Page 188 of Always Meant for You
The market hums around me, a current of conversation and footsteps, clinking jars and produce baskets. Back when I lived nearby, I avoided the farmers’ market. It reminded me of everything I was trying to outrun. Now, standing in the middle of it, I feel at home.
My hotel is a block away. Chelsea suggested it. She and I have texted a few times. We’re meeting in a little over an hour.
But right now, I can’t stop wishing Cal were here.
We texted last night after I checked in. He asked if I needed anything. Told me he was proud of me. But today—silence. And I get it. I do. There’s always work on the farm.
Still, I’d love for him to see this—how different it is from our market in Elverna, and how familiar, too. I wish he could hear the city’s pulse. I wish he could meet the farmers and talk with them.
“Mae! Is that you?” A voice cuts through the hum, familiar and bright with a New York edge.
I turn, my hand flying to my chest. “Lily!” I say, pulling the teenager into a hug. “It’s so good to see you. What are you doing here?”
“I’m at the farmers’ market because of you,” she says, her grin wide and unwavering.
I blink. “Because of me?”
Before she can answer, I see another familiar face.
Reba Stromski steps into view.
“Isn’t that right, Mom?” Lily says.
My stomach drops. Reba didn’t bother to hide her disdain last we spoke. Her opinion of me had been crystal clear. But now, she greets me with a grin that softens the sharp lines around her eyes.
“Lily wanted to get the ingredients to make a few of your Food Swoon dishes,” Reba says.
“You know about Eat Elverna?” I ask, my voice catching on the shift between past and present.
“My mom found you,” Lily says.
I watch Reba. “You did?”
“I have a plot at the community garden. I follow a few gardening influencers online. A month or so ago, a post for Eat Elverna popped up in my feed, and I showed Lily.”
“I thought it was a boring vegetable post, but then I saw you,” Lily supplies. “How’s your little goat? He’s so cute! Could you send me one of those Eat Elverna passports? Somebody posted theirs online, and I’d like one to put up on my wall. Is Cal your boyfriend? Is he that handsome in real life?” Lily blurts in one breath.
“Lily, slow down,” Reba says, her tone light with amusement.
“You like Cal, too, Mom,” Lily teases, throwing a look at her mother.
“His cats are adorable,” Reba answers, pink rising in her cheeks.
“And by the way,” Lily says, grinning, “people don’t care that Mabel Muldowney is Farm to Mabel and Bella Mae. The Bella Mae and Eat Elverna hashtags are trending.”
“They are?” I ask.
“You didn’t know?” Lily stares at me, shocked.
“I haven’t checked on Bella Mae in a long time,” I reply, distracted by a passerby lifting their phone and snapping a photo of me without slowing their stride.
“Castle King just posted on the Eat Elverna socials and Bella Mae. Hashtag Castle King is trending too. He’s in New York. He’s here to set the record straight. Who’s the Castle King, Mae?”
I scan the crowd, unsure what I’m searching for. My heart beats faster. “I don’t know.”
“I still have your biker jacket. I’ve been taking good care of it. Do you want it back?” Lily asks, tumbling forward with another question before I can breathe.
“No, you can keep it,” I say. My mind is spinning from the Castle King revelation.
