‘It can survive a day,’ said Dad. ‘Especially with our new project manager, Bex, stepping up. Brilliant suggestion from Lara – make sure she knows that, Molly.’
Mom set her phone back down. ‘It’s going to take a little while for me to get used to it,’ she admitted. ‘But I suppose that’s the whole point of running a successful agency: being able to take a step back so that it can continue to grow.’
She grinned sharkily around her cup. ‘Besides, Shauna is going to be too busy with that awful AI firm to fight me for the new accounts I have my eye on.’
I smiled. It looked like Mom had made a much-needed decision as well – and for the better.
‘Could I get another of those, Lorraine? Ta.’ Dad pointed at Mom’s coffee. ‘Anyway, I’m thinking that maybe it’s timewe take a trip to Portugal. Spend a bit of time at a B&B with this future son-in-law of ours.’
I raised an eyebrow at Tiff. ‘What’s this now?’
Tiff flushed. ‘That’s not official yet. I mean, not until we’re back in the same room together. But the B&B part definitely is.’
‘We’ll be your first guests, then,’ said Dad. ‘I’ve been thinking about a side hustle where I test out accommodations for safety. I have tons of experience from when the two of you were kids and were determined to kill yourselves by undoing the hotel light fixtures or jumping off the end tables. I’ll let you know all the flaws.’
Tiff whacked him on the arm. ‘Dad,’ she warned. It never took long before we had to invoke our warning voices around Dad.
‘Plus, it’ll be tax-deductible,’ he added. ‘The perfect trip.’
‘I can’t believe you’re here,’ said Mom. ‘Did the girls arrange this?’
Tiff and I exchanged a grin.
‘Our lips are sealed,’ I said.
‘Speaking of lips,’ said Dad, giving me a meaningful look.
Oh goddess, here it came.
‘You and Noah, am I right?’ He sidled over to give me an elbow jab, the type that only dads could get away with.
I hid behind a napkin dispenser. ‘Uh huh,’ I whispered.
‘Between Tiff’s move and your new job, we’ve got lots of change on the horizon, then,’ he mused. ‘Especially once Noah starts working full time at a law firm while also volunteering at the animal shelter and you start adopting all those cute stray kittens.’
‘She wouldn’t!’ Mom looked alarmed.
‘She definitely would,’ said Tiff. ‘Imagine Molly with a dozen kittens, trying to decide which ones to keep. She’d be on the news and dubbed The Cat Lady within the week.’
‘You say that like it’s a bad thing,’ I teased. ‘I have decided to stay atEasterly, though,’ I told Dad. ‘So you and I can keep doing our Thursday lunchtime strolls around Spellbound Park.’
He reached out for a high five. I obliged him, because it was the law. Or something like it, anyway.
‘Here you are, love,’ called Lorraine, pushing Dad’s drink across the counter, along with a huge basket of pastries and bread for us to take back to the Pink House. Well, some of them. Because at least half of them weren’t going to make it all of the way there. It was a long walk, after all. And Lorraine’s pastries were enchantingly delicious.
Dad was pointing at various bouquets and asking Mom to rate their allergy quotient. Mom was patiently responding.
‘So, what are our plans for the last night in Whisperwind Cove?’ asked Dad, when he’d sufficiently annoyed Mom.
‘They’re the same as every last Summerween night in Whisperwind Cove,’ replied Mom, shaking her head. ‘A backyard potluck and a movie outdoors. With all the best people from town invited, of course,’ she called to Lorraine from over at the flower display.
Lorraine beamed as she scooped coffee beans into the hopper of her grinder. ‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world. I hear Rosie’s got quite the hydrangea bloom going on.’
‘It’s a bit ridiculous,’ I agreed, hanging back for a moment. ‘She was struggling with them a few weeks ago, but they’ve proven us all wrong.’
‘Things have a way of finding their balance again,’ said Lorraine. ‘Especially when good-hearted people are involved.’ She pushed one of her heart cookies across the counter. ‘That one’s for you, on me. Because I hear you’ve found your own heart.’
I smiled shyly. Although it hadn’t just been me, really. Everyone around me had helped me see how I truly felt. And Josephine and her story had given me the push I needed to act on those feelings.
