Page 24 of Art of Love

She took a bite of her scone after settling at a corner table by the window. She pulled out her phone and opened the photo she’d taken of the one thing she had found the night before: the old picture of Abe and Kara.

Answers were out there.

She just had to stop letting certain feelings get in the way of finding them.

After finishing her coffee and scone at the bakery, she tucked the pastry bag that held two more scones under her arm and crossed the street to the grocery store. The place had changed a lot since she’d left town, and she was surprised to find herself smiling at the improvements. The windows were new, the signage bigger, and the smell of fresh bread drifted out the automatic doors as she stepped inside.

Since Wyatt Auston had taken over after Patty O’Neil passed, the store had been transformed. What had once been a cramped and dusty little shop was now buzzing with energy. There were digital checkout lanes, a newly remodeled deli section, and even catering and delivery services, things Dylan never would have imagined seeing in the small town.

These days, with her energy low and her focus elsewhere, she found herself relying more and more on the ready-made meals from the deli. She made a beeline for the prepped salads and hot food and grabbed a few things for tomorrow’s breakfast.

She was halfway through scanning the fresh pasta selection when a child’s giggle caught her attention.

“Dylan! Stop pulling on Mommy’s necklace!”

Her heart stuttered at the sound of her own name. She turned, eyes landing on a woman a few feet away who was balancing a toddler on one hip and adjusting the strap of a baby carrier slung across her chest.

It took a second, maybe two, before recognition struck.

Lucy McDonald.

Time had worn down the glossy edges of the girl Dylan used to call her best friend. Lucy’s brown hair was pulled back in a messy bun, her T-shirt smudged with something suspiciously sticky, and dark circles clung beneath her eyes. She looked older, tired… but still unmistakably Lucy.

Their eyes met.

“Dylan?” Lucy’s voice was tentative, almost disbelieving. “Is that really you?”

Dylan froze, her fingers tightening around the handle of her shopping basket.

Lucy smiled and shifted her weight, bouncing the toddler on her hip. “This is Dylan,” she said, gesturing towards the boy clinging to her, who was now playing with her earring. “I named him after you.”

Dylan blinked. “You… did?”

“Yeah.” Lucy’s expression softened. “You were such a big part of my life. Back then. I always thought… well, even after everything that happened, I wanted to remember the good parts.”

Dylan’s throat tightened. She stared at the child, her namesake, and then at the sleeping infant strapped to Lucy’s chest. “Two kids?”

“Yeah,” Lucy said with a soft laugh. “Liza’s only four months. I’m officially outnumbered.”

“I can see that,” Dylan said, her voice a little too sharp, her emotions catching her off guard. There was so much she wanted to say. So much she wanted to ask. Why Lucy had turned away when she’d needed her most. Why no one had stood up for her back then.

Lucy seemed to sense the shift in her tone and cleared her throat. “Hey, um… I know it’s been a long time, but maybe we could grab a coffee sometime? Catch up?”

Dylan hesitated. Her gut twisted, heart racing. She wanted to scream yes and no all at once. Instead, she forced a tight smile.

“Maybe. I, uh, I’ve got a bunch of things I have to take care of today.” She took a step back. “But it was nice seeing you.”

Lucy looked like she wanted to say more, but Dylan didn’t wait. She turned and hurried towards the checkout lanes, the image of that little boy’s smile haunting her as she tried to breathe through the sudden weight in her chest.

By the time she reached her car, she was trembling.

She didn’t know what she was running from anymore—her past, her feelings, or the fact that, even after everything, a small part of her missed her old friend. Missed being part of this town.

But she wasn’t ready to face any of it.

Not yet.