Page 42 of Sweet Somethings

Eight

The festival began at six p.m. Saturday night. Juliette arrived at the coffee and dessert tables to find Sara wearing a hoop skirt dress that made it appear as if she'd just stepped off the set of Gone With The Wind.

"Let me guess—Scarlett," she said, as she set down a large plastic container of baked goods.

"Of course," Sara said, doing a little twirl. "It was my favorite movie. And I loved Scarlett because she was beautiful, bold, and passionate. But I have to admit I don't know how women ever wore these hoops. I keep bumping into things."

She smiled. "I have no idea, either, but you look good. So do you have a Rhett Butler showing up tonight to be your partner?"

"As a matter of fact I do. He's a guy I met at the coffee shop a few weeks ago," Sara said with a happy smile. "His name is Tim Mueller. He's the manager at the hardware store, and he's super cute. We've only been out a few times, so it's still really new, but I have a big crush on him."

"That's fun. I would love to meet him."

"He should be here soon. Where is your costume?"

"Dressing up as half of a couple didn't seem that exciting," she confessed, not willing to admit to Sara what she'd told Roman earlier that costumes weren't her thing. "But I'll be behind this table most of the night so hopefully no one will care."

"How are sales of the Wish cookies going?"

"Flying out the door so fast I can barely keep up. Do you want one? It's on the house."

"I would love one."

She opened up the bin and pulled out a baggie with two cookies wrapped in red ribbon. "Enjoy."

"You're so sweet. Do you want a coffee?"

"Maybe later. I better get set up," she added as more people poured into the park and a group of teenagers hovered a few feet away, looking longingly at her desserts.

"I can help you," Sara said. "I'm all ready to go."

"Great. What's the first movie tonight?" she asked as they set out her desserts.

Sara laughed. "Funny you should ask. It's Romeo and Juliet."

"Awesome," she said dryly.

"So if anyone asks about your costume, just say you came as yourself."

"Good idea."

"Speaking of Romeo and Juliet," Sara said, giving her a sly smile. "How are things going with you and Roman?"

"I wouldn't say there's a me and Roman."

"Really? My friend, Tami, said she saw you at the Burger Palace with Roman today."

"We did have lunch there," she admitted. "That was just a couple of hours ago. The gossip mill churns fast."

"It goes even faster around eligible and appealing men. I've heard all kinds of rumors about Roman since he got back. What do you think of him? Is he the dangerous bad boy everyone says he is?"

There was an edge to Roman, no doubt about that, but he was a lot more complex than Sara's description. "He's interesting. Complicated. And I suspect very few people know who he really is. He doesn't let people in."

"It sounds like he's letting you in. It also sounds like you have a crush."

"Oh, no, don't be silly," she said, avoiding Sara's questioning gaze. "We're just friends."

"Really? You're friends with the guy who's helping his grandfather tear down your old house?"

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