Page 6

Mia balanced two shopping bags in one hand so that she could pull down on the hem of the floral sundress that she was wearing. Maybe it was because she’d worn her wedding dress for so long, but she couldn’t quite get used to wearing something cotton and so short. She swapped the bags to her other hand and tugged at the dress again.

She was lucky; she knew that. Lucky that Rachel had offered her this chance, lucky that for the last two days she’d been kept so busy that she’d barely had time to think, let alone time to dwell on what had happened.

She’d called her mother the night before. It had gone about as well as expected.

“What have you done?”

her mother had squealed as soon as she’d ascertained that Mia was neither kidnapped nor in danger.

“I don’t want to talk about it,”

Mia had said.

“And where are you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

There had been another squeal and the sound of her mother sobbing.

“Mum, listen to me. You’ve always said that I’m sensible, that I’m a good girl, that I do all the right things. So you’re going to have to trust me on this one,”

Mia had said. “I’ll phone again when I’ve got more to say.”

And she’d hung up.

The call had left her breathless again. And she wasn’t entirely certain that she hadn’t added ‘liar’ to the list of her new accomplishments. Because she didn’t do all the right things, did she? And what kind of good girl ran away from a lovely wedding and a kind fiancé to hide away in a little town no one had ever heard of?

At least she no longer looked like a runaway bride, she supposed. She looked a lot more like a starving artist, given Rachel’s taste in clothes. Not that she was complaining.

The morning was unusually warm as she walked her way back up toward the hotel. There was the usual bustle of a quaint little village in summer. Tourists were easily identifiable by their walking shoes and cameras slung over their shoulders. School was obviously out, and children were playing in the small playground and dashing past on bikes. A golden retriever lounged outside of the bakery.

It was like walking through a postcard, like stepping back in time even.

For the first time in days, Mia felt the knots in her stomach finally start to loosen.

Until a moped sped past her, barely missing her.

“Hey!”

she shouted, wobbling as her shopping bags threatened to spill.

The moped rider didn’t even glance back at her.

She sighed and stepped closer to the pavement, and then she saw the flower shop. Sunflowers, roses, buckets of lavender, hanging birdhouses, tropical plants crowding the windows. Mia found herself smiling just looking at the bright chaos of the shop.

Until she saw, standing right next to a display of colorful tulips, the flower woman.

Luna. That was her name. Luna.

Of course. Because why wouldn’t Luna be here? Luna with her loud voice and strange sense of humor. Luna who had made Mia’s heart beat again for the first time in forever.

She was dressed in a loose white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a collection of silver rings glinting on her fingers as she carried a tray of flower arrangements. The shirt was long enough that it practically covered the denim shorts she was wearing underneath, making her look almost naked. Her hair was messy, with curls sticking out every which way. And yet the whole effect was one of careful put-togetherness.

Mia was sure she couldn’t have achieved such an effortless looking look if she’d had hours to get ready.

She thought about making a run for it. But the shopping was heavy and the bags already dangerously overloaded. Besides, she had nothing to run away from. Just because Luna had happened to see her at her worst. There’d be plenty of people she had to face in the future, people who knew her a lot better than Luna did and who knew what she’d done. She might as well make a start here and now.

She took three steps forward. “You again,”

she said, the words coming out more harshly than she might have wanted. “We have to stop meeting like this.”

Luna quirked an eyebrow. “You’re the one stalking me.”

“As if,”

said Mia with a roll of the eyes. “You’re just… everywhere.”

“It’s a small town,”

Luna said with a grin.

Mia’s mouth felt dry. “If you’re thinking about proposing again, I have to tell you that I’m not in the market.”

Luna laughed, her wide mouth opening to show perfectly white teeth. “Just as well. I only propose once, no second chances.”

“Promises, promises,”

said Mia, unaware of just where this newly flirtatious personality had come from. What was she doing? Time to rein things in. “And the town’s not that small.”

“Maybe it’s just fate,”

Luna shrugged.

Mia narrowed her eyes. “Mumbo jumbo. I don’t believe in fate.”

“Do you not?”

Luna asked. “You just found me in what you’ve just said is not a very small village. That sounds like it might be fate conspiring to put us in the same spot to me.”

“You know, I’m seriously considering dropping these very heavy shopping bags onto your foot right now?”

Luna chuckled. “Let me guess. Rachel’s got you bringing supplies in?”

Mia looked down at her bags. “I think she thinks we’re going to be snowed in, or maybe the alien invasion is coming or something.”

“Worse,”

said Luna. “The tourist invasion. It’s a busy time of year.”

She picked up a small sunflower from the display and twirled it between her fingers. “So, how’s life as a… whatever it is you are doing whatever it is that you do?”

Mia raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know what I’m doing.”

“True,”

Luna said. “I’m good at guessing, though. And my guess is that you’re hiding from something. What are you hiding from, you little blonde siren?”

Mia ignored the question and what she thought might be a compliment, though she wasn’t sure. “Why would you think that I’m hiding?”

“Because people who aren’t hiding don’t have that look in their eyes,”

Luna said.

Before Mia could even attempt a retort, the door of the coffee shop next door to the florist flew open and a woman in her late fifties stepped out. Her curly hair was tied back with a brightly colored scarf, and a pair of cat-eye glasses perched on her nose.

“Helen,”

Luna said cheerfully. She turned to Mia. “This is Helen, unofficial queen of caffeine in Little Chipping.”

She turned back to the woman. “And Helen, this is… um?”

She glanced awkwardly at Mia. “Actually, I don’t even know your name.”

***

The blonde looked at her thoughtfully, then smiled a smile that was so light Luna thought it might be able to brighten a funeral parlor. “Mia,” she said.

“Mia,”

Luna repeated, tasting the name. It was nice. It suited her.

Helen’s eyes twinkled as she gave Mia the once-over. “So, you’re the runaway bride that everyone’s been whispering about,” she said.

Mia’s cheeks went bright red. “I, um…”

“Oh, don’t be embarrassed.”

Helen waved a hand dismissively. “Every good story starts with a dramatic getaway. Anyway, I’ve always thought that it was the women who showed up at the altar who end up starring in the real tragedies.”

Luna snorted a laugh at this.

“Coffee?”

asked Helen.

“What?”

Mia asked.

“Coffee,”

Luna said. “You must have heard of it. It’s this hot drink that gives you extra energy and it’s made from beans.”

Mia scowled at her.

Helen gestured to the open door behind her. “I’m making a fresh pot. Come inside. You’ll need caffeine if you plan on conversing with Luna for long.”

Luna arranged her face into a mock-offended look. “I’m delightful company.”

Mia hesitated at first, but then followed Helen into the café, with Luna bringing up the rear. Luna inhaled, drinking in the smell of coffee. The little shop was cozy, filled with mismatched furniture and the rich smell of roasting beans. A chalkboard menu offered everything from lavender lattes to something called a ‘sunset brew’ that Luna had yet to try.

“So, how long are you staying?”

Helen asked Mia.

Luna tried not to look like she was listening.

“Undecided,” Mia said.

“That’s the best way,”

said Helen. “Undecided means endless possibilities.”

Luna climbed up onto a bar stool and put her chin in her hand, studying Mia. She looked like the head girl of any school she’d ever been to. Perfectly put together and perfectly perfect. Except there was something different about her. Luna found that she was curious to know what exactly that was.

“What?”

asked Mia, catching Luna looking at her.

“Just trying to decide what your poison is,”

Luna said conversationally. “Black coffee? No. I’m betting you’re drinking something sweet and complicated, right?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

scowled Mia.

“Just a vibe I get,”

shrugged Luna. “Try the cinnamon buns. They’re delicious.”

“It’s an hour before lunch,” Mia said.

Luna rolled her eyes and picked up a bun, taking a large bite.

“Here,”

Helen said, putting tall beakers of coffee in front of both of them. “Cinnamon lattes. The perfect accompaniment to a cinnamon bun.”

“I’m not eating a cinnamon bun,”

Mia pointed out. But she took a sip of the coffee anyway. “But this is amazing,” she said.

“I try my best,”

Helen said, blushing. “And don’t you mind about Luna, she teases everyone. I’m not sure she’d take her own funeral seriously. It’s just how she is.”

“Hey, I’m right here,”

Luna said, through a mouthful of cinnamon bun.

Mia sighed and picked up her coffee. “I’d better get this shopping back to the hotel. Thanks for the coffee. I’ll definitely be back for more.”

She spared Luna a glance. “Hopefully without running into you every time.”

“No promises,”

Luna said with a grin. She tore the roll that she was eating in half, handing one half to Mia, who took it instinctively.

“I told you I didn’t want to snack before lunch,”

Mia said, holding half the roll in one hand.

Luna slid down off her stool and shrugged. “Please yourself. But you really should. They’re excellent, and you only live once.”

She bade Helen goodbye and strolled out of the coffee shop, feeling Mia’s eyes on her as she left.

She felt a prickling in her stomach. There was something about this woman, and she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. She had a feeling that it might be exciting to find out, though.