Page 67 of Sweet Surprises

That hit him so hard he couldn’t reply.

I’m a fool…

“Now you listen to me,” Allie said fiercely. “I love you, and I want you to be happy. If that’s with Charlotte, I’ll do anything I can to help you. But I don’t ever,everwant to hear you talk to her or about her like you did the other night.”

Shame washed over him, and he shook his head.

“I won’t, Allie,” he told her. “I can’t imagine how it made her feel, but I’ve been sad and disgusted with myself ever since.”

“You pushed all her buttons,” Allie said softly.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Her ex humiliated her, basically in front of her colleagues,” Allie said. “And her dad died. Now she’s opened up her heart to you, and you humiliated her in front of everyone and then closed yourself off again. It’s like she let her guard down for two minutes, and her worst nightmare repeated itself.”

His stomach twisted and his heart ached as he listened. Allie was right. She was completely right.

“How could you, Tag?” Allie asked. “You’ve always been a grump, but you were never cruel.”

“I don’t deserve to win her back,” he said.

“Well,shedeserves it,” Allie told him. “But if you’re not going to be the guy she deserves, then let her get over you and move on in peace. And if you are, then you deserve it too and you should get out there and make things right.”

“How?” he asked.

“You’re going to have to do some real soul-searching to answer that question,” Allie told him. “It can’t come from me. This has to be all you.”

He nodded, looking down at his hands and feeling like he had already lost.

“But just so you know,” Allie said, “I’ve never seen Charlotte as happy as she is here, so don’t try to use holding her back as an excuse. Sugarville Grove suits her.”

She’s happy here. And maybe it’s more than just the town making her feel that way.

21

CHARLOTTE

Charlotte walked quickly through the halls of the high school, past trophy cases and banners proclaimingGo, Chucks,to the auditorium.

The text message she had received a few minutes ago had been enough for her to close the shop early and head over here as fast as she could.

Olivia

i’m freaking out i can’t do this

Charlotte shook her head and patted her bag, reassuring herself that the paperback she’d tucked the photo into was in it. She had known she would show Olivia that picture when the moment was right. And she had a feeling that moment was now.

Thank goodness the school secretary had been at the Giving Tree and seen her with the children. If this weren’t such a small town, Charlotte wouldn’t have been allowed inside the building at all. But Mrs. Bunting had murmured something about Olivia needing a strong female presence and jotted down Tag’s name in the visitor book instead of Charlotte’s, then handed her a name tag and gestured for her to go.

When she finally reached the auditorium door, she slipped inside as quietly as she could and let her eyes adjust to the darkness.

The stage was set with what she assumed was Scrooge’s office. Some kids in black pants and t-shirts scrambled around setting props on the stage, while others looked up and frantically texted—probably to whoever was running the light booth. Lights lowered and intensified here and there all over the stage, blues fading into whites.

Down in the house, a group of kids in costumes were doing some kind of very noisy vocal warm-up.

“Can I help you?” a man in a khaki vest asked her.

“I’m here for Olivia Lawrence,” Charlotte said. “She texted me that she’s having a hard time.”

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