Chapter 12

Wesley whistled as he walked down the street. It was a brisk, chilly day, but the sky overhead was a brilliant blue, and sunlight was shining on a thin blanket of snow. Wesley walked with determination, having already made up his mind about where he was going to go.

He was on his lunch break, and he knew how he wanted to spend it. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about Josie. He'd even had a couple of dreams where they went on long walks and talked for hours. In the morning he would wake up, wishing he could remember what they'd talked about in his dream. She fascinated him, and he felt drawn to her in a way that he couldn't explain. It was as if part of him had been awoken by her. He was curious about her, and he wanted to know more about her.

For a while, he'd considered trying to accidentally bump into her. He'd been on the lookout for her everywhere he went, and every time he went into Tidal Wave Coffee, he was hoping she would be there. He even spent more time wandering around town and going into various stores than he usually did.

But he hadn't seen her around town anywhere, so he'd decided that rather than hope to run into her by accident, he needed to have the guts to run into her on purpose.

And that was his current mission. He was on his way to intentionally run into Josie, and his heart was fluttering with excitement and nerves. He had something very important to ask her.

He glanced up at the office building of The Outlet as he approached it. Sunlight shone on the windows, and he smiled. He wondered if Josie was also on her lunch break. He hoped so.

He stepped up to the front door and tugged it open without knocking. Near the door, a couple was standing with their heads close together. They seemed to have been deep in conversation, but when he appeared, they turned to him, surprised.

"Uh, hi," said the man. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Wesley Cliff," he said, extending his hand for a handshake. "I'm here to see Josie Garner, if possible."

"Dane Taylor." His handshake was firm, and his smile welcoming. "This is my fiancée, Alissa Lewis."

"Nice to meet you both." Wesley glanced around the room, checking for any signs of Josie. "Is she here?"

As if conjured by his words, Josie entered the room at that moment, coming in from a hallway. She stopped dead in her tracks the moment she saw Wesley.

"Wesley!" He thought he noticed a slight flush appearing in her cheeks, but she frowned a little as if she was worried about seeing him. "What are you—what brings you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you." He felt a little nervous, noticing that she looked particularly beautiful that day. She was wearing a light green sweater that looked wonderful with the color of her hair.

"If you're here on business, you can talk about it in front of Alissa and Dane," she told him. "They know about what's going on."

He smiled, knowing that this was a change from her earlier situation. He was thrilled that she had told her friends about what had been going on in her personal life, like he'd suggested. I'm so happy she's not holding back as much, he thought. That's going to make things so much easier for her.

"Actually, I'm here for something else. Not business. Something personal." He considered asking her to go to a more private place with him for a moment, but then decided that he didn't want to wait any more. "I'm wondering if you'd like to go out with me sometime."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Alissa clap her hand to her mouth excitedly, but his eyes were focused on Josie. His heart sank when he saw how blank her expression was. She looked stunned—almost nervous.

She didn't speak for a moment, staring at him like a deer in the headlights. He felt his heart beating faster—he had thought she liked him, at least well enough to agree to a cup of coffee. But his fears were confirmed when she started to slowly shake her head.

"I—I can't," she said. "I'm sorry."

Wesley felt disappointment slosh through him like cold water. He nodded, also feeling a little embarrassed. "Okay."

No one seemed to know what to say. Josie stood staring at him, biting her lip, and he could see Alissa and Dane shuffling their feet uncomfortably out of the corner of his eye.

"Well, I guess I'll be going, then." Wesley mustered a warm smile. "I'll see you around."

She nodded, still looking stunned.

"Nice to meet you folks," he said to Dane and Alissa, and they murmured returns of the sentiment.

He stepped out of the building, feeling a little crestfallen. The cold winter wind rushed against his face, and he tucked his hands into his pockets.

He was fifteen paces away from the building when he heard the door open behind him. He turned and saw Josie running out after him.

"Wesley! Wait!"

She came to a halt in front of him. She wasn't wearing a coat, and she tucked her hands under her crossed arms, shivering.

"I'm sorry," she stammered. She was trembling and wide-eyed, and he wanted to hug her, but he stopped himself.

"You're freezing," he said. "Can I—"

She shook her head. "I wanted to tell you—what I told you back there was a kneejerk response. I didn't—I didn't really mean it. I was just so surprised. It was like for a minute I didn't even realize that I could say yes."

He watched her face. She was gazing up at him, and a light grew in her eyes as she kept talking.

"You were right that I haven't opened up to people a lot. And I should. I've kept to myself on purpose, and I haven't dated anyone here in Blueberry Bay on purpose. I've gotten so used to keeping people at arm's length that I automatically said no."

His heart lifted up as she smiled.

"But I should be more open to sharing my personal life with people. I should be more willing to open up. I would like to go out with you, Wesley. I'd like that very much."

He grinned, his heart pounding with relief.

"That's wonderful. I—" He laughed breathlessly. "I'm really glad."

She grinned back at him, shivering violently.

"Let's get you back inside," he said, gesturing to the door. "Then once we're in the warmth, we can discuss when we'd like to go out?"

She shook her head. "I already know. Are you free tomorrow night?"

"I am." He felt a rush of happiness. "Tomorrow night at the Homestead Grill?"

"I'll meet you there at seven."

"I can't wait."

For a moment, they stood there smiling at each other, and then Wesley gestured urgently for her to return to the office.

She laughed. "You're right, I am freezing out here. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I'll see you tomorrow." He beamed at her, and waved as she turned around and hurried back toward the building. She stopped and waved back at him at the doorway.

* * *

Alissa held her finger to her lips, signaling to Dane that she wanted to focus. She watched intently as Josie stepped back inside, her cheeks flushed and a huge grin on her face.

"What happened?" Alissa asked, leaving Dane and hurrying over to her friend. "What did you tell him?"

Josie laughed, her eyes sparkling. She seemed a little breathless and was still shivering from the cold. "I told him I'd go out with him."

"I knew it!" Alissa clapped her hands together, feeling so excited her voice was almost a squeal. "Oh my gosh, give me details. Did you decide when to go out yet?"

Her friend grinned and Dane rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Suddenly it's Christmas morning around here." He smirked.

"Ho ho ho." Alissa waved a dismissing hand at him, grinning. "Go to your office, Scrooge. Don't disturb our girl talk."

Winking at them, Dane went back into his office and shut the door. Alissa turned back toward her friend, beaming.

"Okay. Tell me all the details."

"I will. But first, you want to make some tea?"

A few minutes later, the two women sat down together by Josie's desk, both holding mugs of tea. Alissa had blackberry sage and Josie had ginger peach.

"Okay," Alissa said, leaning forward eagerly. "Tell me."

Josie stared into space, a glowing look on her face. "I'm not really sure where to begin, honestly."

"Well, who is he? You can start with that."

Josie laughed. "Actually, he's the local social worker who was assigned to Paige's case. He brought her here from Portland. That's how I met him."

"How romantic," Alissa said, taking a sip of her tea.

Her friend laughed. "Is it? Anyway, I thought he was really cute right away, and he was so nice—but honestly, at first, I just saw him as kind of a threat. Like, I was worried he was going to be getting too involved in my care of Paige. I was worried he was going to tell me I was doing something wrong."

Alissa nodded. "You were stressed."

"Oh, boy, was I. But I was also wrong about him. He was just doing his job, and he does it very well. And then after that…" Her voice trailed off as she stared into space, looking as though she was reminiscing about something.

"And after that!" Alissa prompted.

Josie grinned. "After that, I started to realize how kind he is. He gave me advice on how to handle everything with Paige. He's really nice."

"He does seem really nice. And he's clearly into you." She winked.

Josie laughed. "I hope so! I think he's so cute. I love his glasses."

"I think you two would make an adorable couple."

"Oh, hush! We haven't even gone out yet. Don't get ahead of me here."

Alissa grinned, feeling unrepentant. "Okay, okay. But I mean, in theory, you two really would make an adorable couple."

Josie smiled, flushing a little. "I'm feeling nervous. Definitely excited, but a little nervous. I haven't been on a date in so long."

"That's totally normal." Alissa stared into space for a moment, getting swept up in memories of when she and Dane first started dating. "Butterflies are good. Butterflies mean that you care, and you have a lot of positive, hopeful feelings toward someone."

Her friend groaned, taking another sip of her tea. "I've got too many positive feelings, then. I wish they would calm down."

Alissa shook her head. "You never know how things are going to turn out when you first start dating someone. Don't try to have too many answers too quickly. Let him surprise you."

"You have a very sappy smile on your face right now," Josie said, laughing. "You wouldn't happen to be thinking about anyone in particular right now, would you?"

Alissa grinned. "I make no confessions." She was thinking about Dane, of course. He'd completely swept her off her feet, but it had happened little by little. "But I am hoping that the same kind of thing happens for you. I hope you find love."

"Slow down!" Her friend hid her face behind her mug of tea.

"You're right, you're right! And that's my advice to you anyway. Take things one day at a time. Don't try to figure out everything at once."

Josie nodded. "Speaking of taking things one day at a time, how about tomorrow? What should I wear?"

"Ooh, a great question! Where are you guys going out to eat?"

"The Homestead Grill."

"Perfect. So not too casual or too dressed up. Right in the middle."

Josie groaned. "I feel like that's the hardest."

Her friend waved her hand through the air. "How about jeans and a blazer? Paired with heels and nice jewelry? That'll be on point."

Josie smiled, looking grateful. "You're right. That would be good. And that light blue blazer I just bought looks great with my hair." She tossed her beautiful long hair as she said it, giggling.

"Yes! Send me pictures of your outfit tomorrow, I want to see it."

"I will." Josie smiled, drank the last gulp of her tea, and let out a long sigh. "Thanks for talking with me about it, I really appreciate it. I feel a lot less jittery than I did."

"That's what friends are for! I'm absolutely on call for you if you need me."

The two friends beamed at each other for a moment, and then Alissa stood up. "I guess we should get back to work." She winked.

They turned back to their respective workloads, and Alissa found that she had more energy than usual. She was thrilled for Josie. Wesley seemed like a kind, thoughtful man, and she was looking forward to hearing about how the date went.

She was halfway through an article when she noticed an email pop up in her inbox. Her eyebrows lifted when she noticed that it was from her publisher.

Oh, this is about the book, she realized, pressing her lips together. She still hadn't made a decision—her dilemma didn't seem to be becoming any easier with time—in fact, she felt more indecisive than ever.

"We wanted to follow up in regard to our earlier offer and find out if you had an answer for us yet," she murmured, reading part of Chuck's email out loud.

She let out a long exhale, suddenly feeling overwhelmed, as if a hand had reached out and was now tugging on her sleeve. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she wondered what to reply.

She had to tell him that she still hadn't made her decision, that much was clear to her. But she didn't know how to phrase that.

Or should she just take a leap right then and there, and make a spur of the moment decision?

She bit her lip, glancing out the window. I can't make a decision now, she thought. It's too important. I've got to really take the time to think about this.

But the truth was that she had been thinking about it, and still hadn't come to a conclusion. She felt as though she should say yes, but her gut kept tugging her away from that decision. She didn't want to say yes, but she didn't know why. She didn't know what was holding her back.

Alissa shut her eyes for a moment, and then turned back to her computer. For now, she would respond to the publishing company and let them know that she was still considering it.

And then, soon, she needed to make her decision.