Page 8 of Ardently Yours

Just when I am about to walk away, I hear the sound of Lizzie crying. The sound hits me harder than I expect and roots me to the spot. But Wolfsheim did say to give her time.

I walk away from the door instead of rushing into her office to offer comfort. Instead, I offer her time to cry in peace. I get back to work, baking away my frustrations about the guy who made her cry.

Chapter Three

Lizzie

Iwipe my eyes and sniffle, staring down at my untouched coffee and pastry. How can I eat? My stomach churns as I think about Billie and the audacity he has to come to my cafe to stir up trouble.

He ruined my appetite. I grab a couple of tissues from the box on my desk, blow my nose, and wipe my eyes and cheeks. I can’t go back out there looking like I’ve been crying, so I sit in silence for a few more minutes, sending up silent prayers to God to help me calm down.

But I don’t want to be calm. I want to be sad or angry, which makes my eyes water again.

How could Billie do this to me?

It’s the same question I asked when he left me without much of an explanation, without anything except a text saying he needed space and time to pray about what’s best for him.

Six years ago. I was ready to be with him back then. Once upon a time, he was the perfect choice for me. He was loved by my Mama. He went to church regularly here in Selah. He was my boyfriend throughout senior year of high school and all of college.

I was looking for forever with him. We’d just graduated from Selah Falls University when, one Sunday after church, he came over for dinner at my parents’ house. At some point during dinner, he looked at me and said, “You and I make sense.” Then he proposed.

And I said yes because I believed him.

But in reality, I was just a young woman fresh out of college with a BS in Entrepreneurship, who was happy staying in her hometown to open her own business. I hadn’t known it then, but he was a confused, cocky man looking for his next victim instead of the perfect man I thought he was.

And now, he’s here, as if resurrected from the dead after six years of radio silence. He is not only alive, but he is coming to dinner.

I should text Mama and ask her why she is allowing him to slide back into our lives and why she is extending an invitation to him. But I know why. She always liked him for me, or for any of my sisters. She sees him as a way to marry one of us off to a good man from Selah Falls.

Papa never warmed up to him like Mama did, and truth be told, I trust his discernment more than I can depend on Mama’s. I wish I’d listened to his discernment back when Billie proposed at that Sunday family dinner all those years ago.

But I ignored all the red flags and said yes because getting married to a good man was the goal… that’s how Mama raised us Bennet girls.

I think of the family dinner tonight that was rescheduled from yesterday and wondered if Mama planned this around Billie coming to town. I wouldn’t put it past her.

But I also considered who would be at this dinner: Mama, ready to marry me off to Billie no matter his excuses for leaving. Papa, keeping a watchful eye on Billie and quietly listening to the excited chatter of conversation that naturally occurred when my sisters and I were together. My sisters: Janet, with her husband, Charlie Bingley. Mary, Kitty and Lydia with their boyfriends and then me.

I groan out of frustration. I can’t show up to dinner alone again. My mind goes in a million directions trying to think of a plan.

Maybe I can cancel and say I’m sick.

But that won’t work since I live with Mary, Kitty, and Lydia. They will know I am not sick when they get home after dinner. And then Mama will just bring soup over and check on me since she and Papa live right next door.

I can invite Nic and Jane over for moral support. But Jane has rehearsal tonight with the church worship team since she is the backup guitar player. Nic has wedding errands to run with Jay before he leaves for a quick trip to New York for an in-person interview ahead of his second book release.

“I don’t want to go,” I say to myself, checking my phone for the time.

My lunch break is over. I look at the to-do list on my desk, showing administrative tasks I have to tackle this month as the cafe owner. My head starts to hurt a bit, and I am a little overwhelmed by the thought of work, family, and Billie.

I stand up and stretch, not feeling up to going back out there after my eventful morning, but business doesn’t take a break, so neither can I… not for long, anyway.

I pass through the kitchen, casually gazing at Will. I expect to see him baking, but he’s just standing by the open refrigerator looking at me. I don’t pause to talk to him. But the way he looks at me makes me want to stop and ask if he is okay.

He looks worried, or maybe concerned… about me? No, I doubt it. Maybe we are out of an ingredient he needed. I head to the front counter to check on Wolfsheim and to see if help is needed. Then, I plan to go back to the kitchen to check in with Will to make sure he is okay before heading back to my office to get started on that dreaded do list.

“Mr. Wolfsheim, how’s it going out here?” I ask. He’s organizing some cafe business cards on the counter but looks up and smiles that gold-tooth-flecked grin at me.

“Had about five customers come through for their morning caffeine rush, but it’s been quiet for a bit. Two were simple to-go orders. There are a few customers here now.”