Chapter Eight

Three Months Later

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” he teased, running his lips over her shoulder, delighting in the soft protest.

“Ugh, is it morning already?”

He chuckled softly. Their first night together had far surpassed his expectations, even his wildest dreams. Worth every agonizing second of waiting.

“Yep. The bakery delivery will be here any minute.”

She moaned, snuggling her behind into him.

“Not fair, baby,” he whispered. “Do that again and you won’t be opening your store anytime soon. You’ll disappoint your loyal customers.”

“I asked Peggy to handle the delivery this morning.” Amy turned in his arms, tossing her leg over his, fitting their bodies together.

“You did?”

“Yep. I have other business to attend to this morning.”

“You do?”

“Uh-huh.” She nuzzled his neck.

He lifted his chin to provide better access while his hand cupped possessively over her rounded bottom.

“What business is that?”

“Very important business,” she murmured. “It involves a collaboration and sharing of assets. Let me show you...”

Jamie inhaled sharply as she began to kiss her way down his body. As Saturday mornings went, this one was undisputedly the best one ever.

The authors – his team of personal Cupids, Amy called them – showed up just after lunch for the big signing event. Jamie picked them up from the airport while Amy remained at the shop, pulling together the last of the preparations. They’d been promoting the event for weeks and were expecting a good turnout.

The trio took one look at him and beamed.

“I knew it!” Rosemary proclaimed excitedly, giving him a hug.

“You are glowing, my dear,” tittered Cora. “You sealed the deal, didn’t you?”

Jamie choked a little, embarrassed but pleased.

Bea, who topped out at around four feet, ten inches, smiled but said nothing.

“What, no comment from the peanut gallery?” he teased.

“You do look good,” Bea said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, “but it’s your woman’s face I want to see.”

Given the morning he and Amy had spent in her bedroom (and her bathroom and the kitchen), he felt pretty confident about what Amy’s radiant face would reveal. In fact, he was downright smug. 

At their request, Jamie gave them a quick tour of the small town of Birch Falls. “It’s like a modern-day Mayberry,” mused Rosemary as Jamie chauffeured them to their hotel, then to Amy’s Book Shoppe.

“But in the northeast,” added Cora.

“And with mountains,” Bea chimed in.

They loved the Book Shoppe, too, commenting on the cozy, Colonial look and feel of the place.

“What a lovely place!”

“Like stepping back into time, but with electricity.”

“Oooo – pastries!”

They absolutely adored Amy. At multiple times throughout the afternoon and early evening, they took advantage of every possible opportunity to voice their approval.  He was feeling pretty damn good about everything, too, until...

“Hi, Jamie.”

Jamie stiffened at the sound of the familiar voice. He finished pouring the fresh coffee into the thermal carafe, then added it to the steaming pot of steeping tea and plate of finger foods on the tray before turning around.

“Celina.”

He hadn’t seen her or his brother since the county fair, and he hadn’t spoken with them since that fateful day, months earlier. He knew that Amy and Celina were still good friends and that Celina even worked part-time at the shop. Usually weekday afternoons, when he wasn’t around.

Amy occasionally broached the subject. The more time he spent with Amy, the more he realized that what had happened with Celina wasn’t such a bad thing after all. If it hadn’t, he would still be spinning his wheels in a dead-end relationship instead of experiencing the real thing with Amy, and that would have been a damn shame. Maybe it was time to let his brother know that, too.

“Where’s Kyle?”

“He dropped me off, then went over to Mo’s,” she said. “Book signings aren’t really his thing.”

Jamie nodded. Kyle had never been overly fond of reading, except when it came to cycle magazines and engine manuals. He preferred working with his hands.

He added the refilled sugar bowl, a small pitcher of half-and-half, and some napkins to the tray. Had Amy told Celina about them? 

“So... you’re helping Amy out today, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re a good man, Jamie.”

Apparently not good enough. He bit off the childish retort before it could make it past his lips. It was nothing but a knee-jerk reaction to an old pain; an echo of sentiments he no longer felt.

The truth was, he and Celina could never have been anything more than good friends. The spark just wasn’t there.

Not like it was with Amy.

All he had to do was think about Amy and his heart beat faster, his breath came quicker. She was the first thing he thought about when he got up in the morning and the last thing before he went to bed.  Last night they’d taken things to a new level, and it had been amazing. Fantastic. Better than he’d ever hoped.

Now, looking at Celina, he was glad things had worked out the way they did. Celina was still beautiful, but she wasn’t Amy.

“I’m happy for you,” Celina said sincerely. “And I hope someday, you’ll find it in your heart to forgive us. Kyle is your brother, and, well, I miss my friend.”

He nodded. Nothing would ever be the same, but it was no one’s fault. The heart doesn’t care what the mind says, his Cupids had said so many times that the sentiment was forever etched in his brain. Kyle and Celina were meant to be together.

He was pretty sure he and Amy were, too.

“Nothing to forgive,” he said. “I’m happy for you, too.” And for the first time, he meant it.