A Promise in the Bay (Chasing Tides Book 4), page 12
She flushed, looking down at the mug of tea in her hands. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest as he wondered what she was going to say.
“I—I guess you’re thinking of the other day,” she said, her words broken awkwardly. “It wasn’t that I didn’t want to kiss you. But I just… well, I’m not sure it’s a good idea. There’s just a lot of things to think about, and I don’t want to rush into anything. I want to give myself time to think things over.”
“I understand.” He watched her face carefully. She wasn’t looking up at him, and it was hard for him to get a read on her emotions. “You did want me to, didn’t you?”
She looked up, blushing. “I did.” Her nervous expression broke suddenly into a grin, and he grinned back at her. “I definitely did. I like you a lot too, Wesley. I find you very attractive, and I… well, I have romantic feelings toward you too.”
His grin softened, something happy and warm filling his chest, and he realized that his heart was racing a little. She gazed up into his eyes, and he found himself leaning toward her. She tilted her face up toward his, and he lowered his head—but just before their lips could meet, a loud cry of distress rose up from the kitchen.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Josie pulled her face away from Wesley’s hurriedly, concerned about what had happened in the kitchen. She glanced at him apologetically, blushing, and called out, “Is everything okay?”
“No!” Paige wailed from the kitchen.
“Oh no,” Wesley murmured.
They stood up together and hurried into the kitchen. Paige was standing over a tray of macarons that were dark brown around the edges. “They’re ruined,” she said, gesturing to the cookies. Her voice was shaking a little bit. “I guess our oven at home was broken—I always baked these at a higher temperature, but now these ones are burnt. I can’t give them these!” She bit her lip, looking as though she might start crying.
“It’s okay,” Josie said soothingly, hurrying over to give her sister a hug. Paige sniffled against her shoulder. “You can just start over.”
“It’s so much work,” Paige said. “I have to make so many. I’m worried I’m not going to be ready in time.”
Wesley and Josie looked at each other, and she could sense that he was having the same idea she was. They smiled at each other.
“I can help you,” Josie said, pulling back from the hug and giving her sister a reassuring smile. “The work will go faster if you have some help.”
“I can help too,” Wesley volunteered.
“Really?” Paige glanced back and forth between them, looking surprised. “You guys would do that for me?”
“Of course,” Josie told her. “We’re sisters. I’m always going to have your back.”
For a moment, the two of them shared a smile. I’m almost glad this happened, Josie thought. Now I can prove to her how much I care about her. And I have no doubt that together, we’re going to rock the rest of these cookies!
“You just tell us what to do, Captain Garner,” Wesley said, saluting Paige and making her laugh.
“Uh, well, I guess the first thing to do would be to throw away all of these burnt cookies and wash the pans.”
Josie shook her head. “Wash the pans, yes. Throw away the cookies, no. I’m going to cut the burnt bits off and enjoy the flavorful deliciousness at the center.”
Paige smirked. “Suit yourself.” Her words were indifferent, but she looked pleased by the compliment.
Josie and Wesley set to work cleaning up the cookies while Paige prepped workstations for them. Then they set to work, following her instructions.
“So, Josie, you mix the dry ingredients. Follow the recipe carefully—those measurements should all be exact. Baking is a science.”
Her sister grinned, thrilled to see Paige thriving as the leader of something. The instructions she gave them were precise, and she spoke in a confident and kind manner.
In a few minutes, both Josie and Wesley were covered in flour.
“Looks good on you,” she teased him, and he grinned.
He lifted his spoon from the bowl and flung some of the batter onto her. It landed squarely on her shoulder and her jaw dropped in pretend horror.
“Wow,” she said, shaking her head as she turned back to her mixing bowl. “That was uncalled for.” She stuck her finger into the dough, and lifted it halfway to her lips, pretending she was going to taste it. Then at the last moment she reached out and smeared batter across Wesley’s cheek.
He let out a gasp, started laughing, and then quickly turned it into a cough, covering his face with his hand, when Paige turned in their direction, frowning.
“You two okay over there?” she asked.
“Yep, doing great.” Josie grinned.
Before long, a new, gorgeous batch of cookies was baking in the oven—at a lower temperature this time. Paige watched over them like a hawk, and when she finally pulled them out of the oven, she proclaimed them to be perfect.
They finished up the rest of the batches of cookies, everyone talking and laughing amiably as they worked. Finally, numerous plates covered in cooling cookies lined the kitchen counter, and Paige stepped back to admire their work with a happy sigh.
“They look great,” her sister told her, beaming. “You’ve done an amazing job. Not only with your baking, but also in the way you instructed us so carefully. You’re an incredible baker.”
Paige grinned, clearly in much better spirits than she’d been in before. Then her smile disappeared and she stepped across the kitchen to hug Josie tightly.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice soft.
“Of course,” Josie said, feeling her heart hammering with happiness. Paige had never hugged her like this before. It was as if their earlier, tentative hug had opened up the door to a new level of affection for them.
“I don’t just mean with the baking,” Paige whispered.
Josie nodded, feeling tears rush into her eyes. She didn’t know what to say, but she also had a sense that she didn’t need to say anything. She saw Wesley watching them with a sweet smile on his face. She smiled back at him, feeling her heart glow.
They cleaned up the kitchen together, putting all the ingredients away and leaving the oven and countertops spotless. When they were finally done, Paige let out a huge yawn, covering her face with her hands.
“I don’t blame you for being tired!” Josie told her. “You want me to make you some food?”
Paige shook her head, looking sleepy. “Maybe later, thanks. I think I’ll go into the living room and watch some TV for a while.”
“Sure. You’ve earned a good rest.”
The sisters shared a smile, and Paige went out into the living room. Josie turned to Wesley, feeling suddenly shy again now that their baking adventure was over.
“You want some pasta or something? Chicken alfredo?”
“That sounds fantastic,” he said, grinning at her.
In a few minutes, she had chicken simmering in a pan and water boiling for noodles. Wesley helped as much as he could, but for the most part she just whizzed through the work herself. Chicken alfredo was one of Paige’s favorite meals—Josie wanted to be able to give her some of it later.
“I wonder what we should do with all these cookies,” Wesley said, gazing in a kind of awe at the sea of treats that was spread across the counter.
Josie laughed. “Probably box them up soon. But that can wait for later, I think.”
“I’ll go ask Paige what she wants to do. I could start that now while you make dinner.”
Wesley stepped into the living room, and then tiptoed back into the kitchen a few seconds later.
“She’s asleep,” he whispered.
“Is she?” she whispered back. She smiled. “Good. She’s had a long day.”
She finished the preparations for the meal, and soon it was ready. She and Wesley sat down to plates of the creamy pasta with a side of lightly seasoned cooked vegetables.
“This is delicious,” he told her emphatically, gesturing in the air with his fork. “Best chicken alfredo I’ve ever had.”
“Thank you,” she said, flushing. She grinned at him and popped another bite of the tasty food into her mouth. Once she’d swallowed, savoring the taste, she said, “Thank you for today. I know our time together didn’t turn out the way we’d planned it to.”
“I had a great time,” he assured her. “And today was absolutely a victory for you! It proved that you can have a great relationship with Paige.”
She smiled happily. “I think you’re right. It was so nice to be able to help her out like this. I feel like I got to prove to her how much I care about her.”
He nodded. “Yes! And she seems to have really taken that in.”
For a moment, they sat there smiling at each other. Josie found herself admiring how beautiful his kind eyes were.
“I’ve never been good at being vulnerable,” she told him, feeling her heart beat faster. “Or with being open with people. The idea of dating you feels scary to me, even though I like you so much, but I know it would be good for me. Giving us a shot would give me an opportunity to be vulnerable, and to open up to people more. To open up to you more.”
He gazed into her eyes, his expression shy, encouraging, and hopeful all at once. “I have absolute faith in you. I know this is something that’s hard for you, but it starts with trying to do it, and you’ve already been trying, and succeeding.”
“I want to succeed,” she said, getting lost in his eyes. She felt warm and happy in her core, and she was hardly aware of how fast her heart was beating, because she had a sense of peace alongside her excitement. “I want to be open and vulnerable not just with Paige, but also with you.”
He nodded. “Josie?”
“Yes?” she whispered.
“May I kiss you?”
“Yes, please.”
He leaned his head toward hers, and she closed in the distance. Their lips met in a sweet, gentle kiss.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Daniel walked along the familiar aisles of the grocery store, deep in thought.
It had been a fairly uneventful morning. He and Sandy had been at the grocery store since it opened, making sure everything was well-stocked and running smoothly. Now they were getting ready to leave, trusting the running of the store to their employees.
Nothing had gone wrong that morning, but Daniel still felt worried, and there was a slight frown on his face. Sandy wasn’t acting like herself, even though she had been working as hard as usual. She seemed distracted, and as though she had less energy than she usually did.
He turned around a corner and saw his wife kneeling in front of a shelf of pasta sauces, carefully rearranging the stock into neat rows. Instead of her usual serene expression, she was wincing, and her shoulders were hunched forward slightly.
“Are you all right?” He hurriedly crouched at her side, gazing at her in concern.
She lifted her eyebrows and offered him a brave smile, but he could tell that she wasn’t feeling well. “Oh, I’m fine.”
He shook his head as they both stood up. “I can tell that something’s bothering you. You’ve seemed a little off for a few days now. How are you feeling?”
She shrugged, smiling again as if to show that it was nothing. “I’m just nauseous again.
It’s probably whatever I ate that didn’t agree with me.”
He shook his head, frowning. He felt concerned, and he wished that she would treat herself with more care. “This is lasting too long to be an upset stomach from food poisoning,” he said. “I think that you should go to the doctor. Get checked out. Then we can be sure it’s nothing to worry about.” He watched her press her lips together, resisting the idea. “Please?”
“Okay.” She smiled at him. “I’ll go for you. Thanks for the nudge. I know it’s coming from a place of love.”
“Oh, boy is it,” he said, winking at her affectionately.
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I’ll call and make an appointment with the doctor soon. Don’t you worry.”
He smiled at her, feeling better. He was glad that she was willing to take his advice.
They left the store, telling their employees to give them a call if they were needed, and drove home together. Daniel glanced at his wife as he maneuvered the car through the streets of Blueberry Bay, noticing that she had a particularly thoughtful expression on her face.
Something is definitely on her mind, he thought, smiling at her affectionately even though she wasn’t looking at him. I know that look. Those wheels are turning fast.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked her gently as he turned the car into their driveway.
She glanced at him, smiling, seeming to be emerging from a reverie. “I—well, I’ve been thinking about something that I’ve been meaning to ask you about.”
“Yeah?” He parked the car, and turned to her, giving her his full attention. “What is it?”
“I’ve been thinking about fostering,” she said slowly, her eyes on his face, “and what it’s been like. It’s been so great, but also so hard to always end up losing these kids. I was thinking about the future, and I…” She paused, a smile growing on her face. “I think I want to adopt, Daniel.”
He listened to her words, nodding. Before he could say anything more, she said something else.
“And I’d like us to consider adopting Tommy.”
His lips parted, but before he could say anything, she hurriedly said, “If that’s what he wants, of course. I wanted to talk with you about it and see what you thought. Then we can bring it up to Tommy, if you feel the same way I do.” She smiled tentatively, her eyes shining with hope.
His immediate gut reaction to the idea was a feeling of warmth and certainty in his bones. Nothing rose to his mind that caused him to hesitate. The idea felt right. Very right. A smile rose to his face as he quickly imagined what their future would look like if Tommy was their son.
“Tommy is a great kid.” He took his wife’s hand in his. “And you would make an incredible mother. I think that’s a wonderful idea.”
She grinned, her whole face lighting up when he said the words. “You do? Oh, Daniel, I think it could be so great for all of us.”
He beamed at her. “You’ve been lighting up, having Tommy around. He makes your world brighter, I can tell. He makes mine brighter too.” He gazed at her thoughtfully for a moment. “Even though you haven’t been feeling well, it’s like you’ve got this joy underneath your low energy. There’s a light in your eyes.”
She squeezed his hand, nodding. “I do want this. For all of us.”
“I think you were always meant to be a mother, Sandy,” he said softly. “You have so much love to give. I see that every time we foster a kid.”
She reached her arms out for him and they hugged tightly.
“We should talk to Tommy about it soon,” he said, and he could feel her smiling because her cheek was pressed against his.
“Yes, we should.”
He felt his heart lift up at the idea. He had a strong premonition that their lives were about to change, and for the better.
Sunlight streamed across Alissa’s kitchen table, dappling her notebook in flickers of gold. She sighed, tapping the edge of her pen against the pages as she adjusted her glasses. She was trying to come up with ideas for another book. So far, she had written nothing down.
It’s probably just because I’m too excited about the shower, she thought. Her wedding shower was starting in another couple of hours, and she was eager for it to begin. She felt as if the day had an extra measure of happiness, an added rosy hue, to it—it was a day that she knew she would remember fondly forever.
But until the shower started, she had time to spare, and she wanted to make an attempt at coming up with ideas for a next book. I’ve got to tell this publishing company something, she thought, feeling a twist of stress in her stomach. They’ve already waited for an answer from me for so long.
She pressed her lips together, looking out the window. Outside, sunlight was glittering on the snow, which still clung to the bare branches of the apple tree right outside her window. There had been a luscious snowfall the night before, and Blueberry Bay had been transformed into a winter wonderland once again.
Maybe I should just go with an idea that I don’t particularly like, she thought, but her heart rebelled at the idea. It wasn’t that she couldn’t come up with any ideas at all—she knew she could pick an idea out of a hat and run with it if she made herself do it—but none of the ideas that she’d come up with called to her. She didn’t want to write a book unless it was beckoning to her, inviting her to explore it, create it, and nurture it. She felt sure her writing wouldn’t be worth much if she wasn’t inspired.
I could write a story about a woman who goes on a long journey, she thought, staring out the window. A ruby-red cardinal landed on a snow-covered branch and cocked his head at her. No, I don’t like that. Why would she be traveling? Besides, I haven’t traveled all that much. I don’t think I would do that kind of story justice. And how would I introduce love into that? They want another love story, just like the first book.
She pressed her lips together, beginning to tap her pen against her blank notebook page again. At that moment, her phone began to ring. She saw that the caller was Dane, and she eagerly answered it.
“Hey, sweetheart!”
“Hey. Are you excited for your big day?”
She smiled. “Yes, I absolutely am. I can’t wait.”
“I went over there earlier to see what it looks like. It’s beautiful.”
She wiggled her toes happily, feeling another wave of excitement. “Isn’t it? We set everything up last night. Caitlin and Josie and Paige and me. Caitlin is such a sweetheart, taking so much care to make this a special event for me.”
