They broke apart to see Mr. Rutherforton hobbling into the lobby from the makeshift clothes closet, his cane clicking on the tile.
“I pegged the two of you from the start. Two people can’t prank each other as much as y’all and not end in either romance or jail. I bet on the former.”
“I voted for both at the festival.” Jodie from the general store approached, wiping her hands on a towel. “Either way, I won. The two of them have increased my sales exponentially with all their flirting.”
“Flirting?” Daphne said, attempting to object to the notion.
Finn’s grin only broadened as he tucked an arm around her waist, keeping her close.
She nestled right in.
“I mean... you did call meinfuriatingly attractivethat one time.” He looked down at her, his brows raised. “In front of two small children and a minister.”
“I saidinfuriating and attractive,” she muttered.
“Semantics,” he said, and winked.
“Thou shalt not lie, Daphne Austen.” Nate strolled into the room, looking as soaked and harried as Finn, with Jack on his heels.
“We already knew how this would end, Nate.” Jack waved a dismissive hand toward them. “It’s way too predictable... and gross.” His nose wrinkled with his frown, and he reminded Daphne of his ten-year-old self. “Anyway, that hot soup we heard about in the doorway sounds loads better.”
“Follow me, fellas.” Jodie gestured with her chin. “We got plenty. But, Jack, I may make you a mug that reads: ‘Cupid, keep walkin’. I’m just here for the pie.’”
“Honestly,” Rosemary said, appearing in the playroom doorway with a sleepy toddler on her hip, “if you two don’t keep collaborating on menus, I’m starting a petition. The short ribs and lavender biscuits from the cook-off still haunt my dreams.”
“I want to be a taste tester!” Clem from the gym called as he ducked inside and away from the rain.
“Me too!” Cora from the Wisteria Book Club chimed in from the water bottle table. “I volunteer as tribute!”
Daphne looked up at Finn, searching his face. “Assuming you’re rebuilding?”
She needed to know his answer. And, at the same time, feared what he might say.
His expression gentled. “How else is Wisteria going to get a savory counterbalance to your dainty confections?”
She laughed—and then cried a little—and nearly launched herself back into his arms. But a soft voice broke through the chorus of teasing.
“Daddy?”
Lucy blinked awake from her place on the little couch, her expression moving from drowsy to delighted in a heartbeat. She pushed back the donated blanket, slid off the couch, and ran to her dad.
Finn caught her up and kissed the top of her head. “There’s mygirl.” His words rasped out, his gaze trailing back to Daphne. And with a look to the crowd and a flick of his grin, he added. “Both my girls?”
The charmer emerged in that moment, and Daphne embraced him—crooked grin, kissable lips, flirtiness, and all.
Daphne stepped to his other side, pressing a kiss to his smile.
“Oh yeah. Your girl...andthe better cook.”
The crowd laughed, and for a moment, the heaviness of the day eased.
Yes, there were going to be many hard moments in the weeks and months to come, much grief to bear and many struggles to work through. But Finn’s answer promised that he wasn’t going anywhere.
This—this moment of connection, of healing, of joy in the midst of ruin—was proof of something enduring.
Something that tasted a lot like hope.
Whatever was unfolding between her and Finn—sweet, spicy, decadent, and slightly chaotic—felt like the beginning of something worth holding on to.
