Page 29 of A Whisper of Summer Magic

“I have a few minutes before I need to meet a delivery truck, so dish,” Jessica ordered.

Meghan took a sip of the water, loving how it cooled her throat and body. Even in early June, the weather was heating up, and she still felt embarrassingly exhausted from the morning’s outing. She laid her head back against the cushion and closed her eyes.

“What part—my incredible ability to spawn and birth a baby in less than a week with a man I haven’t seen since childhood? Or my career pivot?”

“Pivot?” Jessica’s eyes popped wide. “You’ve decided? Your not-so-secret coffee with Elise Greggor was an interview and hiring all in one morning punctuated by a dramatic rescue by a local hero?”

Jessica jumped up and plunked down on the cushion next to Meghan, jostling her though she was too tired to moan a small protest.

“It was hardly a rescue. There was no fire.”

“It looked dramatic on the video one of my customers shopping for a terrarium of succulents for her ten-year-old niece’s birthday shared. She commented you made a perfect damsel in distress and that it was smart you were wearing a mini skirt so the hottie got a peek.” Jessica did the air quotes, burbling with laughter.

“Yeah, I’m always thinking two steps ahead,” Meghan said drily, closing her eyes as if that would stop the memory from this morning from replaying.

“So, when do you start? When will you move in? When will you start whipping up some jam so Jackson falls stupid in love with you? We can double-date.”

“We in high school again?” Meghan rolled her head and looked at her sister, and for a moment, she almost… yeah, almost wished that she could use theSouthern Love Spellsbook and cook something to find her soul mate—someone who’d look at her like Storm looked at Jessica and Rustin looked at Chloe.

Dumb.

“Besides, I thought you were leery of the book.”

“I am,” Jessica admitted and sighed, nibbling on her bottom lip, a sign she was troubled.

Meghan slid upright, her exhaustion pushed back. “What?” She was in big-sister, problem-solving mode.

“I didn’t realize how lonely I was up here until I wasn’t alone, as Storm has moved his office into the nursery. We often consult, share workload, and have dinner together.”

“That’s good, isn’t it, or do you feel…” Meghan didn’t want to push words on her sister.

“Happy,” Jessica confessed like it was a crime. “I know you made me swear not to let a man define my life and happiness like Mama did, and poor Sarah did, but Storm makes everything lighter. Fun. I have more enthusiasm and confidence to jump in and tackle new challenges, and I share… so much with him.”

Meghan wasn’t sure how to feel. She’d always been Jessica’s sounding board, but still falling in love was part of life—not that Meghan had given it much of a chance.

“And now that you’ve decided to move in and remake your life, I want the same happiness for you. I really want you here. I want us to work together in a way that feels right for us both—as a little or a lot.”

Oh, Meghan relaxed, losing tension she didn’t realize she’d been holding. Storm was taking up space in Jessica’s life, but she was telling Meghan that she still had room for her, for her sisters.

“I don’t want you to back out.”

“I won’t,” Meghan said. “I talked to Elise today—you know that. But we really talked, planned. I met with Rosalie, as well. We shared our vision for now, but also longer-term goals, and I told them I wanted to work remotely at least one day a week, and that I wanted to have a life, which they are on board with and carving out for themselves, as well.”

“So, when will it be official?”

“I’ll send my resignation letter next week when I can walk again and will be back in the office, and we’ll see if I get escorted off by security guards like my younger sis,” Meghan teased. “Oh, by the way, were either of the security guards hot? Did they have aV?”

“You’re terrible.” Jessica laughed and jumped off the banquette, tossing a cushion at Meghan. “Maybe that would have made the humiliation more bearable, but no, I knew both the guards, and they were happily married and wearing suits, and I was too stunned and furious and trying not to cry to think aboutVs. Sheesh. Perve.”

Abeep,beep,beepsounded.

“That’s my cue. The delivery truck with my new order of plants.” Jessica jumped up and hurried to the door that led to the porch and garden, shoving her feet into her gardening boots.

“Before you go, can you bring me the book? It’s in my weekender bag.”

“What? I thought you said you lost it.”

“Sorry to disappoint, thrift-store girl,” Meghan said drily, still ticked that Jessica had donated what Meghan was sure was a family heirloom even though they’d not been able to get Grandma Millie to admit to it. “I did leave it on the fire surround before the dash to the hospital, and it was gone when I looked for it, so I thought it burned, but then Jackson and I found it in the orchard.”

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