Shannon had been worried that no one would show up at their inaugural community event other than their guests, Tara and Aubrey. And being the supportive friend she was, Lizzy told her she was being a big ol’ worrywart. And of course, Lizzy was right.
It was ten minutes until start time, and they had to scavenge for extra chairs to bring out. Soon it would be standing room only for the stragglers. The Weldon community was flat-out amazing. They came together for one another with such enthusiasm and joy. The interest in the monthly book club Shannon and Linda were putting together was busting through the roof, so they decided to create several book clubs for different genres to keep the numbers intimate.
Aubrey and Tara were definite town favorites, but the townspeople were here to support Shannon and Sparrow Bookstore, too. They oohed and aahed over the changes they’d made in the store, and they browsed through the bestsellers table and beach reads table, stacking books into their arms.
With her eyes everywhere, Shannon quickly replenished thebooks and came back to stand beside Lizzy. She leaned in to be heard over the crowd and said with certainty, “He’ll be here.”
Lizzy looked at her friend and didn’t even try to feign ignorance. “I hope so. He worked so hard to help make this happen. He deserves to be here.”
She and Jack hadn’t talked to each other—much less seen each other—since their horrible fight a few days ago. She picked up her phone every five minutes to call him, but then she would remember what he’d said.It’s a good thing we were taking things slowly and our emotions aren’t involved.She’d been nothing more than a friend with benefits to him.
No, that wasn’t fair to him. He’d been so kind and good to her. It hadn’t been a purely physical relationship for him, either—even if he insisted his emotions weren’t involved. How could it have been? They were best friends. They had already cared deeply for each other. That part had never changed. And he’d wanted to be with her in Los Angeles. He had wanted this to work as much as she had.
But… he didn’t love her. At least, not in the way that she needed him to love her. No matter how hard she’d pushed him to give them a real chance, he hadn’t strayed far from the friend zone. Maybe if they’d had more time together, he might have grown to love her as she loved him, but what he felt for her now was lust and affection. That was why he was able to walk away from her.
Lizzy breathed through the ache in her chest. She hadn’t allowed herself to feel the full ramifications of their fight. If she did, she would crack and crumble—turn to dust and be blown away by the wind. She couldn’t let that happen. Shannon needed her. She hadn’t taken on this project to abandon it unfinished. Lizzy had a couple of days left before she headed back to Los Angeles to give her two weeks’ notice, so she had plentyof time to check off the few remaining tasks on the to-do list. She just had to keep it together until then.
She knew he was there without having to look. The bell jingled differently when it was announcing Jack’s arrival. It was a softer, more melodic chime because he always took care with everything he handled.
He’d come. Of course he’d come. It was his sister’s event after all. But that wasn’t the only reason he’d come. No matter how uncomfortable he felt about seeing Lizzy, he wanted to come and support Shannon. He cared about her, her little boy, and Sparrow Bookstore. And Jack would never let his friends down.
No matter how many times Lizzy had let him down—canceling at the last minute because of a work emergency, forgetting his birthday, unfairly snapping at him because she was stressed—Jack had never let her down. And he hadn’t let her down this time, either. He had figured out a way for them to be together. It wasn’t his fault that she had chosen to go a different way.
She was still hurt that he’d never discussed how unhappy he was working at the brewery and that he was applying for jobs in Los Angeles. But she logically understood why he’d kept it to himself. He hadn’t even told his family about it because he was afraid he wouldn’t get the job he wanted. If she’d known, she would’ve told him that was nonsense. He was one of the smartest people she knew and so hardworking. McBain would have been blind not to hire him.
But maybe it was better that she hadn’t known he was job searching in Los Angeles. If she’d known, then she might not have made the decision to leave the sprawling city and move to Weldon. She might have convinced herself that she was content with the life she had there. But sooner or later, she would’verealized that living in Los Angeles wasn’t right for her. What would they have done then? Maybe it really was better this way. It certainly didn’t feel like it, but given some time, she would feel relieved that this happened now.
“Hi, Shannon,” Jack said, coming to stand in front of them. “Look at all these people. You should be proud of putting this together.”
“So should you.” Shannon stepped up to him and wrapped him in a tight hug. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done.”
“My pleasure,” he murmured.
“Well, I’m going to introduce the ladies to the crowd and get this party started,” Shannon said, clasping her hands in front of her chest. “Wish me luck.”
“Break a leg,” Lizzy said with an encouraging smile. When Shannon nervously stood in place, Lizzy gave her a friendly shove toward the stage and watched her make her way up to the mic.
“Hello, Lizzy,” Jack said quietly by her side.
The low timbre of his voice sent a shiver of awareness down her spine. Despite what happened, her body and heart recognized him as the man she loved—as the man she would never stop loving.
“Hi there.” She made an effort to sound chipper. It fell way, way flat.
That was all the time they had to talk before the program started. She wouldn’t have known what else to say to him anyway.
“I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that the new and improved Sparrow is an absolute dream.” Tara smiled brightly as the audience hooted and applauded. “Well, we are honored to host the first community event—the first of many, I hope—here tonight. In case any of you are wondering who the heck weare”—she pointed a thumb at herself then at her cohost—“let me introduce you to Aubrey Kim, Weldon’s own celebrity chef and owner of Comfort Zone.”
“Being a guest chef on one cooking show doesn’t make me a celebrity,” Aubrey muttered, turning a becoming shade of pink. “At any rate, letmeintroduce you to Tara Park—soon to be Tara Kim when she marries my brother-in-law in a few months…Oh, my God.I just realized we’re going to be sisters soon.”
“Oh, my glitter bomb.” Tara’s hand fluttered to her chest. “Bree, we’re going to besisters.”
The two best friends hugged each other and swayed back and forth. The store full of locals laughed and clapped—not at all minding that the regularly scheduled program was delayed to accommodate the tender moment.
Lizzy stole a glance at Jack, who stood an arm’s length away from her. The respectable distance between them made her heart clench with loneliness. She missed his warmth. She missed him. What would happen if she reached out her hand and took ahold of his? Would his fingers link through hers as though it were as natural as breathing to him—as it was to her?
She focused her attention back toward the stage. Aubrey and Tara had broken apart to proceed with their event.
“As I was saying,” Aubrey said with an affectionate glance at her best friend, “Tara is an award-winning brewer and part owner of the incomparable Weldon Brewery. We’re here tonight to share a bit about beer-and-dessert pairings.”
