Page 10 of Summer in Kentbury
“Yes and no?” he echoes, curiosity lacing his tone as he takes a sip of his drink.
I trace the rim of my own mug with my fingers, contemplating how much to reveal. But I find myself opening up to him about my business—the one that I built from the ground up. The one that my ex-boyfriend now wants to take away from me. “And then there’s the whole ‘what am I doing with my life’ thing,” I add with a sigh.
“You’re young,” he says, a hint of envy in his voice. “You have plenty of time to figure it out.”
“Of course,” I agree half-heartedly. “But when your boyfriend breaks up with you because he claims marriage and children aren’t for him, only to turn around and propose to someone else . . . it makes you question yourself.”
Sinclair grabs a cookie from the plate between us and takes a bite as he mulls over my words. Chocolate chips dotting his lips when he finally speaks, “He’s the problem.”
I tilt my head, curiosity getting the better of me. “Why did you get divorced?”
He swallows and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand before responding with a wry smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “I’m emotionally unavailable, married to my job, Daddy’s little pet . . . take your pick.”
“You were the problem?” I ask incredulously.
“Apparently you need more than a ring and a house for a marriage to work out,” he sighs, running a hand through his tousled hair. “I tried to make her happy, you know. Anything she wanted, she had it.”
I lean forward, mirroring his position with my elbows on my knees and my mug in hand. “But did she have your heart?”
A deep, hearty laugh escapes from him, carrying a rich tone that echoes through the room. His eyes crinkle at the corners, shining with genuine amusement. “So I’m supposed to cut open my chest and give her my heart?”
I roll my eyes, a smirk tugging at my lips. “Okay, I get why she left you.”
“Do you? Please explain.” He leans forward, his expression curious.
“You weren’t in love with her,” I state matter-of-factly, taking a small sip of my tea. “Why marry her then?”
He shrugs nonchalantly, but there’s a hint of sheepishness in his smile. “My parents liked her—she fit well into my plans.”
I shake my head, feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation. “Okay, you have more problems than I do. A summer in Kentbury won’t be enough to cure you.”
Sinclair throws his head back, a deep belly laugh escaping his lips as he shakes with mirth. He looks at me with a wide grin and bright eyes full of humor. “You’re worse than Paul.”
“The one who you think is secretly dating someone?”
“Yep.” He nods emphatically, a knowing smile on his lips. “Paul has a thing for bringing people here to show them how good the maple syrup is, but then he tries to change your entire life.”
“Kentbury is magical like that.”
“Is that why you came?” Sinclair narrows his eyes inquisitively.
I nod again, wrapping my hands around the warmth of my mug for comfort. “Yep. Life was much simpler when we lived here—I need a little bit of that magic before I have to go back to reality.”
“I hope it helps, but if it doesn’t, my brother is a great lawyer and would be happy to help you out pro bono,” he offers.
“Why would he do that for me?” I ask, feeling a glimmer of hope.
He shrugs casually. “It seems like you could use a break and as much as magic and fairy tales sound lovely, sometimes we need something practical and real to help us out.”
“I’ll definitely keep that in mind,” I reply gratefully.
As we sit together, the crackling warmth of the fire wraps around us like a cozy blanket. In this moment, I feel a glimmer of hope igniting in my chest. Could it be that our unexpected detour to Kentbury is exactly what we’ve been searching for—a way back to ourselves?
Perhaps he’ll discover that there’s more to life than just work and making money, and as for myself, maybe not having to worry about losing my business is a small step toward finding contentment.
The idea of a fairy tale “happily ever after” seems overrated now, and perhaps embracing singledom is truly the path to happiness.
Chapter Five
