeaThymeNC:Elegance over indigestion. Choose wisely.?#RefinedTaste #TeaTimeMagic
@TGDpub:Real food. Real full. Real happy. #NotJustForPhotos #NoPinkiesUp
@LindsayMonroeOfficial:I love both! And, just maybe, both are better together??? #FoodieDilemma #CantPick #UnashamedMatchmaking
@SecondHandTreasures:I’ve moved beyond food bets. I’m taking wagers on when Finn and Daphne finally kiss. Proceeds go to the town charity! #WisteriaRomanceWatch
@OldManRutherforton:Reminds me of when my wife and I nearly called off the wedding over the thermostat. True love finds a way. (And eventually lands on 72 degrees.)
@LindsayMonroeOfficial:I think @OldManRutherforton just agreed with “both” too. #TrueLoveFindsAWay
@GrannyDOfficial:If they don’t kiss by the rehearsal dinner, I’m bringing my cane and locking them in the bakery’s pantry myself. #ElderPrivileges #WisteriaLoveLockdown
@WisteriaWeekly:Breaking: Sources confirm that the true winner of Team Tea vs. Team Pub will be... LOVE (and possibly a very messy kitchen). #OperationGetThemTogether #OurFavoriteSportIsMatchmaking
@PastorNateNHC:Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is also stubborn and in deep denial. #DontMessWithGrannyD
Stepping into another chef’s kitchen to share cooking space was an intimate thing. Finn knew it well. It was where magic happened. Where failure happened. Where frustrations boiled over into mortifying reactions—and sometimes where something extraordinary was born.
Daphne had agreed to meet for a planning and cooking session Friday morning while Lucy was in school and before his shop opened. In her kitchen, in case she was needed at Tea Thyme.
He tapped at the back door, balancing a tray loaded with ingredients and a few early-morning preparations. No answer. He knocked again, then cautiously nudged the door open.
The instant he stepped inside, the scent wrapped around him—freshly baked sweet breads, steeping tea, and... apples? His smile spread. Perfect. She was already doing what he’d decided on after the Harvest Festival night before last: Use what’s in season.
And apples were everywhere.
