Chapter Ten

Bridget hummed and held Jack’s hand across the console of her car as she navigated the streets of Fallbank. Sarah looked out the car window at the freshly planted purple and blue flowers in the planters lining the sidewalks and quaint Springtime in Fallbank lamppost banners. The rain had moved on from this morning and patches of sunlight broke through the puffy clouds now dotting the sky. She had to admit, the town did a great job of refreshing the landscape with each season. The warm welcome feel of Fallbank was something she missed in Seattle. Seattle boasted plenty of entertainment, culture and architecture, but there was something magical about a small town.

Jack lifted his entwined hand with Bridget and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. She turned to him with the sappiest, loving look and beamed. Sarah pictured hearts streaming out of her sister’s eyes.

Sarah glanced at Becca in the backset next to her and faked gagging. Becca’s giggle and emphatic nod had chuckles bubbling up in Sarah. At least she had a partner in solidarity on the mushiness. Sarah loved it in romance books when the characters mooned over another but in real life it was obnoxious…or maybe that was her envy talking.

“What’s so funny?” Bridget asked.

“Nothing,” Sarah and Becca answered in unison. More laughter ensued and soon, the two were wiping tears and unable to control the wild hilarity gripping them.

Jack glanced back at them with a furrowed forehead. “No clue. They’ve lost it, I guess.”

“Oookay,” Bridget drawled. “I don’t know what’s so funny about cake tasting, but I can’t wait.”

Sarah gasped for breath and calmed her cackling. “Sorry. I don’t know what got into us. You know how laughter is contagious and sometimes can’t be stopped.” She cleared her throat. “So what kind of flavors are you thinking? And why did the two of us need to tag along?”

She couldn’t say spending time with Jane—the woman who’d gone out with Cornelius and Sarah wasn’t jealous of at all—was the top of her list. Or listening to her sister and Jack sing Jane’s praises with about her baking. A small, petty part of her wondered if Jane was going to bomb wedding cake making, yet she knew with all the other pastries and food making Jane did for the Wild Rose, it wasn’t a strong possibility. Ugh, she hated feeling like this. She shouldn’t dislike someone because of who they dated. Sarah had broken up with Cornelius years ago. They’d both dated others. Sarah knew this. It hadn’t been an issue in the past. She also hadn’t had to see it before.

Getting back to Seattle was becoming more pressing by the day. While the work she’d done for the couple of local businesses was fun, staying here and watching Cornelius and Jane fall in love was the worst. Her heart seemed hellbent on reminding her of all the ways she hadn’t moved on from Cornelius. Trivia night had been a trial. Though she had pretended not to, she had watched the two of them like a hawk—every time he smiled or she laughed, their chatting back and forth, the way he brought her out of her shell…Cornelius’ hand on her lower back as he guided them toward the door.

“Chocolate, for sure. We’ll see what Jane pairs together with it,” Bridget said, shaking Sarah from her thoughts.

Jack threw a grin her way. “Bridget and I thought it would be fun to do this all together. Since the wedding will be small and intimate, we wanted planning to include those closest to us.”

A frown crossed Bridget’s face. “Although Gran is stuck at the store. I wish she could have come, but with Arianna’s upcoming mid-terms, she needed the weekend to study.”

Becca piped up. “Gran is at her happy place and wanted us to be able to go. You know she doesn’t mind running the store. Anything that makes her feel useful.”

“You’re right, but she’d be useful with cake tasting, too. Speaking of, we’re here!” Bridget announced then bounded out of the car. Sarah blew out a sigh and shook her head. Her little sister was in love and getting married and freaking ecstatic. It was wonderful…for Bridget. Sarah, on the other hand, sucked in a breath and steeled herself. “Be pleasant. Be happy. Stuff your mouth with cake,” she muttered to herself as she trailed behind them into the inn.

To her surprise, Cornelius was waiting for them in the foyer. “Hey.” He waved to the group.

“We’re all going to eat cake?” Sarah’s question popped out before she could switch on her filter. “I mean, not that this won’t be entertaining. Five people seems like a lot, that’s all.” Awkward much? Way to dump all over your sister’s excitement.

Bridget threw a sassy look her sister’s way. “We wanted the three of you with us. We’re family.”

Sarah couldn’t argue that, so she found herself trudging along into a sitting area where Jane had a tray of tiny squares of different cake options. “Hi. Come on in and make yourselves comfortable.” Jane peeked over at Cornelius and smiled in his direction.

Sarah refused to look at him to see his response. Instead, she glanced over at the different varieties of baked goods in front of her. All were cut into perfect squares with soft white frosting that had white scrollwork piped across it. The result was a subtle, elegant and simple design, given the same color was used for all of the decorating. Nothing fussy or frilly, exactly like Bridget. Jane had hit the design on the nose.

“These look outstanding,” Jack said as he settled next to Bridget. Becca followed, leaving Sarah and Cornelius on a second, shorter couch. His knee pressed against hers as he sat and Sarah held herself rigid. His scent of earth and fir tree filled her nose and her body reacted. Her insides turned gooey and wet warmth tingled between her thighs. He’d always turned her on so easily. She closed her eyes for a moment to clear her mind and cool her body. All she wanted was to eat cake and get the heck out of here. If she could also not see Cornelius and Jane together, that would be an extra dose of spectacular-ness.

Jane handed around different flavor options for them all to try—lemon, raspberry, vanilla cream. The favorite, though, was a rich chocolate ganache with a whipped cream on top sandwiched between two layers of the most delicious chocolate cake that had ever been in Sarah’s mouth. The decision hadn’t been close, despite all of the options being tempting. The buttercream was silky and light, not too sweet and the perfect complement to all of the varieties. No doubts were left that Jane wouldn’t bake the perfect, mouthwatering wedding cake.

Did she have to be so good at…everything? Jane already had a great B&B, was sweet, promoted local stores within her own and now made amazing, melt-in-the-mouth cakes, too? It wasn’t fair. Couldn’t she be bad at something?

Sarah winced at her unkind internal musings. She shoved another forkful of deliciousness into her face. God, what was wrong with her? Why was she so…so…jealous all the time? Had she wanted to break up with Cornelius in the first place? No, but there wasn’t a choice. It had to have been done. And it was years ago. Why couldn’t she get past it?

Because you still love him.

Sarah choked on her bite. Alarmed faces looked her way as she coughed.

“Are you okay?” Becca asked as she stood and hovered closer.

“F-fine.” Sarah hacked. “Just trouble swallowing.” She gulped in air with a shaky smile, then grabbed the glass of water in front of her and drained it. “All good now.”

Jane hopped up. “Do you need more water? I’ll get you more.”

“No, no. It’s not necessary.” She stood. “I’m just going to duck into the bathroom.”

Sarah raced off, and once inside the restroom, she pressed her hands onto the counter and stared at herself in the mirror. “What the hell?” she whispered. “No. I’m over him. I am not in love with Cornelius.” Care about him? Sure. Lingering romantic-ish type feelings? Check. Horny and want to jump his bones? Also yes. But love? Love love? Nope. No, no, no. Yoga breathing for a moment, Sarah rolled her shoulders back and opened the door and was hit with the sight of Cornelius.

Crap. She was one-hundred percent still in love with him.

 

Cornelius waited for Sarah to say something or move, but she just peered up at him with her lips parted. “Sarah?” He furrowed his brow. “You okay?”

“H-hi,” she stammered and blinked. Darting her eyes from side to side, she cleared her throat. “Um, sorry. Yeah… All good. What’s up? Did I miss something?”

“No. I was waiting to, you know.” He waved a hand toward the restroom. Why was she acting so odd? Why wouldn’t she look at him again?

“Oh. Shit, right. I’m being so weird.” Sarah edged around him and took off for the other room like her pants were on fire.

“O-kay,” Cornelius muttered. Once he was done in the bathroom, he came back out to find Jane at the front desk, checking in a couple. As they walked toward the curved wooden staircase, she spotted him and smiled—a real grin that lit up her face.

He answered her expression and headed her way. “I guess we’re all done? Those cakes were incredible, Jane.”

As a blush crept across her cheeks, she answered, “Thanks, Cornelius.”

“So, I’ll see you tonight, then?” They’d landed on dinner together and while Cornelius couldn’t say he was excited, he had promised himself to give this more of a chance. His father’s words about seeing him settled echoed in his brain.

Jane came around the desk, nodding. “Yep. It’s a date.”

A laugh stuttered from his chest and he wished he could rid himself of this cumbersome sensation that they didn’t fit together at all. Gathering his courage and attempting to psych himself up for tonight, he leaned in and kissed Jane’s cheek. “See you then.”

As he turned, he caught Sarah’s gaze as she stared at the two of them. Aw, dammit. He’d done it yet again. Why did Sarah have to be around every time he and Jane did anything couple-like in the slightest? It was as if his subconscious wanted him to make an ass out of himself. It wasn’t like he was trying to get a rise out of Sarah or make her jealous. He didn’t want to rub anything in her face.

Sarah blinked several times then flashed a quick smile in their direction. “We’re heading out.” The rest of their group gathered in the foyer and said their goodbyes.

Cornelius gave one last glance to Jane and trailed behind the rest of his friends. He flexed his fingers, the urge to do something active hitting him hard. He needed to get out of his head for a little while. After reaching his house, Cornelius beelined it out to his garage to do some woodworking. The soothing repetition and creative outlet would give him a mental break. His pet project was the right choice to focus on.

“Knock, knock,” Jack said as he stood by the open side door into the workspace. “Mind if I join you?”

“Come on in.” The relief Cornelius felt as his friend joined him was welcome. They could shoot the breeze and he could carve without pressure. But not on this particular figure. Cornelius didn’t want Jack asking about it, so he began anew. He scooped up a fresh block of wood and started carving out chunks to get the rough shape of an animal. He’d start big and work his way down to tiny details as he coaxed a giraffe to life from the timber. Jack wouldn’t have any reason to ask questions about a giraffe. Even if he did, there was no hidden meaning behind it to explain.

“You and Jane, huh?”

Cornelius almost screamed in frustration. Of course Jack would ask about his dating life. “Yeah. She’s sweet. It’s a second date, nothing serious.”

“That’s cool. I like her. She’s nice. Glad you’re getting back out there.”

Cornelius nudged his glasses back up his nose and refrained from responding. He knew Jack was dancing around something, but he had no desire to pull it out of him.

“But…”

“There it is. But what?” He paused in his wood scraping.

“I wonder if she’s who you want. You don’t seem thrilled at the thought of going out with Jane.”

“It’s date number two, Jack. We’re getting to know each other. These things take time.”

Jack paused the sanding of his own woodworking piece, then looked Cornelius dead in the eyes. “Do they? I mean, when I met Bridget, the attraction was instant. And after talking with her before we’d ever gone out, I was picturing the two of us together—and not just in bed. In a relationship sense. Can you say the same?”

Cornelius huffed. “Not everyone has chemistry from the first moment. Plenty of people have to grow on one another. Build the foundation before the rest of it all. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“You’re right. There’s not.” Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s hard to picture for you, though. After everything you said about how you knew Sarah was the one from the start.” Jack snuck a peek at Cornelius as he mentioned Sarah’s name.

“So this is about Sarah. Not Jane.” He set down his block and crossed his arms. “The fact is, Sarah broke things off and she doesn’t want to give us another chance. I have to respect that. We ended a long time ago and there’s no going back. With my mom’s health, it made me realize I can’t keep my life as it is. I don’t want to. I want someone in my life. Companionship.”

“I get it. I do. It’s just that I don’t see a spark between you and Jane. Companionship is nice, but it’s not all-consuming love. There’s a difference between being content and being happy. Comfortable versus challenging you to grow and be the best version of yourself. True partnership. The sense of being with the person who understands you and has your back and always supports you. The person who you can’t wait to talk to. You want to spend every morning waking up to their smile and every night putting that smile on their face.” Jack walked over and squeezed Cornelius’ shoulder. “I’m not saying Jane isn’t the one. Maybe she could be. I’m saying don’t settle. Find what I have with Bridget, what you had once upon a time with Sarah. It can happen again for you. Don’t let your parents get in your head where you wind up making a huge mistake and breaking more hearts by accident.”

With a nod, Cornelius said, “You’re right. I won’t settle. But I also won’t give up on someone so soon. Jane deserves a chance. I need to give myself a chance.”