The woman beams. “Excellent, that sounds perfect. Thank you.” Then she picks up a class schedule, and with a quick wave, she’s gone.
“I wonder why she was asking; I was sure all of her kids were adults,” Ashley comments.
“Yeah, I know I’ve seen her around, but I have no clue who she is.”
“I think she’s a Donnelly. She’s got a bunch of sons and one daughter, if I remember right. They brought her to the winery for a tasting on her birthday. Good-looking guys, I must say,” Ashley waggles her eyebrows and smirks. “A bit young for my taste, but nice to look at, that’s for sure. I didn’t realise any of them have kids.”
That explains why I don’t know her well. Women with adult children aren’t exactly my target customer base. But then, like Ashley said, why was she asking about tiny tots?
“Can I just say, thank you for helping me run the booth today?” I reply with a smile. “I know the open house is good for business, but every year it gets busier and busier.”
The sound of the street musician down the road filters through the chatter and laughter of the crowd as I survey the community, looking for potential new students.
“No problem. Finn and Pierre have the winery booth under control, so I’m happy to help.”
“You’re coming to Hastings after all of this, right?” Ashley asks, pulling her long hair up into a ponytail. She’s one of a few new additions to our town, moving here permanently after falling in love with Finn McNeil, who runs the winery just outside of town.
“I think so.”
My vague reply goes unnoticed by Ashley as I work to cover up the pit in my stomach that grows every time I’m near our large group of friends or someone mentions all the life changes happening to my closest friends.
Weddings. Babies. Engagements.
It’s hard not to feel just a tiny bit jealous of it all, even though I’m thrilled for them. Their businesses are flourishing, their lives are full of happiness and love, and every dream they’ve ever had has come true.
Meanwhile, I’m pretty sure I’m on my way to becoming the next Mrs. Henderson, destined to be alone, talking to myself as I feed the birds in the town square.
This isn’t the way I pictured my life turning out, that’s for sure. Twenty years ago, I thought I had it all. A scholarship to a top dance school on the East Coast, two parents who loved and supported me, and a boyfriend who was my soul mate in every sense of the word.
Funny how none of that lasted.
The good stuff never really does. Not for me, at least. But I’m happy. It took a while to get to this point where I can say that and honestly mean it, but I am.
Thankfully, the late afternoon foot traffic picks up and I can’t dwell on how I’m feeling left behind while my friends’ lives all change for the better. I’m too busy dancing in place to the sound of the street musicians, calling out to my students as they walk by, and sharing hugs and stories. And my crazy energy pays off. I manage to fill my sign-up sheets for the free classes I’m offering next week as a trial for new students.
The distant sound of a voice I haven’t heard in almost two decades has me jolting upright in shock, my eyes scanning the crowd, even though I know I won’t see him. There’s no reason at all for him to be in Dogwood Cove. But that doesn’t stop my heart from thumping wildly at the sound of a similar baritone voice.
“You okay, Serena? For a minute there, it looked like you’d seen a ghost.” Ashley’s voice penetrates the haze in my brain.
I don’t know how to respond, so I go for the easy out — denial. “Oh yeah, totally fine. Just heard someone whose voice sounded familiar. No big deal.” I wave my hand to emphasize how not significant it is that I thought I heard the one man to ever own my heart.
Ashley’s looking at me strangely, and I’m pretty sure she knows I’m downplaying things, but thankfully, she doesn’t say any more.
“Okay. If you need help taking everything back to the studio, just let me know. I’ll get the guys over here. But if you’re okay for now, I’m going to head back to Finn.”
“You bet. Thanks for the salad!” I give her my sunniest smile. The smile that convinces moms there’s no need to worry about their child’s dance costume that suddenly needs to be fixed two nights before a recital, and they don’t have a sewing machine. Or my poor accountant who’s constantly worrying about my bottom line. The one I use when I need to convince someone that everything is fine.
I’ve had a lot of practice using this smile lately.
Ashley walks away and I take advantage of the slowly thinning crowd to look at all the faces again, part of me desperately wanting to see that familiar strong jaw curving into a deep smile, the other part of me terrified I wasn’t imagining things.
I spot the woman from earlier, over by the gazebo. She’s surrounded by young men, which lines up with what Ashley said about the family. The Donnelly’s. I don’t know them well, the guys all being several years younger than me and my friends. But now that I see them together, I realize I do recognize them. The girl works at Mila’s café, and I think one of the twin brothers works for the fire department. The other I recognize from my accountant’s office.
But it’s not the four young men laughing with their mother and sister that has me suddenly feeling as if the air around me is devoid of oxygen.
No. It’s the tall, muscular — more than I remember, that’s for sure — sexy-as-sin man wearing cargo shorts and a white T-shirt that’s molded to his torso. Blonde hair, a little messy on top, but shorter than it was in high school. He’s too far away for me to see, but I know there are bright green eyes underneath those sunglasses he’s wearing that tell me everything.
Leo Talbot.
