Page 60 of The Story of Us
Jamie shook her head. “Oh, the lure of love never goes away.”
Of this, she was certain. Nothing was more powerful than love. It was the most universal emotion in the human experience. It transcended Valentine’s Day because every day of the year, everyone wanted to be loved and to love in return—even people who tried to protect their hearts by enacting silly policies like a romantic hiatus.
Jamie knew firsthand all about that kind of secret longing. But she also knew that love was about more than romance. It was about community and family and friendship—it was even about pets. Anyone could experience love, with or without a significant other. Jamie had been heartbroken when Sawyer left for Columbia, but she’d never felt unloved. Not for a minute. She’d had her parents, Aunt Anita and her friends. She’d had True Love.
And now she had Lucy and Rick and Eliot, too. She might even have Sawyer again…
But something about Dana’s presence was making that feel less and less likely.
“I suppose not.” Dana glanced at the branches of the cherry tree in the center of the store, dripping with old Valentine’s cards. Then she aimed a pointed look at Jamie. “But the emphasis brought on by this holiday will.”
“Valentine’s Day is one of the best days of the year, and you don’t have to be in a relationship to enjoy it.” Jamie hoped Dana realized that. Surely she had someone in her life she could share a heart-shaped box of chocolates with—if not a boyfriend or husband, then maybe a mother, an aunt, a BFF. Possibly the stylist responsible for maintaining her hair’s razor-sharp ends?
Dana nodded slowly. “But in the end, Waterford’s Council is going to vote to go forward with the Ridley Property and Sawyer’s redesign. He’s already persuaded three more stores to support the plan, including Kagan’s Bikes. Which puts us at the tipping point.”
Jamie nodded—at least she thought she did. She couldn’t actually tell because a cold numbness had taken over her body.
Threemore businesses had signed contracts with Ridley?
She knew she shouldn’t be surprised. Of course Sawyer had been working behind the scenes to build public support so he could get his re-design approved. It was his job, the entire reason he’d returned to Waterford. And it wasn’t as if he’d been going about it in secret. She’d seen the coffee cart. She’d been standing with him when he’d been called over to the pizzeria. She’d even seen him schmoozing with Beth from the hobby shop last night at the festival.
The news came as a shock, all the same. And as Dana’s announcement spun in her head on constant repeat, Jamie’s thoughts kept snagging on the same word over and over.
He’s already persuaded three more stores to support the plan…
Jamie’s chest tightened, and she felt like she couldn’t breathe.
Persuaded.
How had she been so stupid? Did she have to get hit in the head with a flying book to understand what had been going on the past two weeks?
“Persuade.” She nodded. “Right.”
She’d been thinking that Jane Austen’sPersuasionhad been a sign, some kind of magical literary promise that Sawyer might be her Captain Wentworth—that they might be destined to be together, despite all evidence to the contrary.
That book had been trying to tell her something, all right. It had been a warning sign.Disaster approaching! Sawyer O’Dell has come to back to close your bookshop!Any fool could have seen it.
The worst part of all was that Jamie had seen the warning signs. She’d just stopped paying attention to them somewhere along the way, choosing to believe she could have her bookstoreandSawyer—true love, in all its forms.
“I almost forgot that’s why he’s here,” she said flatly.
Dana lifted her chin. “Well, that’s not the real issue.”
“What is?” Jamie was almost afraid of the answer.
“Your future. If…when…the council decides to go ahead with the vote, andifyou remain a holdout, they could evoke eminent domain and take your property for the benefit of the community. Which means they’ll likely pay a far lower price than what we’re offering now. You have a window of opportunity, Ms. Vaughn. But it’s shrinking.” Dana pulled a manila envelope from her designer handbag. “This is our final offer.”
The envelope practically burned Jamie’s fingertips. She couldn’t even look at it.
“Your store is lovely.” Dana looked around again, smiling at the books and the flowers and the Valentines that decorated practically every surface. “I can see why you’re fighting for it. Perhaps you can use the money from the sale to recreate it elsewhere.”
“It wouldn’t be the same.” Jamie shook her head.
She couldn’t fathom trying to build True Love again from scratch. Part of what made it so special was its history.
“I know. And I am truly sorry.” Dana’s expression turned bittersweet, and for the first time, Jamie got the feeling that Dana really understood what True Love meant to her.
But it was too little, too late.
