Paige checked her hair in the visor mirror as Jed turned into a parking area in front of a blue house with pink trim and a yellow door. Half a dozen other cars filled the lot with couples stepping from them dressed like The Brady Bunch cast members.
A woman with a beehive hairdo and gigantic hoop earrings passed in front of them.
Jed chuckled and cut the engine. “Guess we’ll fit right in tonight, huh?”
“Seems like it, although at least we’re dressed for the correct era. I think.”
Inside the lobby, bright murals covered the walls. Beading draped along the cashier counter, above the windows, and formed a doorway to what likely led to the main dining area. Music she recognized from the ’70s poured from hidden speakers.
Jed handed their tickets to a tall man wearing a long blond wig and scraggly beard.
“Table twelve.”
Jed nodded and guided Paige into a low-ceilinged room filled with tables covered in tie-dyed linens. “Think we’re over there.” He pointed to the center of the room, where two other couples sat, and then led her that way. He pulled out the chair for her.
The woman to Paige’s right loved to talk. She thought Paige and Jed were “simply adorable.” She followed this with a myriad questions about everything from where Paige and Jed had met to how long they’d been dating.
“We’re not.” Paige fumbled for her glass. “We’re just friends.” Attempting to avoid further conversation, she watched the couples seated at the other tables.
By the first intermission, however, frequent bouts of laughter had set her at ease. The show was hilarious.
Could she make her script this funny?
She pulled her notebook from her purse. “I’m pretty sure they have cast members placed, incognito, at different tables.”
“Like Ms. Chatty, you mean?” Jed tipped his head toward where the woman with the gazillion questions had been sitting before she and her husband had migrated to the hall.
“Hmm.” Paige tapped her pencil against her chin. “Know what? I bet you’re right.”
“You think we should do that?”
“Could be interesting, though it’d probably increase the cast size.”
“This seat taken?”
She turned to see a large man dressed in plaid sitting beside her. “Actually, yes, but I think they’ve gone to the bathroom.”
“Their loss. They should learn not to leave such a beautiful woman unattended.” He grabbed her hand and leaned forward. “Is he your boyfriend, this man that left you?”
Laughing, she exchanged glances with Jed, who was also chuckling.
“Ah!” The man jerked back with a frown. He crossed his arms and looked from her to Jed, then back to her again. “I see how it is.” He stood, dragged his chair to Paige’s other side and then attempted to shove it between them. “You and he,” he wagged a finger. “No, no, no, no.” He glowered at Jed. “What are your intentions toward this lovely woman?”
Jed blinked. “I...uh...excuse me?”
Paige squirmed, feeling as if the entire theater were watching her. They probably were.
“Your intentions.” The man jutted his chin. “Declare them now or release her.” He grabbed her hand again and kissed the back of it. “Leave this loser and come away with me. He doesn’t treat you as you deserve. See? He refuses to proclaim his love in the most romantic of settings. But not I. I am not afraid to tell the entire world about my love for you.”
He sprang to his feet with his chair falling to the ground behind him, and held a hand to his heart. “My sweet little flower with such fiery locks, like the very flames of the sun, I love you. Here and now, I say it, for all to hear. I. Love. You.”
She slid farther down into her chair as snickers rose all around her. She cast a furtive glance in Jed’s direction to find him fixated on his water glass. But then he looked her way, and his eyes held hers. Her breath caught, and she stared at her hands, which were twined tightly in her lap.
“Ricardo, are you harassing the guests again?” Someone approached from behind, and she turned to see a tall blonde woman glaring at Ricardo, as she’d called him with her arms crossed. “Why haven’t they fired you already?”
“On account of my beautiful singing voice. Shall I sing for you now?” He sidled up to her, batting his eyes. “I know how you love to be serenaded, my sweet bouquet of daisies.”
The two continued their banter as the guests returned to their seats, and soon the drama was underway again. But the look Jed had given her continued to play on her mind.
On the way home, they once again fell into casual chatter, though it felt stiff. Awkward.
But as they neared Paige’s mom’s house, Jed grew quiet, serious. As though he were thinking hard about something.
“I have no doubt your Wild West theater is going to be a huge hit,” she said.
He pulled up to the curb and then shifted into Park. “Thanks. I really appreciate your help.”
“No problem.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I had a great time tonight. Believe it or not, the drama sparked my muse.”
“I’m glad.” He rotated toward her. “Listen, Paige, I...” He cleared his throat. “I’m really glad you came tonight.”
His deep brown eyes pulled her in.
He leaned closer.
She raised her face to his, feeling her pulse spiking as memories of their most tender moments resurfaced. What would it feel like to be in his strong arms once again?
Then, suddenly, light flashed in her peripheral vision. She jerked back and looked out her window. Lovely. Mom had turned all the lights on and, based on her shadow in the living room window, was watching them.
Making Paige feel like an awkward teenager. Thirty-one years old, living at home with her mom spying on her first date with the grown-up Jed Gilbertson.
Except this wasn’t a date.
Was it?
And if it was, what did that mean?
She grabbed her purse from the floorboard. “I better go. I’ll see you.” She shoved her door open and dashed out.
She was moving back to Chicago soon. Falling in love with him now wasn’t a good idea.
The next morning, Jed stopped by New Life Furnishings to check on the status of his order and then headed to his grandmother’s.
Nearing the Literary Sweet Spot, an independently owned bakery and bookstore on the end of Main Street, he slowed. Paige sat outside under a tabletop canopy, hunched over an opened notebook. Other materials—books or brochures of some type and a yellow legal pad—were spread out in front of her.
She was probably working on the script. How far had she gotten? Maybe he could help her. He’d enjoyed their brainstorming session much more than he’d anticipated.
And after their outing to the dinner theater, he’d been wondering: Had she felt the same feelings he had? She’d loved him once. Could she do so again? Or had her feelings been nothing more than an immature crush back in high school, one she’d since outgrown?
All these what-ifs were knotting him up inside. He parked along the curb, stepped out of his truck and stood, watching her. She was too engrossed in her work to notice him. After adjusting his Stetson, he hooked a thumb under his belt and ambled over.
He paused a few paces away.
What if he bared his heart and she didn’t feel the same? Would things get awkward? She’d still have to finish the script. She’d signed a contract, but their interactions could turn tense. And there was nothing stopping her from leaving town, heading straight for Chicago, once she fulfilled her commitment.
Then again, she planned on doing that anyway, didn’t she?
He stepped closer. “Howdy.”
She startled and then smiled. “Hey. What’re you up to?”
He sat across from her and surveyed the magazines spread out in front of her. A picture of a woman in a black shorts suit with white stripes. Another of a lady in orange heels and silver pants that poufed out from the waist to the knees.
“What’s all this?” he asked.
“Back issues of fashion magazines.”
“You working on more article queries?”
“Not exactly. I’m... There’s a writing conference coming up, and...” Her gaze dropped and then bounced back to his. “I’m hoping to land a job with another magazine.”
“Working remotely?”
She shrugged and looked away, almost as if she couldn’t look him in the eye. “Those are hard to find.”
Meaning she’d likely have to move.
He suddenly realized he wouldn’t let her go that easily. Somehow, someway, he’d convince her to stay in Sage Creek. For good.
He scooted his chair closer. “I don’t want you to leave, Paige.”
“Don’t worry—I’ll honor my commitment.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“I’m applying to a lot of places, but there’s no guarantee anyone will hire me on.”
“If they do? You’ll have to move to their offices, wherever that is.”
She looked at him for a long moment with her eyes searching his. But then she looked back at the magazines spread out before her.
“I wish I could go back, do things differently. I wish I would’ve made you listen to me regarding that whole Christy mess. I would’ve fought for you and kept fighting for you.”
Her eyes locked on his, as if trying to read his thoughts. Or maybe deciding whether or not to believe him. But then she shook her head. “That was a long time ago, Jed.”
“But you’re here now.”
“My life has been in flux. In chaos. I’m still trying to get my feet under me.”
“So lean on me. I’m not going anywhere.”
What would it take for her to believe that?
The look in her eyes said she wanted to. “I need time, Jed.”