The next morning Mark headed into town. He had to admit he felt lighter than he had in weeks. It was so nice to finally talk to someone about how he felt about that night Ian got hurt. And she understood his guilt, his feelings. She was right that he should make peace with it, though. Ian didn’t blame him. Mr. Mason didn’t.
It was just him. He blamed himself.
He didn’t really have plans for his day. Just wander around town a bit and see what caught his attention. He might pop into Collette’s shop—for some tea and cookies, not to see her. Oh, who was he kidding? Of course it was to see her. Last night, he’d felt so close to her. He’d almost kissed her but stopped himself. He had no idea how she felt about him. They’d only known each other for a little over a week now. And really, she was so accomplished. Well-read. Traveled the world. Beautiful. He could list off a million things that held them apart.
He pushed the thoughts aside and decided to go to Parker’s General Store. It wasn’t really a hardware store like Mason’s, but he still was interested to see what it was like.
He crossed the street and pushed through the door to Parker’s. A woman with a welcoming smile greeted him. “Good morning. Welcome to Parker’s.”
“Morning.”
“What can I help you find?”
“I’m not sure. I just wanted to come in and see the store. Then I might treat myself to breakfast at Sea Glass Cafe.”
“Melody made cinnamon rolls today. I’m Donna, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Donna.”
“Browse around and let me know if I can help you.”
He wandered the aisles, looking at how they’d organized the merchandise. He would have done some of them differently, but he did like how they had a well-sorted section of phone cords, chargers, and cases. He made a mental note to do that at Mason’s. Why hadn’t he thought of a section of those?
He walked through the opening from the general store to the cafe and got a table. A young girl, maybe about sixteen or so and full of energy, came up to the table. “Hi, welcome to Sea Glass Cafe.” She handed him a menu. “I’m Emily. Oh, and the cinnamon rolls are great here. Melody is just pulling another batch out of the oven.”
“You’ve sold me. A cinnamon roll and coffee, please.”
Emily hurried away, stopped at a nearby table for a minute and spoke to the couple sitting there, then headed into the kitchen. He could smell the enticing aroma of cinnamon and yeast drifting through the cafe.
A man came in—he was sure he’d met him at Violet’s—what was his name?
Violet. Rose. Collette. Melody. Ethan. The names he’d memorized at the first happy hour popped into his mind. Ethan, that was it.
Ethan stopped at his table. “Morning. Mark, isn’t it? Met you at Violet’s.”
“Ethan, hi. I just stopped in for what I hear are delicious cinnamon rolls.”
“Word is out. Melody made fresh rolls today.” Ethan grinned. “I came in for one myself.”
“Care to join me?” His offer surprised him. It wasn’t like him to ask a stranger to join him.
“Sure.” Ethan dropped into the seat across from him.
Emily came back with his coffee and turned to Ethan. “Ethan, morning. Coffee, black?”
“Yes, please, and a cinnamon roll.”
Emily grinned. “The twins were in early this morning and had the cinnamon rolls. By now, I’m sure half the town knows Melody made them today. We’ve sold a ton of them this morning.” She went and got coffee for Ethan, then went to wait on another table filled with high-school-aged kids talking and laughing.
The anticipation of the cinnamon roll was killing him. His stomach growled as he picked up his coffee cup and took a sip.
“So, are you enjoying your vacation?” Ethan asked.
“I am. Doing a bit of exploring. Taking time to read some books. Well, listen to books.”
“Ah, I’m an audiobook fan myself. Dyslexic, so reading is hard for me. But with the audiobook, I can just get lost in it without any struggles.”
He stared at Ethan in amazement. He’d just blurted out he was dyslexic with absolutely no sign of embarrassment or excuse. How did he do that?
Before he knew what he was doing, for the first time, he was divulging his own deep, dark secret. The one his mother told him to never tell anyone or they’d think he was stupid. The one the teachers had known but that he tried so hard to hide from anyone else. “Ah, I’m dyslexic, too. And I just discovered audiobooks. Don’t know what took me so long.”
“Great way to devour books, isn’t it? Have you read any of Rob Bentley’s books?”
“I just finished his newest one last week. So good. I swear I did nothing but listen to that book for hours on end. I couldn’t wait to hear how it finished, but then, I was kind of sorry it ended.”
Ethan laughed. “I felt exactly the same way.”
Melody came out of the kitchen carrying two plates of cinnamon rolls. “Gentlemen, your breakfast.”
“Thanks.” He reached for his.
“Uh, hi, Melody.” Ethan stared at Melody, barely taking his eyes off her.
“Ethan, I knew you’d be in when you heard I made cinnamon rolls. Luckily, I made a double batch.” She smiled at both of them, but her gaze lingered a bit longer on Ethan. Or maybe he was imagining it.
He took a bite. “This is wonderful.”
“Thanks. Evelyn taught me how to make them. I use her recipe. I still say hers are better, but I’m almost there.”
“You’re great.” Ethan blurted out, his cheeks reddening. “I mean, the rolls are great. As good as Evelyn’s or better.”
She laughed. “Thank you. I better go back to the kitchen. Just wanted to say hi.”
Ethan watched Melody as she left, the spots of red still highly visible on his cheekbones. Was there something there between Melody and Ethan?
“So, Melody. She seems nice.” He watched for Ethan’s reaction.
“She is.” Ethan looked down quickly and took a bite of his roll.
“Have you known her long?”
“Ever since she came to town. About ten years or so ago.”
“Single?”
“Who, Melody? She’s a widow.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. Recent?”
“Been a few years now.”
“That’s tough being a widow so young.”
Ethan nodded.
“And you’re dating Melody?”
“What, no. Just friends.” Ethan shook his head vehemently.
They’d looked like more than friends when he’d seen them together at happy hour and here at the cafe. But what did he know? “Oh, I guess I got that wrong.”
“Yes, Melody is… wonderful. She’s smart, pretty, funny. Everyone loves her.” He shook his head. “She wouldn’t be interested in someone like me.”
“You never know.”
“I’m not even in her league.”
Ethan’s words rang in his ears. Hadn’t he said the exact same thing about Collette? That he wasn’t in her league?
“Besides, like I said. Melody is a widow. She was so in love with her husband. They were the perfect couple, and he was a great guy. Funny. Kind. Always lending a helping hand to anyone who needed it. And he could tell a joke that would have the entire room laughing. He was just so outgoing, sociable, and full of life. Different than me.”
“But you’d like to ask her out?” He eyed Ethan.
“I… I’ve thought about it. I doubt she’d say yes. And you saw Melody. She’s beautiful. I’m just a boring old insurance guy.”
He chewed his bottom lip. Here was Ethan, thinking he didn’t measure up. But he did. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy. “I think you should ask her out.”
“I couldn’t.” Ethan shook his head again.
“Why not?”
“Because… because… what if she said no? It would just be so awkward then.”
“What if she said yes?” He leaned back in his chair. He had a strong feeling that she would.
“I don’t know…”
“Well, I think you should think about it.”
Ethan sat silently as he finished his cinnamon roll with no less than a dozen glances back toward the kitchen. It was too bad Ethan thought he wasn’t good enough for Melody. Of course, he thought the exact same thing about him and Collette. That she was smart, well-read, traveled, and exceptionally good-looking. And he was just his plain old self.
He and Ethan were quite the pair.