Karen grinned. “Well, that’s the other surprise. I’m staying in Maine until the wedding. I have to find a job and a place, but Elle, I’m here for good. For now at least.” She touched the brochures spread over the table. “And as your maid of honor,” she said, with a pronounced curtsey, “how cool is it that I get to help my best friend with her wedding?”
Elle laughed. “Wicked cool.”
Karen smiled, but a twinge of sadness settled in her eyes.
Elle tilted her head. “What’s wrong, Karen?” It had to have something to do with Todd being in LA. “You both finished your classes in the UK, and you’re here, but he’s not?” She leaned forward. “There’s plenty of room here at the cabin for him—”
Karen slammed her hands down on the table. “No!”
Surprised, Elle drew her head back. “What?”
Karen’s face was hard as stone. “I will never talk to that two-timing jerk again.”
That was a problem, in more ways than the obvious. Todd had no doubt already received his invitation. With family of his own in California, and as a dear friend of Elle’s, she doubted that anything would keep him from her wedding.
Two
Unexpected
Gwen assured Karen that she was no bother and having her there to help with the wedding was a true blessing. Elle begged her to stay in one of the eight empty bedrooms, and she finally agreed to it.
Just as she said she would, Karen found a job right away, working for Bruce at his photography shop in Dover.
It was a charming town and Karen rather enjoyed it, though she spent a great deal of time forcing herself not to think about Todd. The work that she did for Bruce helped.
“I’ll be right back,” Bruce said, loading up his arms with packages and envelopes. “If anyone comes in, take their orders, and tell them I’ll give them a call.”
There seemed to be certain times that customers crowded the little shop. Bruce was well known and sought after for his photography skills, and most days, a good amount of customers dropped in right around noon.
The bell on the door dinged, and she looked up. “May I help you?” The young boy slid a note across the counter. “A guy asked me to give this to you.” He turned and walked toward the door.
She picked up the small envelope. “Who?”
The boy shrugged. “Don’t know who he is. Never seen him before.” He opened the door and stepped outside.
She turned it over in her hands a couple times. There wasn’t anything written on it. “Huh.” She picked up a letter opener, sliced through it, and then pulled out a folded note.
Karen—listen, I know you are not going to be happy with me, but hear me out. Don’t get angry.
Her eyes widened. Who wrote this? Logic told her, Todd, but it wasn’t his handwriting.
The bell on the door rang again. It opened, and a man peered around it. “Karen, don’t yell at me, okay?”
Slamming her hands down on the counter, she yelled. “What are you doing here?” MJ Moore, a fellow student from the university she had just left, stood at the door, looking penitent, and somewhat bewildered.
He came into the shop and closed the door. “I felt really bad about what happened between you and Todd, and wanted to apologize for my part.”
She jerked her finger toward the door. “Get out.”
Stuffing his hands in his pockets he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Look, Karen, just listen to me, and then I’ll leave. Come on, I came all the way from England.”
Was that supposed to placate her? She didn’t twist his arm and force him to fly across the ocean. Her eyes narrowed. “Get out.”
He shook his head. “Stubbornness is not one of your better traits,” he quipped sourly. He opened the door a little more and stood partway in it. “My flight is in two days, I’m staying at the Blethen House, if you change your mind.”
“Get out!”
“Fine.” He slammed the door behind him.
The nerve of some people. His part? She bit her lip and glared at the door where he had just left. In reality, she was glad for ‘his part’ although it had caused her a significant amount of pain. With nothing else to do, and against her better judgment, her thoughts turned back to the UK, a year and a half earlier. . . .
Karen sat in the library with a stack of books at her side. “Ugh. This is going to take forever.” She glanced down at her watch. Todd would be at his parent’s house in the states by now. She missed him like crazy, but he would be back in two weeks. She had wanted to go with him, but money was tight, and one flight was all they both could afford. That and his classes were finished. She still had a paper to write. She waved at her friend, Mary, across the room. It looked like she wasn’t the only one still doing school work.
Todd’s brother should have waited until the holidays for his wedding. She made a face. Why should Benjamin rearrange his life to accommodate her? She sighed and opened the book in front of her.
“That’s the book I have been looking for.” A young man leaned over her stack of books. “How long are you going to need it?” His black hair fell across his face, and he flipped it back.
She picked up the book and leafed through it. “Um, a week, probably.”
He grimaced. “A whole week?” He took the book from her and thumbed through it. “Here. This is what I need.” He looked at her like she was brainless then grunted. “Hold the book open for me.”
“What?”
“Just do it.” He pushed her hands with the book into the air, pulled out a camera, and took a picture.
“Hey!” She
