“Not a chance.”His eyes twinkled and he shook his head.
Suddenly her heart soared, and her world began to fall slowly back into place. She grinned up at him.“Then kiss me again. It’s been too long.”
And he did as happiness bubbled through her.
Epilogue
Early that summer Olivia sat at the table at her mother’s house with Aunt Evelyn and Heather, sharing a bottle of wine. She’d finally hired some more help at the cafe and they occasionally took an evening off. She’d been surprised when the number of customers had never really dropped off after the opening and the cafe had begun to show a nice profit.
“So, I have some news.” Aunt Evelyn looked around at all of them.
“What’s that?” Donna asked.
“I’ve found an apartment. I’m moving out on my own.” Evelyn’s eyes shone with excitement. “I’ve never lived on my own and can’t wait.”
“Good for you.” Olivia nodded. “I think that’s great.”
“I admit, I’m going to miss having you here,” Donna said.
“Because of my cooking, right?” Evelyn smiled.
Donna laughed. “Your cookingandyour company.”
“I’ll help you move, Mom,” Heather offered.
“I’ll take all the help I can get. I have to get some furniture too, but I’m in no hurry. Except for a bed. I want one of those.” Evelyn laughed.
“And you have your cooking pots and pans,” Heather said.
“We can look at that secondhand store that just reopened in town. It’s supposed to have a lot of nice things at good prices,” Olivia suggested.
“I think shopping will be fun. But I’m going to take my time. Only get things I really want.”
“As opposed to buying what your interior decorator insisted you get at your house with Father?” Heather asked.
“Exactly. I never really did like her style, though everything looked nice. It just wasn’t me.”
“Now you’ll have a chance to get exactly what you want.” Donna got up from the table. “I’m going to get us some cheese and crackers to go with our wine.”
“So, have you heard from Emily since she left for Paris? It’s been what, a week or so now?” Heather asked.
“Just one text saying she got there safely. But I made her promise to do that.” She and Emily had still not gotten back on very good footing.
“Things still strained between you?” Aunt Evelyn gave her a sympathetic look.
“Better, but not back to how they were before.”
“And that’s Brett’s fault. His lies to Emily.” Heather frowned. “And the fact he said he was moving here to be near Emily… but then that never happened.”
Just then her cell rang, and she snatched it out of her pocket. Her eyes widened when she saw the number. “Emily?”
“Mom…”
Her heart pounded at the tone. She immediately knew something was wrong. “What is it?”
“Mom, I’m so sorry. Sorry about everything.”
“Emily, it’s okay. We’re okay. Don’t worry about it. Just enjoy your time in Paris.”
