Page 42 of A Future in the Bay

Blueberry Bay, here I come,she thought, and a grin spread over her face.

She made the drive back carefully but as quickly as she safely could. She couldn’t wait to see Josie and be back in town. She’d been waiting for this moment for a very long time, and she was so excited to finally have made it that she felt a little bit as though she was dreaming.

At last, she pulled up in the parking lot of Josie and Wesley’s apartment building. The plan was for her to stay with them for a few weeks until she found her own place in Blueberry Bay, and even though she didn’t want to intrude on their newlywed life, she had a feeling the three of them were going to have a blast together.

The second she parked, she climbed out of her car and called Josie.

“Hey, sister!” Josie sounded beside herself with excitement. “When are you going to be here?”

Paige did her best to sound tired and disappointed, which was hard because she was practically squirming with happiness. “Hey, Josie, I got kind of delayed.”

“Oh. Oh, well, that’s okay.” Josie sounded as though she was trying to hide disappointment. “I know you had a lot going on today. How much later do you think you’ll be?”

“I think,” Paige said, practically tiptoeing across the parking lot toward the front door of the building, “that it will be… as long as it takes you to come downstairs because I’m outside!”

“What?” Josie shrieked. “You—you—ahh!”

Paige laughed, and Josie hung up the phone. Less than a minute later, Josie burst out of the front door of the building and practically tackled her sister in a hug.

“I’m so happy to see you!” Josie cried, rocking her back and forth. “Congratulations on finishing baking school! I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you!” Paige grinned from ear to ear. “I’m so happy to be home.”

“Come on upstairs and eat some dinner, and then we can all unload your car together. I made a white pizza with spinach. I know you love that.”

“Oh my gosh, yay! But how did you time it out so perfectly?”

Josie laughed as they started upstairs together. “Oh, I didn’t, I made it this afternoon. We just need to heat it up quick.”

“Amazing.” Paige’s stomach grumbled in anticipation.

Wesley met them in the hallway and gave Paige a big hug. “Welcome home, Paige!”

“Thank you! Thanks for letting me crash your home.”

“Hey, it was your home first.”

“True!”

Paige and Wesley shared a grin.

“We’ve been so excited about you getting back,” Josie admitted. “We’ve been planning your homecoming for a long time.”

“We bought all your favorite snacks,” Wesley said as they started toward the apartment door, which was ajar. “And Josie deep-cleaned your room and put like seven different scented candles in there.”

“Wow.” Paige grinned at them both, sighing happily. “It feels really good to be back.”

Josie wrapped her arm around Paige’s shoulders as they stepped inside the familiar apartment. It smelled incredible, like cooking food, and it soon became clear that Wesley had had the foresight to pop the pizza into the oven to warm as soon as Josie had gotten Paige’s call.

“Look at these sisters,” he joked, grinning at them as he shut the apartment door. “Reunited. A powerful force. I’ve just become superfluous, outnumbered by sisters. I am no longer needed.”

They laughed at his joke, and Josie was quick to respond, “Oh yes, you are.” She wrapped her arms around him, and Paige joined the group hug.

“We’ll keep you around, Wesley,” she teased. “Don’t worry.”

“Why thank you.” He gave a small, exaggerated bow.

They ate a delicious meal of the white pizza with homemade French fries and a salad with blue cheese and black olives. As they ate, they caught up on each other’s news, swapping stories and laughing together. Paige’s chest glowed with a warm feeling, and she thoroughly enjoyed the meal, being very hungry from her long day.

---