Page 34 of The Almost Bride

The scent of baking bread filled the air, competing with the smell of the freshly brewed coffee that Helen had brought along. Luna perched on the bakery counter, surveying her motley crew of co-conspirators. Early morning light, pale as water, just about broke through the windows. The normally bustling bakery was quiet with whispers and barely contained excitement.

“Alright,”

Luna said. “We all know why we’re here.”

Her chest was thrumming with excitement. “I need to do something big. Something that tells Mia that I’m all in.”

Miguel grinned. “You mean something crazy.”

“Yes,”

Luna said without pausing for a beat. “Something absolutely crazy.”

Jason looked worried, his hands on his hips. “And you want to… recreate the town festival?”

Luna beamed and nodded. “It was the first time we kissed. The first time we really saw each other, beyond all the pretending. The lights, the music, the magic, I want to bring it all back. Just for her.”

“I knew you weren’t really dating,”

Miguel groaned. He elbowed Jason. “I told you they were faking it.”

Jan crossed her arms, an amused smile on her face. “You do realize that planning an entire festival takes almost a year? Trying to do it in, what, twenty-four hours, that’s the crazy part.”

“But it’s possible,”

chimed in Helen. “If we all work together and work hard. And personally, I think it’s kind of romantic.”

Rachel, who had been quiet so far, finally spoke up. “Do you really think she’ll come?”

Now Luna did hesitate. That was the real fear, wasn’t it? That she’d go through all this, put her heart on full display, only to have Mia decided that it was all too late. But that was the risk she had to take, and Luna Truman was brave. Although privately, she rather thought that she might take hitchhiking through China over doing this as proof of her courage.

“She has to come,”

Luna said, more to herself than anyone else. “And if she doesn’t, well, at least she’ll know about it.”

Sam, who had a heart of wobbly jelly he was so sentimental, put a reassuring hand on Luna’s shoulder. “Then let’s make this festival unforgettable.”

They divided the tasks up quickly. Miguel and Jason would handle the food side, pastries and toffee apples, that sort of thing. Jan took on the responsibility of getting the lights strung and arranging flower displays, obviously. Helen was in charge of drinks. Rachel would be the one to get Mia into town, and Sam would deal with the band and the music.

As everyone dispersed into the cool early morning, Luna felt the swell of something unfamiliar but welcome. Hope. She wasn’t in this alone. The whole town was rooting for them.

***

Mia strolled through the town later that afternoon, the sun hot and the tourists thronging, and something felt… off.

Rachel had been following her around like a harridan all morning, demanding that she wash dishes and make beds, being uncharacteristically bossy. It felt like any time Mia had a moment to herself, Rachel found something to fill it with. The only reason she was in town now was because Rachel had had to deal with a dissatisfied guest and Mia had sneaked out the back door.

And now, the bakery was closed. She frowned at the closed sign. They never closed this early. Gently, she knocked on the door, and Miguel answered, looking distinctly guilty. “Yes?”

“I thought I might grab a late lunch,”

Mia said. “Only to find you closed. Is everything alright? I mean, you’re not sick, are you? Is Jason alright?”

“Fine, fine, we’re all fine,”

Miguel said, eyes darting from side to side.

“Right,”

said Mia uncertainly.

Miguel cleared his throat. “We just, um, we ran out of flour.”

Mia narrowed her eyes. “You ran out of flour? You order in bulk from two different distributors, but you ran out?”

He nodded far too quickly. “Yep. Total disaster. Terrible planning on our part. Honestly, we shouldn’t be trusted to own a business.”

“Mmm,”

said Mia, not believing a word of it. Still, she supposed it was his business. “Okay, well, I’ll drop by again tomorrow.”

Miguel’s face cleared, and he grinned in what looked a lot like relief. “Yep, great, we’ll have loads of flour by then. Excellent.”

Frowning, she crossed the street toward the coffee shop and saw Helen standing at the entrance. The moment Helen spotted her, she moved forward, blocking the doorway.

“You can’t come in,”

she said hastily.

“Why on earth not?”

asked Mia.

“Um… health inspection,”

said Helen.

Mia peered over Helen’s shoulder, catching a glimpse of a perfectly normal, not-being-health-inspected coffee shop. “Really?”

Helen nodded vigorously. “Yes. Very serious. You don’t want to be in here.”

Then she cocked her head. “And where’s Rachel?”

“Rachel?”

asked Mia in surprise. “Why, at the hotel, I should think. Why?”

“Because she’s supposed to be—”

Helen clamped her mouth shut.

“Supposed to be what?”

asked Mia suspiciously.

“Nothing, nothing,”

said Helen. “But shouldn’t you be getting back to work? I heard that the hotel was terribly busy right now?”

“Mmm,”

was all Mia said, suspicions bubbling even though she wasn’t sure what exactly she was suspecting.

It didn’t help when she spotted Jan rushing out of the florists, arms full of tangled festival lights. At the sight of Mia, Jan yelped and spun around, nearly tripping over her own feet.

“Jan?”

Mia called out.

Jan didn’t stop. “No time to talk,”

she shouted over her shoulder.

Okay. Something was definitely going on. It seemed like the entire town was avoiding her. Mia sighed. Perhaps she’d brought this on herself. Perhaps Luna was spreading rumors about her. No, that wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t like Luna either. Maybe the town itself had decided to punish her for letting down one of their own. Did things like that happen?

She walked slowly past the bookshop, then changed her mind and marched straight inside, deciding to test her theory.

Sam looked up from behind the counter and his eyes widened with panic. Before she could even say hello, he slammed his book shut.

“What are your reading?”

Mia asked.

“Nothing,”

Sam blurted out. “Definitely not a love story or a romance novel.”

He shoved his book behind the counter, where it was firmly out of sight.

Mia crossed her arms. “Alright, just what exactly is it that’s wrong with everyone today?”

Sam’s eyes darted around the room. “Wrong? There’s nothing wrong. Nope. Just a normal day. Totally normal day. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to… I’m going… There’s a thing that…”

He suddenly grabbed a stack of books and disappeared into the backroom.

Mia stood alone in the middle of the bookshop, utterly baffled. The entire town was acting strange, and she had no idea why.

With a sigh, she turned around. She might as well go back to being bossed around by Rachel if this was the way people were going to treat her.

Honestly, Little Chipping was a madhouse.

***

The sun dipped lower in the sky and the town was transformed. Festival lights glowed softly, casting golden shadows over the cobblestone streets. The scent of cinnamon, sugar, and coffee filled the lazy heat of the evening. The band was tuning their instruments, playing the opening notes of several songs. And the tourists were all thrilled at what they assumed had been put on for their benefit.

Luna stood in the middle of it all, nerves curling tight in her stomach. It all looked perfect. It was exactly like it had been before, on that night when they’d kissed. Except it was completely different, of course. This time, it wasn’t a town event. It was a love letter.

She glanced around, seeing everyone gathered, excitement buzzing between them. The townspeople knew what this was all about, they were just waiting to see how Mia reacted.

She felt her stomach squeeze tight and had a strong desire to make a run for it.

No. She was staying. She was taking the risk. She was here for the long-run, whatever Mia said. She just hoped that this would all go according to plan.

She looked up at the sky, but there wasn’t a star in sight.

Fine, she’d wish upon a cobblestone instead. She exhaled slowly and made her wish. Then all that was left to do was wait.

***

Mia was sitting in the foyer of the hotel, reading a book and ostensibly manning the reception desk. In reality, she was still trying to wrap her head around the town’s sudden mass insanity event. How could so many people be avoiding her at once?

“There you are,”

Rachel said, waltzing into reception.

“Where else would I be?”

asked Mia. “You told me to stay by the desk in case anyone wanted to check out. Even though everyone checked out this morning and all the rooms are now checked in again.”

“Details, details,”

Rachel said with a sniff.

“What do you want?”

asked Mia suspiciously.

“We’re going for a walk,”

said Rachel. “Come on.”

Mia blinked. “What?”

“A walk,”

said Rachel. “It’s where you put one foot in front of the other. It’s supposed to be good for you. Come on, before it’s too late.”

“Too late for what?”

asked Mia.

“Just come!”

Rachel opened the hotel door and looped her arm through Mia’s, dragging them both out into the hot and sticky night.

“Where—”

began Mia.

Then she saw it.

The street down into town was glowing with festival lights. As they got closer, she could hear music and laughter, could smell caramel and cinnamon, and the memory nearly knocked her off balance.

This was the festival. Their festival.

“Come on,”

Rachel urged again, pulling her by the arm until they were at the edge of a small crowd by the coffee shop.

Mia’s breath hitched as the people in front of her slowly parted.

And then she was there. Luna. Standing, waiting.

Mia’s heart pounded. She had no words. No real thoughts. Just one overwhelming realization.

This was all for her. And Luna had made it happen.