Stella laughed. “That’s okay. I’ve had a pretty good time while it was being worked on. What do I owe you?”
“How about dinner?”
Stella set her coffee cup on the table next to her and padded across the porch. Sam met her at the base of the steps, one arm extended to pull her in for a hug.
“I’m afraid I can’t do it tonight. I have to get back home and sort things out with my job, and my plants are probably dying of thirst. I forgot to ask someone to come water them.”
Sam’s face fell noticeably, his expression clouded, though he tried to keep his voice even. “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah, but I could do dinner in a few days when I come back with the first of my boxes.”
She felt him start against her. He pulled away and looked down at her, dark brows furrowed in skeptical optimist. “Boxes?”
“So I can move into my new apartment.”
Before the words were even out of her house, Sam scooped Stella up and spun her around, letting out a whoop. “You’re moving here?”
“It’s early stages, but it looks that way. Drew is going to help me get some freelancing jobs, Melanie is renting me her apartment because she is moving in with Colin, and, if nothing else, Georgia will hire me to be on the cleaning staff at the inn.”
Sam smiled and shook his head. “I love those Baldwins so much.”
“Me too,” Stella laughed. “They are very generous.”
“Only for those who deserve it.” Sam pressed a kiss to the top of her head before pulling her around in front of him and wrapping his arms around her waist. “And you certainly deserve it.”
Stella didn’t know if Sam would be forever. Maybe things would end horribly. Maybe they’d pass by each other on Main Street with awkward smiles and stiff waves. Maybe Stella would come to regret all of these decisions and her rashness…but she didn’t think so.
She wrapped her arms around Sam’s neck, stretched up on her tiptoes, and pulled him down for a kiss. Just like the first time, all of her worries and doubts faded. When she was with Sam, everything felt right in the world.
It felt like the beginning of a new adventure.
19
Three Months Later
Christmas in Willow Beach was even more magical than summertime.
Sure, Stella liked going to the beach and selling paintings to the constant stream of new tourists and attending the farmer’s market to buy fresh cut flowers and organic honey. But she couldn’t get a peppermint mocha latte from The Roast in the middle of the summer, so that basically made the entire season a wash.
“I’m going to cut you off,” Vivienne Russell warned as Stella walked out of the door with an almond croissant in one hand and her latte in the other. “You’ve got an addiction.”
“I’m on deadline,” Stella argued, blowing an amused Vivienne a kiss before she left.
She’d been down to The Roast four times in the last two days to get a caffeine boost. Alma had been able to get Stella the job redesigning Willow Beach’s website, and the mayor and city council liked it so much that they hired her to head up their tourism department. She still needed other freelance jobs to supplement her income, but Stella loved getting to brag about Willow Beach on pamphlets that were shipped out all across the state and surrounding areas.
Before breaking down on the highway, Stella had never heard of Willow Beach, and she wanted to change that. Everyone should be able to experience the magic of the place and people at least once in their lives.
Her apartment was only a half block down from The Roast and directly above Melanie Baldwin’s veterinary clinic. Different-colored string lights hung from the buildings, lighting up the whole of downtown every night, and wreaths and red banners dangled from the street lights. Melanie had put a small Christmas tree in the clinic’s front window, decorated with pictures of every animal she treated at the clinic. Stella stopped outside the picture window and waved to Drew Baldwin’s girlfriend, Ashley, who was working the front desk.
Ashley was still in veterinary school up in Portland, Maine, but she’d come back to town for the holidays, which had Drew happier than Stella had seen him in months. If Tasha was to be believed, Drew would be proposing to Ashley soon in hopes they’d get married right after she graduated. Tasha hoped her siblings, Melanie and Drew, would have a double wedding at the inn, but Stella had suspicions of her own that Melanie and Colin would be moving the date of their wedding up. Melanie had looked especially glowy lately. Not to mention, Stella had looked out her back window one day to see Melanie being sick in the alley behind the clinic. Bandit, Melanie’s rascally dog who still used the apartment above the clinic as his second home, would probably be getting a new brother or sister if Stella’s guess was correct.
When Stella turned the corner to take the stairs up to her apartment, she found the way blocked by a very handsome, very greasy man.
“Tough day at work?” she teased, nudging past Sam to unlock her door. “I thought we were meeting for dinner in an hour.”
“You did?” Sam asked. “Why, then, do you have an almond croissant in your hand?”
Maybe Vivienne was right. Maybe Stella was addicted.
“Appetizer,” she said, pushing the door open and ushering Sam in with the command not to sit on anything until she’d laid down a towel.
“What happened to you? I’ve never seen you this messy before.”
Sam sighed and dragged an old towel across his face. “A car leaked while I was under it.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re here an hour early and covered in grease.” Stella took a bite of her croissant, powdered sugar sticking to her lips.
“I went home to shower, but I seem to have locked my keys inside
