Page 8 of Fall at Once

He passed with my suitcases, grinning at us as he crossed the yard to the porch. “Would you like these in the guest room?” he asked.

“For now. She’ll be staying in the apartment above the bakery soon enough.”

“I will?” I followed Gigi to the house, watching Cole walk up the stairs.

“Yep. I have it all ready for you. But I’ll show you around tomorrow. Tonight, we’re having a girls’ dinner together.”

“That sounds perfect to me.” I inhaled deeply, smiling when I caught the familiar scents of chocolate, fresh laundry, and something else. “Did you make lasagna?” I asked, thankful that it wasn’t a cloud of Basil’s canine toots I was smelling as he sauntered through his doggie door.

“I sure did. I have all your favorites waiting for you in the kitchen. And you’ll need your own space while you’re here, so I fixed up the apartment for you. Maybe this time I can convince you to stay in Cozy Creek. I have a good feeling about this visit, and Basil does too. He’s been missing his morning walks.”

“Ahh, I see. You have ulterior motives. Is your ankle even sprained?” I joked.

“Unfortunately, yes, it is. I took a bad turn on a Cha Cha Slide at the community center and fell hard. I twisted it something fierce. This boot I have to wear is legit, I’m afraid.”

“I’m so sorry you got hurt.” I winced. “And I’m also sorry I accused you of fibbing about it.”

She tossed her head back with a laugh. “No apologies; I’ve earned that accusation over the years with my sneaky ways. And I’ll be okay, especially now that you’re here with me and rid of that albatross you’ve been hauling around for the last five years. Now that he’s gone, I can finally make you see that you belong right here in Cozy Creek.” Gigi was never fond of Ross, hence her nickname for him, Ross the Albatross.

“Okay, first, it was only five years, which I admit was a colossal waste of my time. Second, sometimes I wish I could stay, but Mom needs me. You know that.”

“Your mama can hire another event planner. You only get one life to live, Madi. And if you want to stay here in Cozy Creek after my ankle gets better, you will. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Wow. That was way too real after the day I’ve had.”

“All in due time, my love. Okay? We have plenty of time to talk everything through.”

“Yeah, we have time,” I whispered, already half hoping she’d be able to convince me to stay.

Collectively, we turned to the staircase as Cole made his way down. “You’re all set in the guest room. Let me know if you need help getting into the apartment tomorrow. I’ll be by the bakery in the morning after my jog, Gigi. But I’m happy to stop here andgrab your things for you first, Madi.”

“You’re so sweet. Thank you. But I think I can manage. I don’t want to put you out any more than I already have.”

“It’s no trouble at all. Let me know if you change your mind. Gigi has my number. Have a good evening, ladies.” His blue eyes pierced the distance between us, moving over my face before settling on mine, studying me with a curious intensity before featherlike laugh lines crinkled at the corners, and he smiled.Damn…

I couldn’t help but think we had chemistry. Did he feel it too? Or was this just a bunch of misplaced wishful thinking on my part? Anything to distract from my own problems, right?

Once he closed the door behind himself, Gigi turned to me with a satisfied grin. “He likes you. I can already tell. Just like I knew he would.”

“He’s a nice guy and your neighbor. Plus, he grew up across the street from you.You’rethe one he likes,” I insisted.

“Well, we’ll see about that, won’t we?” She had mischief in her sparkling eyes. But to be fair, she always had that look about her.

“No meddling,” I halfheartedly warned. “Promise me that whatever you have planned in your adorable little head, Georgia Renee Hale, you’ll unplan it right now.”

“Oh, you full-named me; this is serious,” she teased before donning a more earnest expression. “I would never meddle in affairs of the heart, honey. If I were a meddler, they would have discovered Ross the Albatross’s body at the bottom of the Cozy Creek Lake eons ago, right? That little turd, stringing you alonglike he did. I still want to give him a piece of my mind. He better not show his face in this town ever again, or I’ll?—”

“Fair enough,” I cut her off before she could get into an entire rant. Gigi had a temper, and it could get ugly. “You made your point, and I agree—he turned out to be the obtuse commitment phobe you always said he was. But obviously, I’ll still be keeping an eye on you.”

She held both hands up. “I’m the picture of innocence, I swear. Let’s have an early dinner and open a bottle of wine, shall we? Enough talk about meddling, planning, and matchmaking, okay? All I want is for you to be here, spending time with me, happy and content. And maybe—later, not tonight—start planning your future here in Cozy Creek.”

“That sounds perfect. I’m ready to get our time together started. And in the spirit of being comfortable and content, I will run upstairs, steal one of your caftans for the night, and dive face-first into a huge plate of lasagna.”

I knew she was attempting to appease me by saying she wouldn’t try to set me up with Cole, but I didn’t care. Gigi was harmless. All she wanted was for me to be happy. Whatever machinations she had dreamed up wouldn’t amount to much. I wasn’t truly worried.

“I’ll meet you at the table, my darling.”

“You have yourself a dinner date.” I laughed as Basil barked in agreement from his bed in the corner, then flopped over to go back to sleep.

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