Page 41 of Wishing for a Picture Perfect Love

Their hands remained joined almost a little too long before she pulled her hand away. “Deal.”

Jack tipped his head in the direction of her house. “Walk you home?” He forced himself to sound okay when he felt like his heart was breaking.

As miserable as this felt, he could only imagine how much worse it would be had things continued unchecked. He hated that it’d ended just as quickly as it started, but maybe that was for the best.

Once Charlie’s house was finished, Jo was gone, and things had settled down, Jack would make a serious effort to find love. Someone who would return his love and want to stay with him in Wishing Well.

Another lie he’d need to repeat a thousand times before he believed it if he ever did.

CHAPTER 15

Jo

The moment Serenity returned to Wishing Well, Jo was swept up in a whirlwind of appointments. With the wedding fast approaching, there wasn’t any time to waste, and Jo couldn’t disagree. After spending the last two days following the bride-to-be all day long, Jo walked into the Wish and Roast to grab some pastries. Once she had those, she’d head home and crash.

“Hey, Jo,” Lucy said as she looked up from behind the counter. “How’s the wedding shaping up?”

“I think it’s going to be beautiful, and the food is going to be fantastic.” She gave a knowing smile since Lucy would be the caterer for the event.

Lucy exhaled. “I sure hope so. I had to hire a few more people, which is good.” She pulled out a muffin from one of the cases and placed it on a plate. “I really appreciate Serenity using businesses in town.”

Jo brought the notebook she was carrying to her chest and hugged it. “I do, too, and once this article comes out, I suspect business will pick up even more. As with all my articles, I’m making a list of all the vendors she’s using to include with it. Which, before I forget, would you email me all of your contact information?” She reached into her bag and pulled out a business card. “That has my email address.”

Taking the card, Lucy looked it over. “I’ll get it sent over today,” she said and looked up. “So what brings you in?”

“I thought I’d treat Grandma and myself to something sweet and tasty,” Jo said, laughing.

Lucy eyed her, a sly grin spreading on her lips. “Grandma… or Jack?”

“Grandma.” She gave her voice a little more oomph to emphasis it.

“Are you sure? Rumor has it that you and Jack are getting pretty cozy.”

Shaking her head, Jo waved Lucy off. “Oh, no, we’re just friends. He’s working on Grandma’s house, and I’m helping.”

Lucy rounded the counter and pointed to a table in the far corner. “I know that look. Go, sit, and I’ll be over there as soon as I deliver this muffin.”

Jo scoffed and went to argue.

“Go!” Lucy gave her a playful nudge toward the table.

It was a stare off. They’d been so close as kids, and Lucy had known her so well—and seemed to still know her.

“Fine.” Jo stomped over to the table and flopped down in the chair facing the wall. She didn’t want to talk about it. Well, she did, but she didn’t. Oh, she didn’t know what she wanted.

So lost in thought, Jo jumped when Lucy set a cup of something smelling of vanilla and caramel in front of her along with a streusel blueberry scone. “Oh, this looks delicious.”

Lucy wiggled in her seat. “Thanks, that is a Wishing for a Latte Caramel and Blueberry Wishes scone.”

“Cute names.”

With a shrug, Lucy replied, “I wanted to play on the name of the town. My hope was that tourism would pick up one day, and it’d make me stand out.”

Jo took a bite of the pastry. The buttery, tart pop of flavor exploded on her tongue. She groaned, and with her mouth still full, she said, “Lucy, this is fantastic. I’d definitely wish for another one.”

“Thanks.” She leaned forward with her arms on the table. “I’m glad you like it. Now, talk.”

Dusting off her hands, Jo lowered her gaze to the table. “There’s nothing to talk about. I—” She didn’t know what to say or think or feel. She opened her mouth to give the statement that she’d been giving for days, and instead, she began pouring her heart out.

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