She pulls back just enough to look up at me, a small smile pulling at the corner of her lips.
“Thank you for saying that. You didn’t have to say that, and I’m not entirely sure you mean it, but it still helps me to hear it. I don’t have anything of my own really, my family is very... involved with each other’s lives. I’ve always felt like when it’s the right time, I’ll have a family of my own, and then that will be my thing. Now, I’m starting to realize that might not be an option for me.”
Then she leans in and presses her lips to mine. It’s soft, simple, and with no agenda behind it which isn’t usually why I kiss a woman. And before I realize it, it’s over too soon. But it does something. Changes something deep in my heart and the way I perceive intimacy. Maybe I’ll unpack that someday in the future.
When she pulls back, her eyes search mine, and she smiles sadly. “I’ll find a new thing.” And when I don’t say anything more her grin gets wider, genuine now. “Told you you’d fall in love with me.”
Before I can respond, she slips out of bed, zipping up her dress and grabbing her phone and purse. Standing by the door, she glances back, her smile softer yet still firmly in place.
“Don’t follow after me. I’ll call an Uber. Nice to meet you, Hayes. Good luck with medical school.”
And just like that, she’s gone, leaving me staring at the door, without anyway to ever contact her again, and wondering what the hell just happened.
Chapter 5: Regan
Seven years later…
“And here is the room that we set up for the bridal suite, where the whole bridal party will get ready. Of course, you’re welcome to change the layout of anything, this is just what the mister and I thought made the most sense for the property,” Mrs. Mayberry says with a smile.
I step into the expansive gathering space and immediately lose my breath. The dark mahogany floors gleam beneath the soft light that’s spilling through floor-to-ceiling windows. A newly installed chandelier is the focal point in the center of the room, its elegant crystals catching the light and sending colorful beams across the expanse and there are two, massive fans that match it flanking it on either side.
The room is grounded by a lush forest-green rug, the kind that looks as if it belongs in a luxury hotel. Around the edges sit velvet couches in jewel tones, their upholstery so pristine that I wouldn’t be surprised to know if no one has sat on them yet. In the corner there’s a massive, gilded mirror that’s leaning against the wall drawing my attention. I walk towards it, admiring the artwork that adorns the walls and marveling in just how much work the Mayberry’s put into creating a true experience when they built this cottage.
It’s classy, country, upscale style. Like something from aCountry Living Magazine,spread, and I’mobsessed.
“It’s literally everything I’ve ever dreamed up,” The words slip from my mouth like a prayer, reverent and full of hope as I imagine the possibilities. My hands rub together instinctively, already picturing it. The laughter. The shared love. The photos. The champagne flutes clinking against a backdrop this magical.
I drift toward the large bay windows, pulled by an invisible thread, and smile as my gaze falls on the view outside. The Blue Ridge Mountains rise like ancient sentinels in the distance, standing tall and steady in the same way that they do behind my family’s property located only a few miles away. Spring has painted the mountains in patches of emerald, lavender, and blush, all blending seamlessly as they stretch toward the clouds in a soft, endless embrace. They’re close enough to feel tangible, like I could slip off my shoes and run to them knowing that they’d catch me.
Mrs. Mayberry’s land stretches farther back than it might appear at first glance. I know every acre of it already, having explored it when I was younger, but standing here, it’s as though I’m seeing it for the first time. Maybe because I’m seeing it with fresh eyes. Eyes that are showing me thiscouldbemine soon.
Being here is like coming home, like I’m standing in a postcard of my childhood and the memories that are seared into my mind like a photograph.
This will be the backdrop to the most breathtaking wedding photos this town has ever seen. They won’t be just pictures, but someone’s new beginning. The start of forever for their family. Perhaps, we’ll be able to expand this so that the couples who marry here can come back to shoot their maternity photos, and then seasonal holiday photos as they grow.
The thought makes my chest swell with so much excitement and emotion that I feel myself blinking back hot tears.
“This is what I’ve been saving up for,” I whisper.
This is why I’ve lived in my childhood home until almost thirty-years old. Because I wasn’t ready to move out and build my own place on the Marshall family farmstead like my brother’s all have. It never felt right. And because somehow, I always knew, I was waiting for this property to become available, and it was waiting for me.
I turn to Mrs. Mayberry, but my eyes snag on a stunning armoire tucked into the corner first. It’s wide enough to hold an entire bridal party’s belongings and sturdy enough to double as a bar. I can already see makeup palettes scattered across it, flutes of prosecco perched easily as the girls laugh and toast before the ceremony on the Marshall farm.
When I finally meet Mrs. Mayberry’s gaze, her own tears mirror mine. She smiles, soft and knowing.
“Mr. Mayberry and I always thought it might be you who’d takeover our dream and make it a reality,” she says. “We just had a feeling someday you’d be the one to buy this place and see the potential. You loved it so much and spent so much time here. And, as you know, I just can’t keep up with it anymore.” Hervoice cracks, but she continues. “We’ve had so many requests for weddings over the years. We zoned it for events, but getting the license pulled for actual ceremonies and then executing them… it was always just out of reach the older we grew. A dream we both had that we were never able to realize. But perhaps it was always meant to live on through someone else.”
I nod, my heart swelling with gratitude and pride that she believes in me to carry her vision forward. “I promise I’ll respect it. Cherish it. I’ll make sure it brings your dreams to life.”
She places a hand on my arm, squeezing gently. “I know you would, dear. But there’s one thing I need to tell you before you get too excited. Something that may prevent that from happening right now.”
I’m already lost in my own plans. The bridal suite here, the groom’s quarters in the matching cottage to the left of the property. My family’s farmstead is just a few miles down the road, right next door, where Colt is sketching out my designs and Cash is prepping the site for a new outdoor venue that we’ll build on the acres of land we own.
This is our opportunity for the family business to expand into something beautiful and timeless. Something that can be justmine.I can almost feel the cool, mountain air blowing in through open windows during autumn as I imagine myself tucked away in the original home at the very back of the property, surrounded by trees and the best views North Carolina has to offer while sipping a mug full of coffee.
It’s perfect. It’s fate. Destiny. Meant to be.Kismet.
Until Mrs. Mayberry’s words snap into focus. “…And so, for that reason, I can’t sell you the property, unfortunately. At least, not right now.”
