Page 89 of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe

Norman gave a stiff nod. ‘I know. My actions are unforgivable.’

‘Already forgiven, Norman,’ Jeanie said, and Dot cut her a look, but her aunt’s face was already softening. Jeanie’s attention flicked back and forth between Dot and Norman, but she might as well not exist with the way they were locked in each other’s gaze. She gave her aunt’s shoulder an encouraging nudge.

‘I suppose, if Jeanie forgives you, I could, too. Maybe.’

Norman let out a sigh, his posture relaxing but the angst still etched into his features. ‘I was hurt,’ he said. ‘When you left, I thought, well, after all these years working together, I thought it just made sense for me to buy the café. That I should take it over for you.’

‘Or you could have come with me.’

‘What?’ Jeanie clapped a hand over her mouth, not meaning to cut in again, but really, what?!

Norman blinked, his mouth opening and closing before words finally escaped. ‘Dorothy ... I don’t understand?’

Her aunt let out a long sigh. ‘Of course, you don’t. I suppose that’s half my fault. But the reason I didn’t leave you the café was because I hoped you might retire, also, and that we could ... we could finally...’ Dot’s words trailed off as Norman sank down into the nearest chair.

‘I d-didn’t know,’ he stammered.

Dot gave a feeble shrug, all the anger draining out of her. ‘I never told you.’

Jeanie had never seen her aunt be anything other than confident and strong, moving through the world in exactly the way she wanted to. But now, looking across the table at the man she had apparently been in love with for years, Dot looked shy, nervous even, and Jeanie could feel the butterflies reflected in her own stomach.

‘Maybe we should go—’ Logan whispered, but Jeanie waved him away.

‘Shush.’ She wasn’t about to leave now. Things were just getting good. This town was really rubbing off on her.

Norman reached across the table and grabbed Dot’s hands. ‘Dorothy, I’ve been in love with you for years.’

Dot sniffled and Jeanie slid her a napkin. She’d never in her life seen her aunt cry. Dot dabbed her eyes and then placed her hands back in Norman’s.

‘I should have told you sooner,’ she said. ‘But I was afraid, I guess.’

‘Afraid of what?’

She shrugged. ‘That you wouldn’t love me back.’

Norman shook his head. ‘Impossible.’

Jeanie smiled, even as Logan took her hand under the table and tried again to tug her away, to give her aunt some privacy.

This time, Jeanie agreed, and the two of them got up and stood together behind the counter, watching Dot and Norman scoot closer and closer together until her aunt’s head rested on his shoulder.

Jeanie sighed. ‘Imagine loving someone for so long and never saying it,’ she murmured.

‘Icanimagine it,’ Logan said, the gruffness of his voice hiding the emotion Jeanie knew was behind it.

‘You can? You told me you loved me after like a month,’ she said, leaning her shoulder against his, loving his sturdiness.

He let out a small laugh. ‘I know, but you made it easy.’

She smiled. ‘I did?’

‘Yeah. You were kind of obvious.’

‘Hey!’ She swatted him playfully on the arm. ‘You were pretty obvious, too.’

‘Oh, really?’

‘Well. Nothing says I love you like installing new locks.’