Page 33 of The Birchwood House

Elaine looked down at her wedding dress, her heart dancing. If it had been wonderful to have Michelle and Audrey come into the house, how much more wonderful would it be to have all kinds of new and interesting guests?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Audrey lifted her mug to her lips, lightly sipping her hot and creamy caramel macchiato. Around her, the customers of Morning Brew chatted and laughed, enjoying their beverages and baked treats. Audrey closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.

I feel so jittery,she thought.I’m so excited to see Penelope and Harper, but I don’t know if I should tell them about my date with Evan or not.

She sighed, opening her eyes and taking a nibble out of the cinnamon roll she’d ordered. Although the taste of the soft dough was scrumptious, she felt that she couldn’t fully enjoy it because of her nerves.

She looked out the window at Coral Sand’s main street. It was a beautiful spring day and the sky was a glorious blue. Instead of seeing the passing pedestrians or the sunlight dancing on the tree leaves, however, she saw the basement of The Seagulls’ Nest Antiques, and Evan McBride’s disappointed expression when she’d decided not to kiss him.

Had he been expecting to kiss me?she wondered.I hadn’t thought it was really that kind of a date. Wasn’t he just trying to make up for the fact that we’d gotten off on the wrong foot?So if it was just a casual kind of date like that, there’s no need to tell my friends about it and get people talking.

She took another bite out of her cinnamon roll, mulling over whether or not she should tell her friends. On the one hand, she wanted to talk about her date with Evan because it was still on her mind and she would have loved to get her friends’ opinions on everything that had happened. On the other hand, she felt hesitant to talk about a date that could easily not turn into another one. She had no idea what Evan was thinking, or if he would want to go out with her again.

She had just decided not to tell Penelope and Harper about the date when she realized that it was more than possible that people in town were already talking about the fact that she’d gone out with Evan. He was the mayor, after all, and apparently he was famous for his grumpy temperament. The sight of him out on a date with a newcomer to town was sure to spark interest. She didn’t want to hold back from telling her friends about the date if they’d already heard about it.

“Audrey!”

She looked up and saw Penelope waving at her from the front of the coffee shop. Harper stepped inside right behind her, and they both hurried over to Audrey’s table.

“Hi,” Audrey said, giving them both warm hugs. “Great to see you guys.”

“Let us just run up to the counter to get our drinks, and then we can all settle down at a bigger table?” Penelope said.

“Sounds perfect,” Audrey said. “How about that one over there in the corner?”

The table she was pointing to was cozy, but it was also fairly secluded. The moment she’d suggested it, she wondered if part of her had picked it because she knew that they would be able to talk there without fear of being overheard.

“Love it,” Harper said.

While her friends were ordering drinks and pastries, Audrey picked up her cinnamon roll and caramel macchiato and carried them over to the table in the corner.

I won’t talk about Evan,she told herself.I’ll just sit quietly and let them tell me all about what’s been going on in their lives.

A moment later, Harper and Penelope arrived at their table with lattes and pastries.

“What did you get?” Audrey asked as they sat down.

“A blueberry chocolate chip muffin,” Harper said, gesturing cutely to her bakery as if it was a work of art that she’d made personally.

“Looks delicious,” Audrey said. “What about you, Penelope?”

“This right here is a world class lemon-filled doughnut,” Penelope said. “I always get these when I come here.”

“I remember that.” Audrey grinned. “Some habits never change, I guess.”

Penelope nodded. “Some habits never should.” She tore a bite off her lemony treat and popped it into her mouth. “So what’s been going on with you two? Audrey, you go first. Have you had any more unexpected run-ins with our charming but grumpy mayor?”

“Yeah, I went on a date with him,” Audrey blurted, unable to stop herself.

Harper nearly dropped her coffee cup and Penelope stopped chewing to stare at Audrey.

“You what?”

“Adate?”

Both women squealed and then began chattering at once.