Chapter 7

Josie hummed a little to herself as she clicked rapidly away at a spreadsheet. It was Wednesday afternoon around one o'clock, halfway through the week, and she was reflecting that she'd managed to stay expertly on top of her work at The Outlet as usual, despite how distracted she'd felt about how things were going with Paige. Today, however, she felt much better about everything. Her conversation with Wesley had bolstered her spirits, and she felt hopeful that her relationship with her sister would improve as time wore on.

She had just saved the spreadsheet and was taking a sip of her cup of hazelnut coffee when Alissa appeared around the corner. There was an impish smile on Alissa's face, and Josie wondered why her friend was looking so mischievous.

"Hey, Josie," Alissa said, sashaying up to Josie's desk. "Do you have a minute?"

Josie laughed and leaned back in her chair, taking another sip of her coffee. "Considering my boss is also your fiancé, I don't think we'd get into too much trouble if we took a break." She winked at Alissa.

"Amazing. I'll be right back."

Josie watched as Alissa darted back out of the room. Josie felt a little wistful, wishing she also had something to be that happy over. But as soon as Alissa reappeared, Josie caught some of her enthusiasm.

"Oh!" Josie gasped, grinning at the box of fondant candies that Alissa was holding. "Those are adorable!"

"Aren't they?" Alissa set the box down on the side of Josie's desk. "Eat one," she urged her. "They taste even better than they look."

The candies were brightly colored—even the chocolate-covered ones had swirls of colored fondant decorating them. Each of the candies was shaped like a heart. Half of them were covered in white chocolate, and the others were made of pale pink, mint green, and sky-blue fondant.

"Oh my goodness," Josie said the moment she'd swallowed a sweet, moist mouthful of the candy. "Those are incredible. Is that an orange flavoring?"

"Yes!" Alissa said. "I want to have them as favors for the bridal shower. What do you think?"

"Oh, absolutely." Josie beamed at Alissa. "These are fantastic."

"I wanted your opinion because I have to order them now if we're going to have them in time," Alissa said, handing Josie another candy to eat. This one was covered in white chocolate, with minuscule pink flowers covering the top of it. "They're specially made by a small business in Lewiston. I have to put in the order today in order to have them at the shower."

"Which is two weeks away." Josie nodded. She always remembered dates, especially important ones. "Oh, I say go for it." She took a bite of the candy that Alissa had handed her and nodded again. "For sure." She laughed, pretending to fan herself over how delicious the candy was.

"Great." Alissa grinned down at the box of fondants, and then she lifted her eyes to Josie. Her smile faded a little.

"What is it?" Josie asked, finding herself leaning backward almost warily. Alissa was gazing at her with a slight frown on her face.

"Is everything all right, Josie?" Alissa asked softly.

Josie blinked, feeling her heart start to flutter nervously. She'd thought that she'd been doing a good job of hiding her emotions there at the office. "Of course it is, Alissa. Everything is fine." For a moment, both women stared at each other, and then Josie said, "Why do you ask?"

Alissa shook her head. "Josie, you're a wonderful friend." Her tone was gentle, and Josie got the impression that she was confessing something that she'd been wanting to say for a while. "I really value our friendship. I really value you. But—well, I wish I knew you better. You keep so much to yourself, and it feels like we've kind of hit a wall in our friendship. No matter how much we talk or how much time I spend with you, it feels like you're holding something back."

Josie's lips parted. "Alissa, I—" She inhaled. "When I came to Blueberry Bay, I wanted to start a new life. I wanted a life that was vastly different from the one I knew before. And I've left that life behind me. I don't feel a need to talk about my past or share those memories with other people." Josie watched as Alissa's frown of concern deepened. She felt bad for keeping herself closed off from her friend, but she didn't feel ready to share more about her life. Not yet anyway. "Maybe someday we'll talk about my past, Alissa," she said gently, "but we have no reason to talk about it now. We have the present to focus on!" She smiled briskly. "We've got the success of The Outlet to worry about, and we've got to think about your bridal shower."

Alissa returned Josie's smile, but she still looked wistful. "All right. Thanks for helping me choose these." Her smile brightened. "What colors do you think we should order?"

As the two women continued to excitedly discuss the candies, Josie was distracted. Her mind hovered over the problem that she wouldn't be able to conceal her past forever. She'd been trying to keep her history to herself ever since she arrived in Blueberry Bay.

So far, she'd managed it. No one in Blueberry Bay knew what kind of a life she'd lived before she'd moved there. She'd never been romantically involved with anyone in town, which had made it even easier to keep her personal history to herself.

But that had changed now that Paige had moved in with her. Some people already knew that Josie had her sister staying with her now—although they didn't know the details.

I can't keep running from my past, Josie thought. Sooner or later, I'm going to have some explaining to do.

* * *

"I think you're right." Alissa smiled down at the fondant candies. "The pale pink paired with the mint green. And white chocolate, of course."

Josie smiled back at her. "They're going to look amazing, especially with those mint green tablecloths you picked out."

Alissa felt a wellspring of satisfaction. Parties were always fun, but she'd never gotten this much enjoyment out of planning one before. The two women continued to chat about the shower for another few minutes, and then Josie glanced at the clock.

"I'm expecting a phone call here in a few." She pretended to grimace.

"Okay. Back to the old grindstone." Alissa winked at her. She gathered up the box of fondant candies—she and Dane could finish them later—and walked across the office to her desk.

Sure enough, in another couple of minutes, Josie got a call. Alissa watched her friend as she spoke on the phone. Josie's voice sounded as chipper and cheerful as usual, but Alissa noticed that she wasn't moving with her usual energy, almost as if she was tired.

Or sad. I wonder what's going on with her, Alissa mused. I wish she trusted me enough to tell me.

Alissa kept wondering about Josie for the rest of the workday. She gave her friend a cheerful wave as Josie was leaving the office, but the moment the door closed behind her, Alissa let out an exhale.

"I hope you're okay, Josie," she murmured.

"Are you ready?" Dane appeared in the doorway to his office, wearing a gray scarf tucked into his jacket and a matching knit hat.

"Yup." Alissa grinned at him, standing up to grab her purse. "Let's go."

"My place for dinner still, right?" he asked as they stepped outside. A chilly wind, wet from the ocean, rushed against their faces.

"Brr." Alissa shivered and tucked her arm into Dane's for warmth. "Yes."

Even more than the work of preparing for the bridal shower, Alissa had been enjoying the house hunting that she and Dane had been doing together. They wanted to find a place to live together after the wedding—somewhere new and wonderful, that suited both of them. Alissa wondered if they might look together again after dinner that night, scrolling through home listings online with Dane was now her favorite hobby. Temporarily, at least.

They got into Dane's car and he began to drive them to his place. "How was your day?" Dane asked, reaching over and resting a hand on her thigh.

"Good," she said, smiling at him. "Josie and I picked out the colors for the fondant candies for the shower." She shook the box in her hands. "We get to eat these later."

He grinned. "Amazing."

Alissa stared out the window, suddenly lost in thought as she was reminded about her concerns over Josie.

"Is everything all right?" Dane asked her, noticing her thoughtful expression.

"I hope so." She sighed. "Josie seems to have something going on in her life. Something that might be upsetting her. I've tried to ask her about it, but she won't tell me what's going on."

He nodded. "I have noticed that she seems a little distracted lately."

"Yes! So it's not just me, then. I hope everything's all right."

"I'm sure she's fine. Having her sister staying with her must be a lot to deal with."

Alissa's jaw dropped. She turned and stared at Dane. "Her sister is staying with her?"

"That's what I heard. I don't know much about it—Josie didn't say anything to me herself—but I guess her sister is a senior in high school and moved here to Blueberry Bay just a little while ago."

Alissa frowned, processing the information. She felt hurt that Josie hadn't mentioned it to her. No, more than that, Josie had deliberately not told her, since Alissa had asked her about what was going on in her life.

She's definitely keeping walls up around her personal life, Alissa thought. She pressed her lips together. I mean, that's fine. But I'd been hoping we could be good friends, not just work acquaintances.

Dane glanced at Alissa. "You're worried about her?"

She nodded. "A little, I guess. And I feel kind of bad. I'd been hoping she would share things with me—that she trusted me that much—but this makes me feel like maybe Josie doesn't want a real friendship with me. Or maybe it means that she'll just never open up enough for us to have a real friendship."

Dane gave Alissa a reassuring smile. "I think it will all end up working out. Josie clearly likes you a lot. As long as you stay open to being close friends with her, I'm sure she'll open up eventually." His eyes were on the road as he pulled up into the garage.

"I hope so." She sighed again.

"Hey." He winked at her as he parked the car. "Remember how you won me over? You can win anyone over. You're just that charming."

Alissa grinned. She leaned over and kissed him before they got out of the car. "Why thank you."

He held her hand as they walked inside. She was grateful for his reassurances.

As long as I'm patient and stay supportive, hopefully Josie will open up to me eventually,she thought.