Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

"Whoa! Careful, watch your step." Josie Garner laughed as her fiancé Wesley stepped off the edge of the sidewalk into the road. Snow was falling so thick and hard around them that it was hard to tell what was the sidewalk and what was the street.

"Thanks." He grinned at her. His glasses were fogging up from the cold, but his smile was as cheerful as ever. "Just keep steering me toward dry land, please."

She laughed again. They were making their way toward Tidal Wave Coffee, and it had started to snow hard shortly after they began their walk. "I will. I can't wait to get my hands around some hot coffee. No, hot cocoa. This is perfect hot cocoa weather."

"You're telling me." He almost stepped into the street again, and she had to grab his arm. "Oh boy." He laughed.

"Hey! We're saved. Land ho!" she teased as she caught sight of Tidal Wave Coffee up ahead.

They hurried toward it and stepped inside, both heaving sighs of relief as the door closed against the snow behind them. She hurriedly brushed flakes of snow off her coat sleeves and long blonde hair, then brushed off Wesley's shoulders while he worked on defogging his glasses.

"Thanks," he said, settling his glasses back on his face and smiling at her.

"Of course." She gave him a quick kiss.

"Hey, guys! Welcome in," Michael called from behind the counter. "You must really want some coffee to have come here in the middle of this blizzard."

"It's not supposed to last long." Wesley laughed as they approached the counter. "I thought we could beat it, but it started coming down hard when we were already on our way."

"Two hot cocoas please," Josie said, grinning.

"And a couple of apple Danishes," Wesley added. "Thanks, Michael."

"You got it." The coffee shop owner smiled as he began to work on their order with alacrity. "You want some espresso shots in those hot cocoas?"

"Oh my gosh, yes," Josie said, and Wesley laughed.

"Sure, for me too. How's business been?"

"Oh, great." Michael grinned. "Slow today because of the weather, but it's no big deal. I will say though, Josie, I miss when your sister used to bake for us. Bakery sales have gone down since she left."

"Oh!" Josie felt a bittersweet rush of emotion as she thought about her sister. Paige Garner was studying at a baking school in Providence, and Josie missed her terribly. It sounded as though she wasn't the only one—she made a mental note to tell Paige about what Michael had said. It was sure to make her sister happy to know that Blueberry Bay thought so highly of her baking skills. "She's really got a gift. I miss her baking myself." She laughed. "But mostly, I miss her ."

"How's she doing?" Michael asked. He knew Paige well since she'd been one of his employees at Tidal Wave Coffee before starting her studies at Flourish Baking School.

"Great." Josie nodded in answer, feeling pride in her sister. "She's at the top of her class. She says it doesn't even feel like school, she's having so much fun."

"That's amazing." The coffee shop owner grinned. "Honestly, I'm not surprised in the slightest though."

Once Michael had made their drinks, Josie and Wesley took their steaming mugs and their pastry plates over to a cozy corner near a window. Snow was still falling outside, but it seemed to be changing from a blizzard into lazy white flurries.

"Okay," Josie said eagerly, pulling a trim purple notebook out of her purse. She clicked a pen open and smiled at her fiancé. "Wedding planning here we come."

Although they had only gotten engaged recently, they'd wanted to have their wedding as soon as possible, and it was coming up soon. Since they both wanted to have a family, they didn't want to waste any time before getting married. Josie couldn't have been more excited—not only was she going to be the bride of the man of her dreams, but she loved planning events. She had a great head for details, and she loved arranging celebrations—and this was the most important celebration of her life. She and Wesley had decided to go to Tidal Wave Coffee that day so they could have a date together where they discussed some of the wedding details that still needed to be arranged.

He grinned at her. "Take it away, sweetheart."

She laughed. "We have the venue and food vendors and all of that settled already," she said, looking at her list with a sense of satisfaction. "We just need to decide on the cake flavor and some of the decorations."

Josie had known immediately who she wanted to have bake the cake for her wedding. It had been the easiest decision of all, besides saying yes to Wesley. When she'd been asked, Paige had eagerly agreed to make the wedding cake. Josie and Wesley had yet to decide on a flavor, however. They were torn between red velvet, lemon, and chocolate.

"We should try to finalize the guest list today too," he said.

She nodded, feeling a twist of anxiety. She'd been wondering about whether or not to invite her mother to her wedding. Josie and Paige's mom struggled with substance addiction, and Josie had learned many years ago that she needed to distance herself from her mother for her own well-being. Now that her wedding was approaching, however, she felt torn. She wanted her mother to be there, but she didn't know if her mother would be able to handle an event like that without making more than one person uncomfortable.

"I don't know what I should do about inviting my mom," she confided in him softly. "I want to invite her, but I don't know that it would be a good idea."

He nodded quickly, reaching out and squeezing her hand. Josie had told him about her complicated feelings about her mother in detail, and he knew what a difficult subject it was for her. "Well, let's talk about what you're thinking and feeling," he said gently. "Why do you want her there, and why are you worried it won't be a good idea?"

She sighed and squeezed his hand back. "I want her there because she's my mom and I love her. I would feel bad not inviting her—I want it to still be clear that I care about her. And I think, in the end, I would regret not having invited her."

He nodded and waited quietly for her to continue speaking.

"And I'm worried it wouldn't be a good idea because of how she behaves when she's struggling with her addictions. I know she's been making improvements, but there's no guarantee she's made enough progress to come to the wedding without causing some drama."

"I hear what you're saying. It's a complicated situation for sure. And it's all your own choice—whatever you decide is good with me. Just think about what you want and decide whether the positives outweigh the negatives."

She nodded, understanding what he meant. She thought about how sad she would feel if her mother wasn't there—even if her mother came and things were a little rocky, she knew she would feel worse about her mother not being there at all.

"I want to invite her," she said, taking a deep breath. "But I'll invite her and also lay down some ground rules, explaining to her what my boundaries are. I'll make sure she knows how important to me it is that she doesn't cross those boundaries. Then I'll leave it up to her whether she wants to attend or not."

"That sounds like a great idea, sweetheart," he said warmly. "I think that sounds like a really wise choice."

Josie nodded, smiling at him. She still felt nervous about inviting her mother to their wedding, but she now had a sense of peace about it. She would spend some time deciding what her boundaries were and how to phrase them politely but firmly, and then she would invite her mother to the wedding. "I hope it all works out," she said, letting out an exhale.

He leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I think there's a great chance it will. And whatever happens, I'm proud of you."

She leaned into his kiss, feeling happiness well up inside her. "Whatever happens, I'm going to be marrying you. That's the most important thing, and that can't go wrong."

"You're right." He grinned at her, his eyes taking on a tender look. "It's going to be an incredible day no matter what."

He wrapped an arm around her and squeezed her tightly. Still smiling at each other, they shared a sweet kiss.