3. Madi

Chapter 3

Madi

Cole was right. I hadn’t spent as much time in Cozy Creek as my sisters over the last few years. I’d found it easier to go along with what Ross wanted to do, and he was a city kind of guy. Going on visits to Cozy Creek with me was the last thing he was interested in. I regretted it now that we were over. But at the time, I had looked at it as building my future with the man I intended to marry, hoping I could get him to love it here as much as I did.

I kept my eyes trained out the passenger window as he drove, letting them drift along the side of the highway as the forest became one big green blur.

“You awake over there?” he teased.

“Huh? Yes, sorry.”

Cozy Creek loomed in the distance, and the highway narrowed as we got closer to town. I sat up, happy that everything was the same. Downtown was even more adorable than usual as it had been decorated for fall. Potted mums decorated the entrances of most of the businesses while autumnal baskets of flowers hung from the light posts. I had to bite my lip and look away when we passed Gigi’s Cozy Creek Confectionery. I couldn’t believe I would spend the next month or two working there.

When we turned onto Gigi’s street and saw her house, I almost burst into tears. I felt a mixture of relief at being off the side of the highway and a feeling of being home. Warmth, acceptance, and love filled my heart.

Gigi’s place was an old split-level house with a gorgeous wraparound porch on a large lot filled with tall pines, a lush lawn—that I knew Cole kept mowed for her—and her magnificent rose garden. Of course, she also had a picket fence with a wisteria-covered trellis leading to the backyard and a pair of matching porch swings. Dark-stained wooden shutters and planter boxes stuffed full of annuals and trailing ivy decorated each street-facing window. This house could be a set piece straight out of a small-town movie.

But more than that, Gigi’s place felt like home, a real home—comforting and cozy, warm and inviting. And after how shitty I’d been feeling about myself ever since my breakup, I needed this. I needed to be around someone who wanted to love me, faults and all, without trying to fix me—well, too much, anyway. Gigi was a fixer, but it was all born from love and a deep knowledge of who I was.

My mother was all about impressing people. She threw business parties and frequently held office staff get-togethers at our house. It was part of her job, and I had always understood that. It was how she earned her living to care for us, after all. But I had to be so careful not to mess anything up. Our house was an extension of her office, and as such, it was very formal. I grew up not being allowed to sit in the living room, eating dinner in the dining room was forbidden to us kids, and god forbid I let my room get messy. What would our housekeeper think?

My sisters had grown up to be her mirror images. Of course, I loved them all; we were close and had all the fun together, but I often felt like the odd woman out. But those feelings could have been related to my inferiority complex. It frequently reared its head to cloud my judgment—at least, that’s what my therapist kept telling me.

Anyway, that was not how Gigi lived. You could kick up your feet and curl up with a book on her sofa, and she’d bring you a pillow and a drink, then join you with a book of her own. Formalities meant very little to her. She was more concerned with making sure we were comfortable.

Gigi’s house had always been like paradise to me. Think homemade quilts, knitted throws, and cross-stitched pillows on every piece of furniture. Her house always smelled like April Fresh Downy and chocolate chip cookies. Each time I’d visited her over the years, I’d always wished I could stay forever. I could breathe here. I felt free here, and I was myself here—the real me. And I knew Gigi would always be here for me, no matter what.

Relief covered me like a warm blanket as Cole pulled over to park at the curb. “Thanks for the ride,” I mumbled, keeping my tear-filled eyes aimed at the house and my face turned away from his.

“Hey, are you okay?”

I swiped the back of my hand beneath my eyes before turning to face him. “Oh, yeah. I’m totally fine.”

“Okay.” The sympathetic tone of his voice told me he knew I was full of crap. “I’ll help you carry your stuff inside. Sit tight, and I’ll get it for you.”

“Thanks,” I murmured, slamming my eyes shut as he opened his door and got out.

“Is that my baby girl I see?” I threw open my door as Gigi burst onto the front porch with Sir Basil hot on her heels, barking his furry little brain out and hopping up and down at her side.

I lost it. Tears ran down my face with abandon as I stepped out and ran to her. The last couple of months had been too much for me. I could admit it now that I was here and safe to let my emotions get the best of me. I needed a hug from my Gigi, dang it. I’d been hanging on by a thread, which had just unraveled.

Gigi was what I always wanted to be like when I grew up. She was fun, driven, savvy, and smart. But most of all, she loved her girls with her whole heart—Mom, my sisters, and I were her pride and joy, and she always made sure we knew it.

We were tall and curvy, just like her, and had brown eyes like hers, but her hair wasn’t brown like ours anymore. She had gorgeous, soft silver waves that fell to her shoulders. She was stylish and beautiful and always smelled like Chanel No. 5 and cookies. She felt like home.

“I missed you so much,” I cried into her shoulder as she gathered me close. “Oh no! Your ankle.” I tried to pull away, but she wouldn’t let me.

“It’s fine, honey. I need a big squeeze from my Madi, and I’m not done getting it.” Basil licked my ankle before scampering into the house, and I laughed.

“I needed this too. I’m so glad I’m finally here.”

She pulled back to take my cheeks between her palms, brushing my tears away with her thumbs. “Look at you. Still pretty as a picture. We’re going to have fun together, you and me.” She looked past me as Cole approached from his truck. “Thank you for getting my granddaughter home safe, Cole. I appreciate it.”

“My pleasure.” The deep timbre of his voice sent a shiver up my spine. “I’ll take these bags inside for you.” He nodded in my direction with a grin. Damn, his voice was deep and gravelly, like hot guy ASMR. I could listen to him talk all day. Even though he was nowhere near me, I swear I could feel his heat against my back. Goose bumps raced across the nape of my neck as his voice sent a shiver up my spine.

“Thank you so much, Cole. I owe you a coffee, a beer, or maybe a batch of brownies.”

“You don’t owe me a thing.” He looked at me indulgently. His blue eyes sparkled into mine as if he found me irresistible. “I’m happy I was around to help out. But I am tempted to take you up on the brownies. If they’re half as good as Gigi’s, I’ll be in heaven.”

“Uh…” I mumbled at a loss for words as Gigi laughed at my side.

“They’re even better, honey. Madi is a wonderful baker. She learned from the best, didn’t you, sweetie?” She winked at me.

“I sure did.”

He passed with my suitcases, grinning at us as he crossed the yard to the porch. “Would you like these in the guest room?” he asked.

“For now. She’ll be staying in the apartment above the bakery soon enough.”

“I will?” I followed Gigi to the house, watching Cole walk up the stairs.

“Yep. I have it all ready for you. But I’ll show you around tomorrow. Tonight, we’re having a girls’ dinner together.”

“That sounds perfect to me.” I inhaled deeply, smiling when I caught the familiar scents of chocolate, fresh laundry, and something else. “Did you make lasagna?” I asked, thankful that it wasn’t a cloud of Basil’s canine toots I was smelling as he sauntered through his doggie door.

“I sure did. I have all your favorites waiting for you in the kitchen. And you’ll need your own space while you’re here, so I fixed up the apartment for you. Maybe this time I can convince you to stay in Cozy Creek. I have a good feeling about this visit, and Basil does too. He’s been missing his morning walks.”

“Ahh, I see. You have ulterior motives. Is your ankle even sprained?” I joked.

“Unfortunately, yes, it is. I took a bad turn on a Cha Cha Slide at the community center and fell hard. I twisted it something fierce. This boot I have to wear is legit, I’m afraid.”

“I’m so sorry you got hurt.” I winced. “And I’m also sorry I accused you of fibbing about it.”

She tossed her head back with a laugh. “No apologies; I’ve earned that accusation over the years with my sneaky ways. And I’ll be okay, especially now that you’re here with me and rid of that albatross you’ve been hauling around for the last five years. Now that he’s gone, I can finally make you see that you belong right here in Cozy Creek.” Gigi was never fond of Ross, hence her nickname for him, Ross the Albatross.

“Okay, first, it was only five years, which I admit was a colossal waste of my time. Second, sometimes I wish I could stay, but Mom needs me. You know that.”

“Your mama can hire another event planner. You only get one life to live, Madi. And if you want to stay here in Cozy Creek after my ankle gets better, you will. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Wow. That was way too real after the day I’ve had.”

“All in due time, my love. Okay? We have plenty of time to talk everything through.”

“Yeah, we have time,” I whispered, already half hoping she’d be able to convince me to stay.

Collectively, we turned to the staircase as Cole made his way down. “You’re all set in the guest room. Let me know if you need help getting into the apartment tomorrow. I’ll be by the bakery in the morning after my jog, Gigi. But I’m happy to stop here and grab your things for you first, Madi.”

“You’re so sweet. Thank you. But I think I can manage. I don’t want to put you out any more than I already have.”

“It’s no trouble at all. Let me know if you change your mind. Gigi has my number. Have a good evening, ladies.” His blue eyes pierced the distance between us, moving over my face before settling on mine, studying me with a curious intensity before featherlike laugh lines crinkled at the corners, and he smiled. Damn…

I couldn’t help but think we had chemistry. Did he feel it too? Or was this just a bunch of misplaced wishful thinking on my part? Anything to distract from my own problems, right?

Once he closed the door behind himself, Gigi turned to me with a satisfied grin. “He likes you. I can already tell. Just like I knew he would.”

“He’s a nice guy and your neighbor. Plus, he grew up across the street from you. You’re the one he likes,” I insisted.

“Well, we’ll see about that, won’t we?” She had mischief in her sparkling eyes. But to be fair, she always had that look about her.

“No meddling,” I halfheartedly warned. “Promise me that whatever you have planned in your adorable little head, Georgia Renee Hale, you’ll unplan it right now.”

“Oh, you full-named me; this is serious,” she teased before donning a more earnest expression. “I would never meddle in affairs of the heart, honey. If I were a meddler, they would have discovered Ross the Albatross’s body at the bottom of the Cozy Creek Lake eons ago, right? That little turd, stringing you along like he did. I still want to give him a piece of my mind. He better not show his face in this town ever again, or I’ll⁠—”

“Fair enough,” I cut her off before she could get into an entire rant. Gigi had a temper, and it could get ugly. “You made your point, and I agree—he turned out to be the obtuse commitment phobe you always said he was. But obviously, I’ll still be keeping an eye on you.”

She held both hands up. “I’m the picture of innocence, I swear. Let’s have an early dinner and open a bottle of wine, shall we? Enough talk about meddling, planning, and matchmaking, okay? All I want is for you to be here, spending time with me, happy and content. And maybe—later, not tonight—start planning your future here in Cozy Creek.”

“That sounds perfect. I’m ready to get our time together started. And in the spirit of being comfortable and content, I will run upstairs, steal one of your caftans for the night, and dive face-first into a huge plate of lasagna.”

I knew she was attempting to appease me by saying she wouldn’t try to set me up with Cole, but I didn’t care. Gigi was harmless. All she wanted was for me to be happy. Whatever machinations she had dreamed up wouldn’t amount to much. I wasn’t truly worried.

“I’ll meet you at the table, my darling.”

“You have yourself a dinner date.” I laughed as Basil barked in agreement from his bed in the corner, then flopped over to go back to sleep.