Page 154 of Holly Jolly July

JAMES

I’m just a broken man in a small town with

nothing to my name but subpar dancing skills, a sugar cookie recipe passed down from my late wife, and the best coffee you’ll ever taste. Is that enough?

ANNIE

You are enough. Just as you are. And I wouldn’t call your dancing skills subpar.

JAMES

Do you really see a future with me?

ANNIE

I can’t give up my life in Seattle. I have a

great job there. I love visiting my sister,

but I’m a city girl at heart. I just have

to take more time to do the things I love

while I’m there. Like baking cookies.

JAMES

I was thinking, maybe it is time for me

to move on. I could let that franchise take over, start something new somewhere else, with someone else...

ANNIE

You mean, come to the city, with me?

JAMES

Like I said, Brewed Awakening was never

really my dream, it was Kate’s. But now

she’s gone, and I have to let her go. I

have to find a dream of my own. And maybe

I can find it in a new place.

ANNIE

Only if you’re sure you’re ready. We don’t

have to be in a rush. I know Kate still

means so much to you, and all your memories

with her are here.

James stands and pulls Annie to her feet.