Page 26 of A Magnolia Move-In
She glanced over at me. “For what?”
Emotions rose up inside of me, causing tears to gather on my eyelids. “For not giving up on me. For sticking around. And for being my friend.”
She pursed her lips as she nodded. “Of course. I care about you, and I want you to be happy.”
Not sure what else to say and not wanting to break down, I returned my focus to the ocean. We stood in silence for a few moments before Fiona spoke again.
“Not trying to push you or anything, but can I take you out tomorrow? We can get some coffee, and I can show you the island. I think if you saw it in all its glory, you might change your mind about staying here.”
My first inclination was to say no. But the memory of spending the entire day in bed washed over me, and my muscles itched for me to move. I nodded. “That would be fun.”
Her eyebrows went up as if she hadn’t expected me to say that, but then she nodded. “Cool. I’ll come get you around nine?” She frowned. “I might have Blake with me. If Shari can’t take him.”
“I’m cool with that.” I was interested to see the kid for myself.
“Perfect.”
Fifteen minutes passed. We made small talk, which mostly consisted of Fiona asking me what North Carolina was like. We steered clear of the topic of my pregnancy, which I was grateful for, and stuck to topics that didn’t take too much brain power to sift through.
The front door opened, halting our conversation. We both turned to see Victoria standing in the doorway. She was talking to Colten as she walked out.
“Leaving already?” Fiona asked.
Victoria nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got to get back. Brett has us watching some medical drama, and if I’m not there on time, he starts without me.” The soft smile that emerged at the mention of Brett made me jealous.
Victoria was so obviously in love, and that made an ache form in my heart. Was that ever going to happen to me? What if Walker didn’t come back? What kind of man wants to take on a broken woman? And what kind of man would want to take on a broken woman with a child?
“Well, thanks for coming over. It was good to see you.” Fiona gave Victoria a hug, and she stiffened. I giggled.
I was fairly certain I was going to like Victoria. She was driven and not touchy-feely at all. I could completely relate.
When they pulled apart, Victoria glanced down at me. “I know you think you’re not a Magnolia move-in, but if you decide to become permanent, I would love to interviewyou. I’m sure everyone here would love to learn a little bit more about you.”
Her comment was so strange. I’d lived in a small town, sure, but it hadn’t been as welcoming or nosy as this. There was certainly something strange about this place.
It wasn’t bad. It was just…different.
Not wanting to say no to a potential new friend, I just nodded. “Sure,” I said.
She clapped her hands together and then said, “Well, I’m off.” Her heels clicked on the deck. But then she stopped and turned. “I expect all of my friends to purchase a subscription to the paper.” She narrowed her eyes at us. “Is that understood?”
We all nodded, which seemed to appease her. She turned back around and disappeared from sight.
Silence fell around Fiona and I until she asked if I was ready to go inside. Exhaustion took over, and I nodded. I was surprised that I felt so tired. After all, my sleep bank was pretty full. But I was emotionally exhausted as well, which was taking a larger toll on my body than I’d expected.
Fiona and Colten didn’t hang around much longer. After Fiona kissed Jackson goodbye and Colten gave me a quick wave, they left us alone. Jackson moved to start cleaning up the dishes, and I remained in my chair, right next to the table.
I wasn’t ready to go back to my room just yet. Plus, it was nice just sitting here in the presence of another human being.
“So, you’re going out with Fiona tomorrow?”
I furrowed my brow. “Did she tell you that?”
Jackson nodded as he loaded a bowl into the dishwasher. “Yep.”
“Yeah,” I whispered, hoping that I wasn’t going to regret it. “She knows about the baby.”
Jackson paused before he looked up to meet my gaze. “I didn’t tell her.”
