‘Nothing!’ Sapphire rolled her eyes. ‘It’s really not nothing. Willow, we have decided to join forces.’
‘Really?’ Willow’s grin broadened. To think she once thought these two were sworn enemies. ‘Is this an online thing?’
‘Oh no.’ Esmae pulled a face. ‘I’m so done with that! No, we’re setting up a podcast together.’
‘We’re going to focus on highlighting women who need more promotion. Influencers. Small businesses owners. Authors. Matcha sellers – you name it,’ Sapphire declared. ‘We want to show that women can help women. I’ve already got the Parker sisters lined up. They are going to do a piece on the hospitality world.’
‘Sounds great!’ Willow said. ‘And certainly, makes sense after your experience, Esmae.’
‘Oh that.’ Esmae pushed up her sunglasses onto her head and studied Willow hard. ‘That was never another woman, Willow. I did that to myself.’
Willow’s mouth fell open. Realizing how rude it looked, she quickly snapped it shut again. ‘Why – I mean, Esmae – why on earth would you do that?’
Esmae shrugged. ‘I’d had a few drinks that night. I was feeling sad and a little desperate. I needed to get out of that world – it was too toxic – and I decided to press the nuke button. I wanted everyone to see how fickle it really was.’
‘But you nearly destroyed your career? Your life?’
‘I was lucky. I had savings and Jed,’ Esmae replied. ‘I was so unhappy, Willow. It was the best thing I ever did.’
‘It was crazy,’ Sapphire added. ‘But I get it, I really do. Sometimes you feel so trapped that it’s difficult to see a way out.’
Willow thought of her own life back in Seattle and a sense of sadness washed over her. She knew she had no right to judge. ‘Well,’ she said finally, ‘the podcast sounds great.’
‘We’ll have you on and you can talk about the success of this place,’ Esmae said, raising her cup. ‘It tastes so good, Willow. I can see why they’re so addictive.’
‘I guess we were lucky in some ways. The landslide brought so much press attention to Honey Springs, suddenly everyone wants to know about us,’ Willow explained. ‘The Honey Pot Inn is fully booked every night, the Watering Hole is packed most evenings and The Diner has never been so busy.’
‘It’s no more than you guys deserve,’ Sapphire said gently.
‘Hey! Who ordered cheesecake!’
Willow turned and then burst out laughing as she saw Toby and Jed rushing towards them, clutching plates of Lucas’s famous dish. She loved having Toby here to visit. He’d already made a good impression on Rachel, who loved the fact that he was an avid writer too – who could have guessed? She’d already given him the first draft of her latest novel to read.
‘I’ll be sad to see you go back,’ Willow whispered to Toby as he passed her. He handed out a plate to Sapphire, while Jed settled down with his and Esmae’s. Toby remained next to Willow.
‘I’ll be visiting again, that’s for sure,’ Toby replied. ‘Kirk is driving me crazy with his latest demands. Apparently, our campaign isn’t sexy enough, so we need to go back to the drawing board.’
Willow felt a tug of sympathy. Toby was looking less fresh faced these days and a little more drawn. ‘He’s a hard man to please,’ she reminded him. ‘Don’t let him steal your light.’
‘I’ll try not to,’ Toby promised. ‘I only need to look at you to see the difference getting away did. I’m planning lots of breaks. I really do like it here.’
‘We like having you.’
Willow had recently moved into Lucas’s apartment. It made sense. They wanted to be together, and Mia was happy to take Jenn’s cabin once it had been repaired. Jenn was due back from her travels in a few weeks but had already said that Mia could stay with her.
‘Do I really look that different?’ Willow asked, curious.
‘Totally.’ He smiled. ‘You’re glowing. It’s actually sickening.’
She swatted his arm. ‘You’ll be sickened once you eat all the cheesecake.’
‘I can’t wait. It looks too good to be true.’ He paused. ‘But seriously, Willow. You deserve this. All this.’
‘Thank you.’
Toby leaned over and gave her a shaky kiss on the cheek. He stepped back, his cheeks glowing red. ‘I just wanted you to know that I do appreciate all the help you gave me early on.’
‘And I appreciate your help too, Toby. Not many people believed in the matcha wagon. I had doubts myself.’
