Page 53 of Beary In Love

"Logan kissed me." Serena collapsed onto her couch. "Well, on the cheek, but-"

"Finally!" Julie's squeal made Serena hold the phone away from her ear. "Tell me everything."

Serena spilled out the whole evening - the sunset, the wildflowers, the way Logan's eyes had lingered on her. Her voice softened as she described how natural it felt working beside him at the sanctuary these past few weeks.

"And now I can't stop thinking about him," Serena admitted, twisting a loose thread on her sleeve. "But we said we'd just be friends, and what if I'm making another mistake? What if-"

Julie's laughter cut through her spiral of doubts. "Oh honey, listen to yourself. You sound like a teenager with her first crush."

"I do not!" Serena protested, then caught her reflection in the window - flushed cheeks, silly grin. "Okay, maybe a little."

"Serena, sweetie." Julie's voice turned gentle. "The way you talk about him - the sanctuary, the animals, how he's grown - sounds to me like you already know exactly what you want."

Serena's breath caught. The weight of uncertainty that had been pressing on her chest lifted as Julie's words sank in. "I do, don't I?"

"You want to be with him."

"I want to be with him," Serena repeated, the truth of it warming her from the inside out. "God, Julie, I really do."

"Then what are you doing talking to me?" Julie laughed. "Go get your bear man!"

"It's midnight!"

"Since when has that stopped true love?"

"Julie!" Serena laughed, but her heart skipped at the words 'true love.' "Thank you. For everything."

"Anytime. Now go plan how you're going to sweep that man off his feet tomorrow."

After ending the call with Julie, Serena's mind raced with possibilities about her talk with Logan tomorrow. She needed something to calm her racing thoughts. Padding into her living room, she clicked on her TV and scrolled through her streamingservices until she found the perfect distraction - "Love's Second Chance at Sunset Bay."

"Oh, this looks perfectly cheesy," she muttered, wrapping herself in her favorite fleece blanket and settling into the corner of her couch.

The movie started with a woman returning to her hometown after ten years away. Serena snorted into her blanket. "Really?

But she kept watching, drawn in despite herself. The leading lady ran into her old flame at - of all places - an animal shelter.

"You have got to be kidding me." Serena grabbed her phone, typing quickly.

"Julie, this movie is literally my life right now."

A string of crying-laughing emojis came back, followed by: "Universe trying to tell you something?"

Serena tossed her phone aside and hugged her knees to her chest, watching as the couple on screen navigated their way back to each other. Her eyes welled up when the male lead gave this beautiful speech about how he'd never stopped loving her, even after all those years.

"It's just the lighting making my eyes water," she insisted to herself, wiping at her cheeks with the corner of her blanket.

By the time the inevitable happy ending rolled around, with a sunset kiss and swelling music, Serena had gone through half a box of tissues.

"This is so stupid," she hiccupped, blowing her nose. "I'm crying over a Hallmark movie."

Her phone buzzed again. Julie had texted: "Go to bed, you lovesick witch."

Serena glanced at the clock - 1:30 AM. "Oh god, I really should sleep." She switched off the TV but couldn't help smiling at how the movie couple had gotten their second chance. Just like she and Logan might.

"Tomorrow," she promised herself, heading toward her bedroom. "Tomorrow I'll figure out how to tell him."

She paused in her doorway, touching her cheek where Logan had kissed her. "At least my story has better special effects than that movie. Their leading man definitely couldn't turn into a bear."

---