Chapter 27

27

T wo weeks had passed since she said good-bye to Peter. She missed him so much, but was determined to let him move on and live his life without trying to take care of her. Parting again felt like picking at an old wound. The only positive aspect was that this time she and Peter had had the chance to say good-bye.

She tried to focus on the next two weeks. She needed to wrap up her life in Pebble Creek and get ready to move to Boston to start school. She carried dirty dishes past Penny, who kept peeking out the wide front window.

"What are you looking at?" Libby glanced out and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Oh, nothing, just watching traffic." She wore a crooked smile on her face.

Libby left Penny to her spying and returned dirty coffee cups to the dish cart. "What's got you in such a fine mood?" she asked as she grabbed two clean glasses .

Penny appeared at her side, grinning like a crazy woman.

"Everything okay?" Libby eyed her suspiciously as she filled a glass with orange soda.

"I'm really gonna miss you," she said, twisting a dish towel. Her boss was acting like a grandma gone kooky.

"What are you talking about?" Libby asked.

A loud rumbling sounded outside the building. The front window rattled.

"What is that?" Libby glanced up. Penny tried to block her view.

A familiar silver tour bus pulled up in front of the café. She immediately forgot the soda and looked to Penny in question. Her friend rewarded her with a warm and loving smile, but said nothing.

Libby staggered to the window in a trance. She'd recognize that bus anywhere. The massive vehicle filled the street, causing passersby to stop and stare. Peter was here! In Pebble Creek. He wasn't supposed to be here, yet her stomach flipped in anticipation of seeing him again.

The tour bus door opened. Libby held her breath. The amazing and gorgeous Peter Jamieson appeared on the steps and hopped off. Her heart nearly exploded with joy. He held something small in his hand. When he saw her in the window, a sexy smile crossed his face. Her heart melted and she bit her lower lip to hold back squeals of euphoria.

"That is one good-looking boy," Penny said from Libby's side .

She couldn't agree more. "Why is he here?"

"Get out there and find out." Penny nudged her toward the door.

Libby wiped her hands on her apron and stepped outside. She hoped the onlookers couldn't see how much she wanted to run and leap into his arms. Her eyes drifted to his and locked. She couldn't look away if her life depended on it.

"What is going on? Peter, why are you here?" She smiled. Not that he needed a reason. She knew now she'd been a fool to suggest they stay apart.

He flashed his sexy eyes. "First, here's a new phone. I hope you use it often." He smiled slow and easy with a casual confidence.

She accepted the new phone, her lifeline to Peter back and fully powered.

"After talking to DarLynn and your friends here, we decided you've been working too hard and need a vacation," Peter said.

She looked behind her to find DarLynn, Penny, and Jerrold beaming.

Peter continued. "So I've cleared my schedule. You and I are taking a road trip." He gestured and grinned toward the bus.

"But I still have two weeks left to work." She turned to Penny for explanation. She desperately wanted to go with Peter, but wouldn't leave Penny in a lurch.

"Don't you worry about a thing." Penny stepped forward and unpinned Libby's name tag. "Your boyfriend here gave me notice two weeks ago that you needed to quit early for this trip."

"Peter, is that true?" She turned to face him, thrilled that Penny referred to him as her boyfriend.

"I hope you don't mind. I didn't think you'd go without a team effort to kick you out of town."

The kindness in his eyes warmed her like a late summer sun. Words escaped her. Penny untied Libby's apron strings and slid the garment from her hips.

"You always said you wanted to travel the country, so we're going to see what we can fit in before you start college."

"Peter, why are you doing all this? Are you crazy?"

He grinned. "Yup, pretty much. There is no way I'm letting you go this easy. We have time to make up. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I bought a condo in Boston. Did you know that forty percent of the cities we tour are within five hours of Boston? Turns out you picked a perfect place to go to school."

Her mind was awhirl. With him based in Boston, they would have plenty of time to spend together without ruining his career or keeping her from school.

"I don't know what to say." It was difficult to take it all in.

"Listen," he said gently, and stepped closer. "No one can predict the future, but right now you're the most important thing to me. I will regret it for the rest of my life if we don't give this a chance."

He took her hands in his and caressed her scarred palms. "You say the word and I'll go away. It's up to you."

She looked in his beautiful eyes that were filled with love and devotion. He was her past, present and future. "When do we leave?"