Chapter 9

Joelle

I’d never been to a small town festival before. I was ridiculously excited about it. Everything about MacKellar Cove drew me in, and adding one more thing to my experience was making me smile like a fool from the moment I got up until I was ready to go.

Piper and Zoey were nice enough to let me tag along with them and their families. They were all planning to walk, even though it was almost a mile from the Inn to the festival. Piper said parking was not great in town and anyone who lived a mile or less away usually walked.

My mother wouldn’t dare walk somewhere. Definitely not a mile away. She would insist she was driven right up to the front of wherever she was going and given a place to park. Even if it meant illegally parking. She considered herself the most important person in town. Laughable but true.

I laced up my brand new sneakers, my latest new me purchase, and grabbed the sling bag Piper insisted I take from her. It was a golden yellow color with a thick strap that fit across my body. The color picked up on the detail in the new top Valentina picked out for me the day we met. I wore it with a pair of dark blue jean shorts.

If my mother could see me now!

My phone rang from the nightstand where I’d forgotten to turn it off. I used to be glued to my phone, but since leaving, I barely paid any attention to it.

With good reason.

I didn’t recognize the number, but it was a DC area code. I had all the numbers my mother called me from programmed into my phone so I would know when it was her, but this one… Could something be wrong? What if something happened?

I grabbed my phone before it went to voicemail. “Hello?”

“Where the hell are you?”

Shit. “Hello, Mother.”

“Where are you, Joelle? Anabelle said you were going to be here today. I have everything set up for you to get married.”

“Did you pay all of them to be my bridesmaids, Mother? Did you make them do it?”

“Of course,” she said with no shame. “Who else would have? You have no friends, Joelle.”

“Because you won’t let me live my own life.”

She scoffed. “You wouldn’t know what to do without me.”

“You’ve never let me try to figure it out. You’ve controlled every aspect of my life since I was born.”

“And what? You think you have such a horrible life? Do you know what others in this town would do to have your life? What they would give to have a mother as powerful as me who was willing to do all the things I’ve done for you?”

“Like… fucking my fiancé?”

She gasped. “How dare you say that to me?”

I exhaled a laugh. “Why? That’s what you were doing. On my wedding day, fifteen minutes before I was supposed to walk down the aisle.”

“I was keeping him happy until you were married. You should be grateful.”

“Grateful? Grateful. Are you completely insane, Mother? Why would you ever think that was okay? And why would I want to marry a man who cheated on me? Why would you want me to?”

“Because joining forces with his family will make us the most powerful families in the entire town,” my mother snarled. “No one will be able to touch us. Thomas was getting twitchy. He wasn’t willing to wait for your wedding night, so I made sure he would.”

“My… I…” How did I argue with that? How did I convince her she did something wrong? She only saw what she wanted to see. Hurting me? Not on her radar.

“Joelle, you will return. You will come back here, and you will marry the man I chose for you. No one else wants you, and he’s a catch. You are going to marry him, if I have to drag you back from whatever hole you crawled in—”

I hung up. I couldn’t take it anymore. I hung up. Immediately, the phone rang again, but I pressed the power button and held it until the screen went black.

I threw it on the bed, staring at it as though it was going to turn itself back on and let my mother find me. She couldn’t. I didn’t want to see her. I didn’t want to see anyone.

My hands shook. My entire body trembled. I sucked in a breath and realized I was crying.

She was horrible. Blaming me for not keeping Thomas happy. Telling me no one wanted me. She only cared about herself, her future, not me.

I was past done. Listening to her. Letting her make choices for me. Hoping I could one day live up to her expectations.

There was no chance I ever would. Even after finding her with my fiancé buried deep inside her, I hoped…

I laughed out loud. Why was I hoping she would be decent? Why was I so foolish? She fucked my fiancé. On my wedding day. With zero shame or regret.

Time for me to live life the same way. With no regrets.

* * *

The festival was the perfect antidote for my mother’s poisonous nature. Zoey and Piper and their families shared the experience with me, encouraging me to try the variety of foods and the activities that made MacKellar Cove special.

We met up with more of their friends, many of whom I recognized from book club. Everyone was kind and friendly, but they were all paired up. As the day wore on, I felt more and more like a third wheel.

Especially when the questions started.

“Are you here by yourself?” one woman asked. Natalie maybe? She was holding hands with a man who wore a nice button-down and slacks and looked official. I think someone said he was the mayor.

“I am,” I told her.

“I don’t think I’d ever have been brave enough to do that. I always wanted to, but every time I thought about it, I would change my mind.” Her fiancé slid a hand around her hip, and she looked up at him with a smile. “Now, I don’t think he’d let me go anywhere alone.”

“Nope. You go, I go,” he said, his deep voice rich and smooth as he dipped his head for a kiss.

She smiled against his lips, and I found myself jealous of two strangers. I was supposed to be married and living a life everyone I knew thought was great.

With a man who slept with my mother on our wedding day.

Was I so wrong for not wanting to have that as my life?

“I was hoping to see you here,” a voice said from behind me.

Tingles skipped down my spine as Andre’s voice registered with my body. I shoved thoughts of my mother and Thomas away and focused on the man who wasn’t looking to get ahead by marrying me. “I’ve been here for hours.”

“I’m sorry about that. I did try to message you.”

My throat tightened. “Sorry. I have been trying to disconnect. I don’t even have my phone with me.”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to find another way to contact you.”

“Carrier pigeon? Do they have those here?”

He laughed, tipping his head back and throwing an arm around my shoulders. “We’re not that backward. Although compared to you, maybe we are.”

“What does that mean?” I scoffed, teasing right back.

“Well, you city-people rush through life instead of slowing down to take it in once in a while. Life here is so slow, you might feel like you’re moving backward.”

I shook my head, smiling up at him. “I’m finding right here to be pretty much exactly what I need right now.”

He raised one eyebrow and nodded. “Well, I’m happy to hear that. Did you get something to eat? Can I buy you dinner?”

I grinned. “I already ate, but I was eyeing those sweets at Cove Bakery.”

He groaned. “I’ll take two. But we better hurry because I have no doubt they will disappear if they haven’t already.”

“Lead the way,” I said.

Andre took my hand and tugged me away, nodding to whoever was watching our interaction. The tightening around his lips was the only reason I glanced back to see Sebastian watching Andre and me.

Did he not want us involved? Was there something I didn’t know? Or did he think I wasn’t being fair after the way I arrived in MacKellar Cove?

I wondered if I should ask Zoey. Maybe there was a reason I should keep my distance from Andre…

No. I wasn’t doing that again. I was enjoying my time with Andre. He wasn’t the heir to a rival media conglomerate. He wasn’t someone influential my mother would want me with. He was just an ordinary man who made me feel good. That was all I needed at the moment.

Andre ordered one of every treat left at the Cove Bakery tent. He kissed the owner’s hand, a woman named Harriett, who blushed when Andre made a fuss out of her.

“You better watch this one,” Harriett told me. “He will flirt with a pole.”

“Only if the pole is cute,” Andre said, winking at me.

Harriett chuckled. “I tell you, he’s the kind of man who makes me believe there are still good ones out there. Of course, his mother wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

“No she would not,” Andre said. “Thank you for the treats.”

Andre held my hand in his as we made our way back to the others. He said hello to others walking around, not hiding our joined hands at all.

“Are you close to your mom?” I asked him before we reached the group.

Andre nodded. “Very. I lived with my parents until about a year ago. I told you my dad was sick. He had a stroke a few years back, and I moved back here to be there for him and help out. I found it pretty tough to leave, but I found a great apartment in town.”

“Your dad is okay?”

“Yeah, he’s good. Most people wouldn’t notice the little changes. He says he gets tired more easily now, but I think he’s just more aware of it. He’s taking better care of himself than he used to. So’s my mom.”

“They’re lucky to have you.”

He chuckled. “That’s what they say. They would have done the same for me, if I’d needed it.”

“Hopefully you don’t.”

“I agree. How about you? Close to your parents?”

I snorted. “No.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

I shook my head. I was not in the mood to talk about my mother, or to share that my father was even less of a parent. Andre dropped everything to help his parents and knew they would have done the same, and my mother couldn’t even be bothered to not screw my fiancé. “It’s fine.”

Andre looked like he was going to say something else, but the woman who asked if I was there alone called us back to the group.

“Is there anything left over there?” she asked.

“What are you trying to say, Natalie?” Andre teased.

Natalie shook her head. “That’s a big bag you have.”

“I was going to share with the children.” Andre handed me the bag. “You pick first.”

“They should get to pick first,” I argued.

Andre shook his head, and Natalie did the same.

“There will be nothing left,” Andre said.

Natalie nodded.

I laughed at them and opened the bag. There was a gooey looking chocolate brownie thing he asked for. Something with hazelnut and extra chocolate on top. I pulled that out and handed the bag back to Andre. I took a bite and groaned.

“That looks so good,” Natalie said. She smacked her man’s chest. “Omar, will you get me one of those? Please?”

“Anything for you, my love,” Omar said, kissing her before nodding to another Black man and both heading toward the store.

“Good call,” a blonde woman said, eyeing my treat. “I’m Daisy, by the way. I missed book club on Sunday. You’re Joelle?”

I nodded, catching the chocolate dripping from my brownie. I licked my finger. “Nice to meet you.”

“You, too. The guy who went with Omar is Kingsley. He’s the local vet.”

“And her better half,” Natalie said, nudging Daisy.

Daisy grinned. “Yes, he is. I’m very lucky. His daughter is Isla. She’s in the pink dress.”

I followed where she pointed to an adorable girl whose age I couldn’t begin to guess, but she was young. Definitely elementary school. “She’s so cute.”

“She is. And I have no doubt she’ll be wanting one of those, too, which is why Kingsley went with Omar. Natalie is one of her favorite people, and she likes everything Natalie does.” Daisy smiled at her friend, no jealousy at all in her gaze.

“I run the local summer camp,” Natalie said. “A lot of the little kids are big fans of me because I make their summer fun. But Daisy owns a toy store, so she’s another favorite with the younger ones. Don’t let her fool you into thinking she’s not a great step-mom.”

“I can’t imagine having kids.” The thought of them never crossed my mind before, and after my failed engagement, they were even less of a possibility. But chocolate I could get behind.

“I love kids. We’re talking about it, but we need to get through the wedding first.” Natalie raised an eyebrow at me. “You and Andre look pretty close.”

“Oh, we’re… getting to know each other. I guess. We met on this dating app—”

“Book Boyfriends Wanted?” Natalie and Daisy asked together.

I nodded and ate the last bite of my treat. “Yeah. They were talking about it at book club. I figured I’d give it a try.”

Natalie and Daisy exchanged a look that I definitely did not understand, but it made me anxious.

“Hey,” Andre said, holding out the bag to me. “Want something else?”

“Um, sure,” I said, taking the bag from him and trying to ignore the looks from Daisy and Natalie. I looked to see what was left and found a shortbread cookie at the bottom. I grabbed it, my mouth salivating as I handed the bag to Andre.

He held it up to Daisy and Natalie. “You guys want something? The kids didn’t leave much, but everything is good from Cove Bakery.”

“So true,” Natalie said. “Omar and Kingsley just went to grab us stuff, though. Thanks.”

Andre nodded and turned back to me as I took my first bite. The shortbread wasn’t as sweet as the brownie, but it was no less tasty. I moaned my approval.

“Sounds like you’re enjoying that,” Andre said, his voice dipping low and sending more of those tingles down my spine.

I nodded and held it out to him.

He licked his lips and leaned forward. His gaze snapped to mine. He sank his teeth into the soft cookie, biting off a chunk as he watched me. He pulled back and chewed, never taking his eyes from mine.

Dear God, watching the man eat a cookie made me wet. How in the hell was that possible? I swallowed, my throat, and other parts of me, tight with desire.

Andre hummed his approval, licking his lips. “Almost as good as you.”

The mumbled words sent a rush of heat through me. He was either a really good flirt, or he was just as crazy as I was.

“Agreed,” I said.

He smiled, dipping his head to kiss me quickly on the lips.

I wanted more. I wanted so much more from him. “Any chance I can show you my room at the Inn tonight?”

His brows shot up. “Are you asking what I think you’re asking?”

I glanced around and saw no one was really paying us any attention. Omar and Kingsley had returned with paper bags of their own and Natalie and Daisy were searching them for treats. The other couples and families were talking amongst themselves. It was just Andre and me. “I want more than just a kiss.”

His hand slid around my waist, finding the overlap of my shirt and shorts. He slid his thumb over my spine and tugged me closer. “I want that, too. Are you sure?”

I looked up at him, wrapped my arms around his neck and said, “I’m completely sober, unless you count sugar. And I’m asking you now, not when you’re teasing me with kisses and backing away from me.”

He grinned and closed the distance between us painfully slowly. “I accept.”