“New York was where I needed to be for my twenties,” Brooke said matter-of-factly. “But I accomplished everything I wanted. I traveled. I worked for a major designer.”
“And then you got fired?” Candy winced dramatically and bit her lip. “Sorry, hon. Your mother told me.”
Brooke shrugged it off. No sense in getting defensive over the facts, even if it did sting. She’d be lying if she said her ego hadn’t been bruised until Gabby had given her a pep talk over the phone and insisted that this was a blessing in disguise, that it wasn’t that she wasn’t good enough. It was that she was too good.
She smiled now thinking of her sister. That kind of support made coming back here worth everything. Even seeing Kyle.
“It’s okay. It wasn’t my dream job after all. I always wanted to bring my visions to life. And if I can do that while being around my family, all the better.”
“Family.” Candy held out her arms and wiggled her fingers. “Can I? Sorry, I’m a hugger.”
Brooke bit her lip to keep from laughing. This woman couldn’t be more different than her Aunt Elizabeth had been, but she was warm and open and welcoming. And she was a customer. She was everything that Brooke needed right now.
She shrugged her agreement and let Candy pull her in for a long, squishy hug, which Brooke had to admit did feel good. Since returning to Blue Harbor, she’d been hugged at least a dozen times, which was probably more than she’d been hugged in all of her years in New York, where the double air kiss was more standard.
“Family!” Candy said, pulling back and giving her a long look. “My, you’re just as pretty as your sisters!”
Brooke blushed again. Everyone knew that Gabby was the real beauty in the family. And still single. What did that say for her own chance of finding love again?
She halted that thought immediately. Honestly, it was the opening day of her shop! She had a willing customer standing before her. And she was technically still a married woman! She absolutely could not even entertain the thought of dating again. It was the dresses, and Candy’s excitement. It was hard not to get swept away.
That had been by design. It wasn’t supposed to be a trap.
Quickly, she turned her focus back to Candy. “Let’s take a few moments to look through your binder. Can I get you a tea or coffee?”
“Tea, please,” Candy said with a light in her eye. “Extra sugar. In case my name doesn’t already give you a hint, I like things sweet.”
*
By the time Candy left the shop, Brooke was exhausted and her hand was cramped from writing down so many ideas. There had been no further patrons, not that she had expected a flood of customers, though that would have been nice. Still, she had one firm client and some design ideas to sketch that would keep her busy for the remainder of the afternoon. Seeing as it was already lunchtime, she saw no reason not to take a short break and stretch her legs.
Normally she might have popped by Sweet Stems to see if Gabby wanted to grab something from the café, but knowing that Candy was headed that way was enough to make her rethink her plans.
And get the conversation with Kyle over with, she thought, as her stomach turned with dread.
She turned the sign on her door, locked it behind her, and walked down Main Street in her heels and shift dress, feeling more the young, naïve girl who had marched down the aisle to take Kyle’s hand rather than the confident, successful businesswoman that the reflection in the store windows claimed her to be. She could dress any part, but feeling it was a very different thing, and right now, she felt nearly as out of place in her hometown as she had her first few months in New York.
With any luck, Kyle would only see her outward appearance, not her innermost feelings.
Really, she probably didn’t need any luck at all. A request for a divorce, after nearly six years apart and no contact during that entire time, was long overdue. Surely he was just as eager as she was to end things once and for all.
Harrison’s was down at the next block and across the street, and Brooke hurried her pace so she wouldn’t lose her nerve. But as she approached the weathered wood door with the rusty, oversized handle, she hesitated, only before reminding herself that this had to be done. For her business. For herself.
Stick to the plan, she scolded herself firmly, even if yet again, Kyle had the power to complicate things. Kyle may not have wanted to support her dream all those years ago, but she wasn’t going to let him stop her now.
With that, she flung open the door and blinked against the change of light. Harrison’s had always been dark inside, with the blinds pulled tight most weeks of the year, but still, it was an adjustment from the sunny day outside.
She scanned the room, not surprised to find that it hadn’t changed at all, just as her sisters had said. That it was the same nautical-themed bar that it had always been, since before Kyle took over. It was a time warp. Or a landmark, as some might say.
But to her, it was her nemesis. It was because of this pub, and Kyle’s insistence on holding onto the past, that they hadn’t been able to look to the future together.
Behind the bar, she spotted him, his back to her, his arms folded across his chest, deep in what appeared to be a tense discussion with Ryan of all
