Page 42 of The Inn at Evergreen Hollow

And it wasn’t just the festival that she felt better about either.

For the first time in years, she felt better about things with Caroline too.

It was going on three days since he and Nora had gotten into that argument on their walk, and Aiden still hadn’t spoken to her. He’d wanted to call or text her, but he’d figured she needed some cooling-off time, and after two days had passed, he thought maybe she just didn’t want to talk to him. Truthfully, he was starting to believe that Leon had been wrong.

He and Nora were probably far too different for a relationship to ever work. He’d thought maybe the years that had passed had changed things, but Nora was still a big-city girl, and he was always going to be the guy who had been happy to come back to Evergreen Hollow. It had seemed pretty clear, during that argument, that she either couldn’t or wouldn’t understand why that was. And while he understood why she’d wanted to go to Boston, he couldn’t see the appeal of it any more than she seemed to understand what it was about Evergreen Hollow that made the residents so fiercely devoted to it.

It’ll be all right,he told himself as he pulled into the parking lot of Rockridge Grill for a late lunch, jumping down out of his truck. He’d always known this was how it was going to go—he’d just let himself wonder a little too much after he and Norahad hit it off so well on their first couple of dates. But it didn’t change anything, that it wasn’t going to work out. He’d go back to life as it had always been, and she’d leave after the festival. Things would go back to normal, and those dates would be a nice memory in time.

He’d just about convinced himself of that when he stepped into the grill and saw her standing at the back counter, talking to Jonathan.

She turned at the sound of the bell over the door, her eyes locking with his for a moment, and his heart flipped in his chest. Never mind their argument, all it took was that for him to have to admit to himself that he still had strong feelings for her. It was going to take more than one argument to shake those loose.

They were different, there was no denying that. But in all the conversations they’d had, he’d felt a connection with her that he couldn’t pretend hadn’t existed.

But what he didn’t know was if a connection, strong or otherwise, was enough to overcome those differences.

He sank down at a table, fiddling with the laminated menu, and it was only a minute before he heard the sound of Nora’s boots clicking against the tile as she walked over to him. She stood at the end of the table, her expression soft, and he saw her fiddling with one of the buttons on her peacoat.

“Can I sit with you?” she asked quietly, and he let out a breath.

“Yes.”As if there was any other answer.

Nora slipped her peacoat and scarf off, draping them over the chair next to her, and sank down opposite him. He saw the delicate compass necklace resting against the front of her cream-colored fisherman’s wool sweater, and his heart did another of those little flips in his chest. She might have been upset—with him or because of him, he wasn’t quite sure—but she hadn’t taken the necklace off.

There was quiet for a moment. He wasn’t angry with her, and he didn’t think she seemed angry with him just then, but he could feel that she was as tentative as he was. He thought she might get up and bolt if he didn’t say something.

“What are you up to?” he asked finally, the question feeling awkward. “Getting lunch?”

Nora knotted her fingers together on the table in front of her. “I was talking to Jonathan about catering for the festival,” she said finally. “I’d planned to bring in outside restaurants for most of it—you know that now—but I talked with the other ladies on the planning committee again this morning. We’ve decided to tweak the menu a little and use local places for the food. Rockridge Grill, Marie’s, and some of the other local establishments are supplying some game for the Evergreen Tasting buffet.” She licked her lips a little anxiously. “We’re going to shift to some local places for other aspects of the festival too.”

He felt his spirits lift a bit, hearing her talk. He was glad that she’d decided to change tactics, but he kept quiet, letting her finish. He wanted to hear her out in full.

“Caroline and I ended up talking about all of this,” Nora said quietly. “The festival, the inn—me going to Boston instead of coming home all those years ago. We managed to finally work some things out, I think.” A small, hesitant smile curved the corners of her lips, and then fell again. “I’m sorry for getting angry with you while we were out the other day. I was sensitive from the argument with Sabrina—but it’s really no excuse. You were right about all of it.”

“It’s all right.” He meant it too. “I could understand why you were feeling that way. It’s water under the bridge. Doesn’t change anything.” He hoped she understood his meaning. He’d never been good at being blunt when it came to romance,despite his straightforwardness in every other aspect of his life. Especially, it seemed, when it came to Nora.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Nora said softly. “I wanted to know, if you weren’ttooupset with me, if you’d help me with some of the remaining preparations. I see now that this sort of festival is only successful with alotof community involvement—and we’re going to need help, since it’s coming up very soon now.”

Aiden smiled at her. “Of course I’ll help,” he said firmly, reaching across the table to touch her hand. “I’m more than happy to.”

Nora let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness.” She pressed her lips together, her fingers curling around the side of his hand. “I’m glad I didn’t ruin things by letting my emotions get the better of me.”

“Nothing’s ruined,” he promised her.

“I feel out of my depth here, sometimes,” she admitted. “I don’t like to say it out loud, but it’s true.”

Aiden laughed at that, squeezing her hand gently. “If anything, the rest of us feel out of our depth aroundyou. But we’ll just have to find a way to meet in the middle.”

A smile spread across Nora’s lips. “I like the sound of that,” she said softly.

They sat there like that for a moment, the menus in front of them forgotten, Aiden relishing the feeling of Nora’s soft hand in his. Just a little while ago, he hadn’t thought they’d be able to reconcile, and yet here they were. He was glad to have been wrong.

“I’ll owe you for your help,” Nora added, and he shook his head firmly.

“You won’t owe me anything. Iwantto help you. I’ve got your back, and I want to help, no matter what you’re doing.”

Nora’s eyes widened, a dozen emotions passing over her face before he had a chance to really catch any one of them. “I’m soglad I came back home,” she whispered. “Or I might never have known what a wonderful man you turned out to be.”

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