22. Lydia

22

LYDIA

I t was Friday, so the gallery was super busy, especially with people staying in Blowing Rock for the weekend. The Mistletoe Mania Festival was one of the highly anticipated events during the Christmas holiday. It was romantic and perfect for couples who wanted to get away for a short vacation.

Violet and Ben left early to go out to dinner, but luckily, closing time was fast approaching. That didn't mean my work stopped tonight, though. Violet was leaving it up to me to choose the next photos of Ben's to put up in the gallery. He had so many great ones. I was tempted to put the same ones on display, but there were other photographs that deserved attention. However, that wasn't my only plan for the night. There was something I needed to do first.

I grabbed my coat off the back of my desk chair and was about to put it on when the door opened. Hailey walked in nervously and waved.

"Hey, best friend. I mean, if that's what you'll still let me call you."

Shaking my head, I set my jacket down on the desk and sighed. "Of course you can. I don't hate you for tricking me, Hailey."

She shrugged. "Well, when you never answered my calls, I started to wonder."

"I've just had a lot on my mind."

Hailey walked over to me and held out her arms. "I'm sorry for everything. Do you forgive me?"

I hugged her hard. "There's nothing to forgive. You were only trying to help your brother."

"Who is so in love with you," she said, letting me go. "I've known it for a long time."

That made me smile. "So I heard. Nice touch with dragging Daphne away at the Christmas Eve party last year so Jake and I could talk alone."

Hailey brushed off her shoulder. "I'm good like that." But then her smile faded. "But it's not like it did any good. You and Jake still aren't together." Her brows furrowed with concern. "What's going on with you, Lydia? I know you have feelings for Jake. You've had a crush on him ever since we were little kids."

"How do you know that?"

She placed a hand on my arm. "Because I know you . We've been inseparable for as long as I can remember." Her gaze roamed around the gallery, and she smiled. "Some people in this world are destined to be together." When her eyes met mine, her grin widened. "You and Jake are those people. Everyone has seen it for years: your sister, your grandparents, and even my parents. I don't know why you haven't."

I shrugged. "Apparently, I'm not good at keeping my eyes open to things like that."

She cocked her head to the side, regarding me curiously. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing," I replied, waving it off as if it wasn't a big deal. Not keeping my eyes open to others around me had almost cost the happiness of two people I loved.

Hailey moved closer, her expression serious. "Do you have feelings for Max? Is that why you don't want to be with Jake?"

"I never said I didn't want to be with Jake," I corrected. "It's complicated."

She nodded. "That's what Jake told me you said. What's the complication? If it's me, I don't have a problem with you and my brother being together. I think it would be the most amazing thing in the world."

"That's not it," I admitted.

"Then what is?"

There was nothing I could say that would make sense to her.

"I just need more time," I said. "You're not going to understand. But I'm hoping I'll know what to do soon."

Hailey pursed her lips. "Yeah, I don't understand. Just answer me one question, though."

I knew what she was going to ask and held my breath, waiting for the words to leave her lips.

"Do you love Jake?"

And there they were. Yes , I wanted to answer. I wanted to say it out loud and scream it from the rooftops, but I couldn't . . . not yet. I didn't want to be selfish. There was still Max to consider; I had to make sure he would be okay. What if my choice ruined his future? I couldn't do that to him, even if it meant not being with the man I truly loved.

When I didn't answer, Hailey sighed and backed away.

"All right, keep your feelings bottled up. I have to believe you have your reasons."

"I do," I answered, hoping she could see the truth in my eyes.

Her expression softened. "Oliver and I went to Jake's new house last night and had dinner."

"Did you like his place?" I asked.

She laughed but the humor didn't reach her eyes. "How could you not? It's huge and fancy."

"But it's not him," I replied.

"No," she agreed. "It's not him."

"Is he going to Mistletoe Mania tomorrow?"

Another humorless laugh escaped her lips. "Oh, goodness, no. He doesn't want to see you and Max together."

It killed me to know I was hurting him; all I needed was a little more time. Finding Margaret was the key to everything. If I could find her, I could get the answers I needed.

"I understand," I murmured, feeling the ache in my chest. "Hopefully, things will be better soon. Trust me, I'm trying to figure things out."

Hailey nodded. "Okay. Hopefully, you figure it out soon."

I hoped so, too.

She tapped her hand on the desk and turned for the door, waving a hand in the air. "I'm heading home. Stop ignoring me when I call you."

"Will do," I called out.

Once she was gone, I slipped on my jacket, grabbed my purse, and locked up the gallery. Since it was a Friday night, downtown Blowing Rock was packed. The restaurants were slammed, and people were out in their winter coats, enjoying their walks in the park, surrounded by the twinkling lights.

I walked over to the bench Margaret sat with me on during one of my time-traveling dreams and took a seat. Various people walked by, and I smiled. When there was a break in people passing, I kept my voice low and called out Margaret's name. The last thing I wanted was for others to think I was talking to myself.

"Margaret, please," I begged. "I need to talk to you. It's really important."

I waited a few minutes, and then a few minutes more. Maybe there were too many people around for her to appear. I got up and walked around the park, hoping she would be somewhere. I even looked around Main Street to see if I could find her bright yellow Beetle anywhere.

Unfortunately, there was no sign of it or her.

My phone rang and my heart skipped a beat, wondering if it would be Jake. I hadn't talked to him since he left my house. His absence left an emptiness inside me that I'd never felt before. Even though I'd gone a significant amount of time between his visits in the past, none of that compared to the hole his absence left within me now.

However, it wasn't him calling me. It was Max.

"Hi, Max," I greeted.

"Hey, you off work yet?"

I decided to make another round around the park. "I am. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie tonight. I could come over, if that's okay with you."

The feeling of guilt overwhelmed me. "Actually, I still have some work to do when I get home. Raincheck?"

"That's fine." Thankfully, he didn't sound upset. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Oh yes, and speaking of that," I said, brightening my voice. "My sister and her new boyfriend wanted to go together to the festival tomorrow. Kind of a double date thing. Perhaps we could catch dinner beforehand?"

"That'd be great," he replied.

"Awesome. Just plan to be at my house around five. Does that sound good?"

"Sounds perfect. I'll see you then."

We said our goodbyes and I put away my phone. After another hour of searching and waiting, I decided to head home. Work still needed to be done, and I hoped it would distract me from things. Sadly, I didn't think it would. I was getting desperate to find Margaret and I had no clue how to find her.