Feels Like Home (Southern Bride 5)

I hit the off button and sat back on the sofa.

“Still think he doesn’t have feelings for you, Bristol?”

Slowly, I shook my head. “I can’t do this, Mindy. I can’t keep living in the past and neither can he.”

“Maybe it’s time you both looked at the future then.”

I nodded. “I think I’m going to go on that date with the guy at the bank.”

“Wait, no, that wasn’t what I meant.”

I laughed. “If you mean a future with Anson, then you’re insane. He lives in Nashville. I live in Comfort. I own a business. I’m not leaving behind what I built here, and he won’t leave his career. I wouldn’t ask him to.”

The line went silent. “That’s why you let him go?”

“No, I let him go because he wrote a shitty song about me and made it clear he was never coming back. That’s why I let him go.”

“But…have you?”

“What do you mean? I’ve dated other guys. I’ve moved on.”

“Hmm.”

My jaw fell open with disbelief. “What do you mean, hmm?”

“Why do you think he punched that guy?”

My eyes jerked up to the blackened screen of the TV. “I don’t know, but whatever it was, the guy pissed him off enough to make Anson hit him.”

“If I’m not mistaken, that reporter is the same guy Anson got into it with a few years back. Mack something.”

I frowned. “Really?”

“Yep. I wonder if it had something to do with Mack being here yesterday. He got your name, so maybe he said something about you to Anson.”

My stomach jerked and twisted. “Maybe. Anson has enough money; he’ll probably get away with a slap on the wrist.”

“Maybe,” Mindy said, but her voice didn’t sound any surer than mine did.

Damn. Why did life have to be so messy?

The moment I turned the Open sign over and unlocked the door, Ida walked in with a group of her friends.

“Good morning, ladies,” I said as I motioned them over to a table.

“Morning there, Bristol!” they all said.

Ida walked up and kissed me on the cheek. “Hello, Sweetheart. How are you?”

“I’m good, how are you?”

She gave me a wicked smile. “I’m good. Anson has been the talk of the town this morning. Carl has already stopped by and warned me not to talk to any reporters.”

With a nod, I said, “Hopefully no more show up!”

She laughed. “Dear, that boy. He won’t ever learn to check that temper of his. He gets it from his daddy.”

I smiled as I held out a chair for Ida.

“What have you got on the menu today, Bristol?” one of the women asked.

“Well, let’s see. We have Victoria sponge cake. Thumbprint cookies, mini cheesecakes with a fresh berry topping, and chocolate chunk cookies. We also have brownies, scones, and strawberry cake with buttercream frosting. The teas are our normal selection.”

As I wrote down the ladies’ requests, I couldn’t help but get the feeling that something was up with Ida. She kept glancing my way, a smile on her face that said she was the happiest woman in all of Texas. Maybe it was the fact that everyone was talking about Anson and his arrest. I knew deep down Ida was likely loving it all. Anson had developed somewhat of a bad boy reputation in country music. But he was the bad boy who everyone loved, according to the headlines.

My mother and Anna, a girl who worked part-time for me, helped get all the pastries and teas ready for Ida’s table.

“They all have something to gossip about this morning,” Anna whispered as she prepared the pots of tea.

With a glance over my shoulder, I noticed the women all talking a mile a minute.

“How can they even understand what the others are saying? They’re all talking over one another,” Anna said, a disbelieving look on her face.

I grinned and replied, “It’s a talent that’s years in the making.”

“They’re all old, so more like decades in the making,” Anna stated as I giggled and went back to putting the desserts onto small plates.

“Are you going to break the news to them that the tea room is going to be closed in a couple of days?” Anna asked.

That day was coming up. Two days, to be exact. My heart lurched as the memory came back.

“Bri, I want to tell you something.”

The sun shone on my face. I kept my eyes closed so I could soak in the warmth. I was so comfortable in Anson’s arms. I’d never felt so safe, like nothing in the world could ever touch me or hurt me while he held me.

The blanket Anson had laid out for us smelled like lavender, and I took in a slow, deep breath.

“Okay,” I said softly.

“I…I love you, Bristol.”

My eyes flew open, and I turned to look up at him. He stared down at me, a soft smile on his face.