Page 51 of Not Until I Found You

“Yes, thank you. That’d be nice.” Raine hands her salad duties over to me. “I’m going to check on this pot roast.”

In crowded rooms like this, full of people I don’t know, I used to slip away when it all became too much, hiding somewhere quiet until I could catch my breath. I became so good at pretending that eventually I forgot there was another way to be. But being here with them feels different. Nobody’s watching to see if I’m performing the right amount of charm, and somehow, that makes it easier to be more present.

“I’d help, but I brought all of the desserts, and I’ve already been in my kitchen all day long,” Olivia says from beside me as she opens a large white box.

“Wow, those look amazing.”

“These are two of my fan favorites. The fudgy-chocolate brownies and, of course, caramel-oatmeal cookies.”

“Your cookies are to die for, by the way. Thank you for sending some with Zane the other day for me.”

She beams. “You’re welcome. I knew you’d appreciate the lavender. It’s one of my favorite flavors to bake with.”

A small hand shoots up and snatches a brownie straight out of the box. Olivia’s green eyes go wide as Annabelle squeals with laughter and bolts through the kitchen. Luke lunges after her, scooping her up before she can make her escape.

“If you give me a bite,” he says in a serious tone, “I’ll threaten anyone who tries to take it from you with jail time.”

“Luke,” Raine warns.

He shrugs, unbothered by the stern look she’s giving him, right before Annabelle smushes a brownie chunk into his mouth.

“Run!” he mumbles around the bite, and the two of them rush down the hallway.

Raine takes off after them, shouting, “Don’t run with food in your mouth!”

Olivia and I burst into laughter. She shakes her head at her friends, and I watch the three of them disappearing around the corner. This group seems to move around each other easily, like the chaos and closeness is second nature to them.

I hover on the edge of it, unsure of where I fit, or if I do. But as Olivia nudges my shoulder with a grin, the leftover laughter still sparkling between us, I wonder if maybe I already am.

“And then she panicked and told my Nonni that we were dating.”

I’m on the edge of my seat, listening to Luke tell the story of how he and Olivia started dating. They were friends for years before a fake-dating situation made Olivia realize she had real feelings for him. Of course, Luke had feelings for her the entire time. A laugh escapes me as Olivia nudges him playfully, blushing and smiling at the same time.

“So did you pretend you were actually dating the entire weekend?” I ask before taking a bite of a cookie.

Olivia leans into Luke. “Yes. Eventually, the pretending shifted into something real.”

“She’s not kept her hands off me since,” Luke adds, chuckling as Olivia swats his shoulder.

It’s obvious the love Luke and Olivia have is special. Being around them and hearing their story has me wondering if Derek ever looked at me with such longing in his eyes. If we’d ever shared a funny inside joke between the two of us. Were we even truly in love with each other?

I shake those thoughts away because I can’t allow myself to stay so hung up on the what-ifs that I forget how to make the most of where I am now.

“Maxinne?” Raine says my name. I look up to see the three of them staring at me. I must have zoned out there for a moment.

“Yeah?”

“I was saying that Ashton decided to skip out tonight, and Ryland and Zane are almost here.”

I nod and glance down at our empty plates, a wave of guilt tugging at me because we tried to hold off as long as we could, but we caved and already ate.

“Are summers always like this for them?”

Raine shrugs. “It’s not always this busy, but within the last several years, the business has picked up substantially, which is a blessing. But I know it’s been hard on them all. Ryland is going to be hiring some extra hands soon so they can hopefully go back to a normal schedule.”

“Will that be this summer?” I ask quickly.

A strange flutter of panic moves through me at the thought of Ashton not needing my help anymore. The plan was for me to be here to support him during his busiest season and to help with Dad while he recovered. And somehow, we’ve settled into something that feels almost normal.