Page 17 of A Future in the Bay

Gwen frowned. “My next appointment? I thought it wasn’t for another ten minutes.”

Heidi shook her head. “This isn’t an appointment. It’s just a quick social visit. Should I send her in?”

“Sure.” Gwen felt a little baffled—who paid a social visit to a doctor in the middle of the workday? More than that, she didn’t know anyone in the town who might want to visit her yet.

Into the office stepped a smiling woman with curly brown hair. She was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a sweatshirt, and she was grinning as if she’d known Gwen for years. In her hands was a Tupperware clearly filled with some kind of baked goods.

“Hi,” the woman said, her expression warm and friendly. “I’m Olivia Dunlap. I wanted to welcome you to Blueberry Bay.”

“Oh.” Gwen blinked. She was staring at Olivia, wondering if this Dunlap was related to the handsome male Dunlap who had almost hit her car. “That’s very thoughtful of you, thank you,” she said stiffly.

“Of course! We’re thrilled you’re here. I was new in Blueberry Bay once myself—well, more so Whale Harbor. I moved therewith my aunt, Marsha Dunlap, and we both love the area—but it’s always hard being a new person in a strange place. At least I think so.” Olivia flashed a friendly grin at her. “And I know my partner agrees with me—my boyfriend Corey Easton was new here not that long ago. He opened up a souvenir shop in Blueberry Bay. He’s got two adorable eight-year-old twins, so it was hard for him to find any extra time to get to know people. Thankfully we found each other, and I helped him get settled here.”

Gwen had absolutely no idea what to say. She wasn’t used to people who were comfortable sharing their life story at the drop of a hat like this. She wanted to tell Olivia that she didn’t need any help settling in—she knew where the grocery store and the bank were located. There wasn’t any information about the town that she needed that she didn’t already have.

“Here,” Olivia said, taking the reins of the conversation again after a few seconds of Gwen’s awkward silence. “I baked you some lemon bars.” She handed Gwen the Tupperware with a triumphant grin, as if to say, “Just wait until you taste these.”

“I—uh, thank you.” Gwen mustered a smile. She’d never been handed baked goods by a stranger before. “That’s very kind of you.”

“These lemon bars are a team effort,” Olivia said, laughing. “I misplaced my favorite lemon bar recipe, but my friend Paige Garner came to the rescue and sent me one that she likes. She’s an incredible baker—she’s studying at Flourish Baking School in Providence right now.”

“Oh?” Gwen took a curious sniff, getting a pleasant whiff of the smell of sugar and flour and lemon. “That’s very nice. Thank you.”

Olivia looked as though she might be trying not to laugh, and in that moment, Gwen felt sure that this woman was related to Isaiah Dunlap—she had the same impish smile that he had.She knew she was acting stiff and a little unfriendly, but Olivia’s effortlessly breezy attitude baffled her. After all, they’d never even met before—but here she was dropping off baked goods like they were friends?

“So I texted her and I asked her if she had a lemon bar recipe and she sent me this,” Olivia said, still smiling. “You’ll love these—they’re even better than the ones I usually bake, and that’s really saying something. We’re all excited for Paige to come back home to Blueberry Bay. She’ll be done with school in a little while, and then she’s going to start her own bakery here.”

“That’s nice.” Gwen swallowed. Of all the things she’d studied and perfected in her life, being effortlessly friendly wasn’t one of them. She was a little unsure of how to deal with such openhearted friendliness—being at ease with strangers wasn’t something she considered to be part of her own personality, and she wasn’t used to being singled out for the kindness of strangers. She was usually the type to keep to herself, and although she was grateful for Olivia’s kindness, she wasn’t sure how to reciprocate the same benevolent energy.

“It is. You should be able to buy her stuff at Tidal Wave Coffee soon—she used to sell her stuff there and the rumor is she will again when she gets back home—and then you’ll understand why we’re all rooting for her. Have you been to Tidal Wave Coffee yet?”

“I have,” Gwen said, grimacing as she remembered the almost-collision with Isaiah’s truck filled with lumber.

“Did you like it? Oh! That was where Isaiah almost ran into you, wasn’t it? He’s my brother, and he told me about it. He’s so sorry about that.”

Gwen offered a feeble smile. “All’s well that ends well.”

Her heart was starting to thump at the memory of meeting Isaiah—and she told herself it was because it had been a nerve-wracking experience to almost be hit by another car.

“Well, he’s really sorry. I hope that other than that stressful experience, you’re settling in all right.”

Gwen nodded. She wasn’t surprised at all that her suspicions were confirmed—Isaiah was Olivia’s brother.

Of course he is,she thought.Everyone must know everyone in this small town, and they’re all probably related to each other.

“It’s all right,” she said out loud. She wondered if Olivia was bringing the lemon bars as a kind of apology for her brother’s driving. “Isaiah already apologized, and it ended up being totally fine. It’s all forgotten.”

“That’s good.” Olivia smiled, her eyes warm. “But I know he still definitely wants to make it up to you.”

Gwen’s eyebrows lifted. She wasn’t sure what Olivia meant by that—and she didn’t quite know why her stomach fluttered a little at the thought. “That’s not necessary.”

Olivia chuckled. “That brother of mine is something else. He does everything he does with as much energy as a firecracker. He’s a really nice guy, though, and I know he felt bad about not driving as carefully as he should have.”

Gwen nodded, glancing at the clock. She still had plenty of time before her next appointment, but she was starting to wonder how she could politely hint to Olivia that it was time for the conversation to end.

“Do you need anything while you’re settling in?” Olivia asked. “Everything in your new place works all right?”

“Nothing’s broken. Everything seems to be in fine working order.”

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