“Hi,” she replied, adorably tucking her hair behind her ear.
Faith just watched, gobsmacked, her eyes darting back and forth between us.
When I didn’t say anything, Gwen said, “What are you doing here?” She cleared her throat. “I mean, are you visiting for the festival or . . .”
“I’m moving back,” I replied.
“What!” Faith gasped, then quickly caught herself. “Sorry. I’m not a part of this. I’ll go tell Billy you got bitten by the tooth fairy or something.”
She quickly disappeared, darting toward the ice cream counter.
Gwen eyed the alley behind me with raised eyebrows, and I silently nodded. I appreciated the shadows and avoiding the prying eyes of onlookers. Gwen’s willingness to talk made hope flare in my chest, but when she turned with her arms crossed tightly, my stomach sank again.
“So, is it just going to be weird and awkward between us now?”
“I hope not,” I said sheepishly.
“Why are you even back? I thought leaving this place wasthe dream?”
My cheeks burned. “I was wrong.”
“The city not all it was cracked up to be?”
“Not really,” I admitted. “But I think I could’ve grown to like it . . . with the right people there with me.”
She frowned, crossing and uncrossing her arms before finally settling on wringing her hands. I noticed her bracelet was still on, and it made my heart twinge. Gwen caught me looking at it.
“I’m sorry, Gwen,” I said. “I’m sorry I took my bracelet off. I’m sorry I ended things with us. I’m sorry I hurt you. I . . .”
“You’re sorry?”
I rubbed the back of my neck anxiously.
“I know how it sounds, but . . . the truth is—” I took her hand and removed her bracelet. “Apologies don’t really mean anything without actions. I know it doesn’t mean much now, but I made this for you.”
In her palm, I placed a new friendship bracelet. One I’d braided and rebraided a dozen times before I’d decided it was good enough. I needed it to be perfect.
“What is this?” she asked, eyeing the looping tan cords and turquoise and amethyst gemstones.
“You’ll know when you put it on.”
She eyed it warily. “It’s not going to turn me into a toad, is it?”
I chuckled. “That’s not my kind of magic.” I looked her up and down, shaking my head with the restraint of trying to hold in all of my stampeding thoughts. “Goddess, I missed you. You might not want to hear it, but it’s true. I missed your humor and your cunning and your beauty and your warmth,” I said, getting choked up. “I’m so sorry I took them for granted. I know we only knew each other for a single summer, but I fell head over heels for you between one heartbeat and the next. So fast. So undeniably. You are truly something special, Gwen, and I’m so sorry I ruined things.”
“I happen to have great affection for ruined things,” she retorted with a half grin.
My chest warmed. “I was wondering, now that I’m back . . .”
“Yeah?”
Oh, the eagerness in that question. It lit up my insides like fireworks.
“Well, I was wondering if I could maybe take you out on a real date?” I held my breath, unable to bear the silence. “Have you gone apple picking yet? Or maybe we could go out to dinner at Trattoria Occulto? Or . . . you might want me to just leave you alone, which is totally understandable. I know it’s a small town, but I will find a way to make it not awkward, I promise, and?—”
“I don’t know if I’m ready to forgive you,” she cut in, and I nodded, all of the shiny fireworks in my stomach instantly snuffing out. “But I really want to go apple picking, so I guess that would be okay. Maybe we take it from there?”
“Okay!” I echoed with so much relief that I thought I might collapse.
