Confession Of A Nerdoholic

by Savannah Blevins

  It wasn’t as stressful as predicted. As it turned out, I still didn’t like to talk to strangers, but if I must talk to them, talking about baking was the most acceptable way.

  “Excuse me?”

  I looked over my shoulder, and a woman stood at the edge of the table holding one of my flyers. “The lady down there said you were Eloise.”

  I nodded.

  The woman had honey blonde hair. It was thin and dangled down her shoulder. She smiled softly. “I tested your cupcakes, and I have to say, I immediately fell in love.”

  Now I smiled. Anyone who said the words love and cupcakes in the same sentence immediately became okay in my book on the spot. “Thank you. Are you getting married soon?”

  She smiled. “Yes. The end of the summer, actually.”

  “Well, we’re having a summer sale if you’re interested in any of our services at Sugar Cube.”

  “The wedding is in Italy.”

  My shoulders slumped a little. “Oh. Well, unfortunately I don’t think I can ship cupcakes there.”

  “Yes, well, I kind of figured that. My wedding isn’t exactly why I came to talk to you.”

  “Oh.” I set my plate down and wiped my hands on my napkin. “Is there something else I could help you with?”

  “You’re Eloise.”

  I looked strangely at her. “Yes.”

  “Eloise Duncan?”

  “Yes,” I said a little more cautiously this time.

  The lady laughed. “I mean, of course you are. Look at that hair. It’s just like I remember it.”

  Her eyes. They weren’t quite green or brown. Hazel. I knew those eyes.

  My fingers touched my mouth, holding in the gasp. “Mom?”

  Tears welled up in her eyes. “Ellie, darling.”

  I clutched my heart. She had paint stained fingertips and a long kaleidoscope dress. Was that a streak of blue in her hair? “Oh my god. It’s really you.”

  Now she covered her mouth, her fingers trembling. “You’re so beautiful.”

  I grabbed the table for support. Oliver noticed. He set down his platter of cupcakes and watched us. I spoke very quietly. “What are you doing here?”

  “Your father called me.”

  “What? Why?”

  “He said he was done. He said there was no saving you from turning into me. He sent me your address.”

  I could have been angry. There was something to be said about her putting up more of a fight against him so she could have taken me with her. The anger wasn’t inside me, though. I couldn’t muster an ounce of it. The only thing inside me was pure, unadulterated joy. I ran to her. “Thank you.”

  I hugged her. I took in the scent of her soft perfume, the crafted metal earrings she wore, and the jeweled pin in her hair. This was really her. My mother.

  Oliver stepped into view. His worried expression made me laugh. I turned to him, laughing hysterically. “This is my mother.”

  His eyes rounded. I hugged her again. “This is Celeste…” Then I paused, because I didn’t know whether or not she’d kept Duncan as her last name or switched it back to her maiden name.

  “Montgomery,” she answered for me.

  Ah. Yes, so she’d switched. I liked it better.

  I tried again. “This is my mother, Celeste Montgomery.”

  Oliver came over and shook her hand as he continued to steal glances at me. He looked as if he was afraid I might shatter into a millions pieces at any moment. And I just might.

  “It’s nice to meet you.”

  I looked at my mother and smiled back at Oliver. “And this is my boyfriend, Oliver Edwards.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too, Oliver.”

  The others started to gather around as well. So I introduced them. I introduced my mother to every single person I cared about in the world, and it felt awesome. After a round of hellos, my mother grabbed my hand. “Oh, Ellie. I had no idea how this would go, but I knew I had to find you.” She touched my hair, my face. Her voice broke. “I’ve missed you. I’ve missed everything about you.”

  I laughed as the tears spilled over my lashes. “Ditto.”

  She laughed with me. Nothing about it was funny. It was merely the happiness radiating out of us in the only way it knew how. “Please, sweetheart, don’t cry. I don’t want to ruin your night.”

  “You could never ruin it. You’ve made this night even better than I thought it could be.”

  She held up the flyer in her hand. “I do want you to make the cake for my wedding. I know it’s soon, and I know I have a lot of forgiveness to earn, but I want you with me, Ellie. I want my daughter with me.”

  “You want to fly me to Italy?”

  “Yes. You can bring your boyfriend and your friends. You can bring whoever. I want to spend time with you. I don’t want to miss another moment of your life, and I want you in every part of mine. Say you’ll give me a chance. Tell me you’ll let me make up for everything that man stole from us.”

  I nodded. I couldn’t stop nodding. “Of course.”

  And I meant it. I had everything I ever wanted. I would never let it go.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Five

  CONFESSIONS

  Oliver Edwards stood in the doorway of my temporary bedroom at the Italian cottage. My mother had insisted on buying us all tickets to come to her wedding. The room was quaint and homey. We’d been there for three days, enjoying the beautiful confines of the vineyard and surrounding areas. The sun beamed through the open window into the room as it started to set over the horizon. He’d rolled the sleeves of his pinstriped shirt up to his elbows. He’d trimmed his hair before our overseas adventure, so it now stood perfectly on end. He stuck one hand in his pocket and adjusted his glasses with the other. I strutted over to him, eyeing him coyly.

  “Suspenders? Really?”

  He pulled them out to showcase them. “What? All the other groomsmen are wearing them.”

  I tugged my silky white robe tighter around me. “Well, this bridesmaid might not make it to the wedding if you don’t hide your sexy self somewhere.”

  “You’re already running late,” he said, leaning against the doorframe. “I’ve been sent to fetch you.”

  I walked back over to the mirror and placed the last pin in my hair. “All I have to do is put my dress on.”

  Oliver’s smile grew. “I showed up just in time.”

  I smiled over my shoulder at him. “In fact, you did. I could use some help.”

  “Where are Sloan and Ava? I thought they were supposed to be helping you.”

  “I sent them on. I was kind of hoping you’d stop by.”

  Oliver stood, his eyes studying me. “If you’re commando under that robe, we’re going to miss the wedding.”

  I got my dress down off the hanger. “Tempting, but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  Oliver came and stood behind me and looked at the mirror. “What is it?”

  I squeezed his hand that he laid on my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  He cocked his head. “Where else would I be?”

  I turned to face him. “This summer has been insane. Between helping me move into Sloan’s apartment, fulfilling all those new cupcake orders during wedding season, countless dinners and outings with my mom and her fiancé, to flying around the world to this wedding, you’ve gone above and beyond your boyfriend duties.”

  “No, see, that’s where you’re wrong.” He placed his lips right at the edge of my ear. “Everything I’ve done, everything I will do, is because you deserve it.”

  A light tap on the door caught my attention, and I looked over Oliver’s shoulder. It was my mother. Her hair was down, hanging in waves across her shoulders. She wore a beautiful, cream dress that fell to the floor. “Oh. Wow.”

  She smiled at the sight of us. “Am I interrupting?”

  I kept Oliver’s hand in mine and looked back at him. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I was in love.

  Rea
l love.

  It started as this silly crush, but now, I loved him. Oliver pulled me into his side and kissed my cheek. “I was trying to hurry her up.”

  My mother laughed as she came to us. “She comes by it naturally.”

  I hadn’t noticed it, but she carried a small white box in her hand. She held it up to me. “I have something for you. I would love it if you wore it today for the ceremony, and then it’s yours to keep.”

  “A present? For me?”

  She opened the lid of the box and held it over for me to see. It was a slender silver chain, and attached to the end was a tiny locket. A cursive “M” could be seen engraved in the center. “Every woman in the Montgomery family has worn it for ages. I had it saved for you for your sixteenth birthday, but today seems just as fitting.”

  I pulled out the necklace, my heart beaming with pride. “I love it. Thank you.”

  Oliver held his hand out. “Would you like for me to help you put it on?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Oliver latched the necklace, and I held the locket between my fingers, admiring its beauty. Someone cleared their throat at the door, and I turned around. It was Brett, my mother’s fiancé. We’d grown quite close over the summer. He was absolutely perfect for her, in the all the same ways Oliver was perfect for me. He smiled.

  “The minister is waiting,” he said with a laugh.

  My mother gave me a quick kiss. “Get dressed and I’ll meet you out on the deck in ten minutes.”

  I nodded, my voice too strained to risk speaking again. Too full of emotion. My mother joined Brett, giving me one more smile over her shoulder. Oliver unzipped my garment bag and removed the sheer pink lace dress from the hanger. I sniffed at the sight of it.

  “You’re not going to make it through the ceremony without crying on me, are you?”

  I shook my head.

  I took off my robe and took my dress. Oliver helped me zip up the back. I twirled around, enjoying how the end flared at the motion. Oliver’s eyes danced at the sight of me. “You look amazing, but then again, you always do.”

  Everything about this moment felt like a dream. This place. Us. “I love you.”

  I said it. I’d meant it for a while now, but I honestly didn’t know if I had it in me to say it. I’d never said it to a boy before, and Oliver was the only boy I ever wanted to say it to.

  He held his breath. His fingertips touched my hair then my lips. “I love you too, Eloise.”

  He kissed me.

  Oliver Edwards kissed me. He loved me too.

  “Excuse us.”

  I pulled away from Oliver’s lips just enough to glare at the door. Sloan and Ava stood inside the frame, grinning. “What did I tell you two about interrupting us?”

  Ava rolled her eyes. “This isn’t the poetry section.”

  Sloan smiled as she stepped inside. “The bride and groom are waiting.”

  I straightened Oliver’s shirt and adjusted his tie. “Afterward,” I said again, remembering my promise from earlier in the day when we sneaked through the vineyard together.

  “Afterward,” he agreed. He bent down to whisper in my ear. “Though I would like a dance with you at the reception first.”

  I leaned back and eyed him. “You dance?”

  “You don’t know everything about me yet. I still have a few surprises up my sleeve.”

  I tugged at his suspenders. “Indeed.”

  Ava cleared her throat. “We’re waiting,” she sang.

  I glared at them again. “Fine.” I looked back at Oliver. “Let’s go before we miss it.”

  We walked hand in hand out to the deck where we met my mother and Brett. My soon to be stepfather had brought his son and daughter to take part in the ceremony as well. Preston stood with Sloan and Ava. Brad did not make the trip. Ava’s baseball player love affair had fizzled out soon after the semester ended. She seemed to be recovering quite well, though. She eyed my future stepbrother, who I’d been told played baseball at Michigan, with interest.

  Yes, Ava Morrison would be just fine without Brad.

  We walked through the vineyard as a group to a secluded spot in the garden that looked out over the rolling hills of the countryside. It was there, as the sun set low in the sky, creating a soft orange glow over the lush green of the vineyard, that my mother and Brett said their vows.

  Oliver held my hand through it all. And I couldn’t help but smile.

  It was true confession time.

  I, Eloise Duncan, finally understood happiness, contentment, and love.

  I felt it. I lived it. I soaked it into every fiber of my being. Standing there on the hill, with my family, friends, and of course, my Oliver, at my side, I wasn’t naïve enough to believe life wouldn’t still throw me a wrench every now and then. But with these people, and their support, I would make it through it all.

  No more fear.

  No more hiding away in the shadows watching the world go by.

  I was ready to face it. Instead of imagining dreams…I wanted to make them come true.

  And I would. One nerdy kiss and cupcake at a time.

  BEFORE YOU GO…

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  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to my family for working so hard to make writing a possibility for me. I have the absolute best support system in the world. A special thank you to my husband John and my friends Whitney and Kim. Thanks for always understanding my quirky sense of humor and for being the only people not surprised by the silliness that I write. Thank you to my daughters, Delilah and Gracie for sharing in the excitement of each book birthday with me as if it were your own birthday.

  A special thank you to the entire Limitless Publishing team. You are all rock stars and I couldn’t be happier to have you guys on my side. You make a complicated process seem so effortless.

  And a big thank you to every single person who reads this book. Sharing a part of yourself with the world is hard, but those of you who take time out your day to encourage a writer make this grueling process worth it.

  About the Author

  Savannah was born in Hyden, Kentucky. She received her M.S in Speech Language Pathology from The University of Mississippi in 2009. She’s been writing since the early age of nine when she begged her parents for a type writer for Christmas.

  She now lives in Corbin, Ky with her husband of eight years, John, and their two wonderful daughters, Delilah and Gracie.

  When she isn’t working, or running after her kids, she spends her free time traveling the country with her husband. There is nothing better than a day of football in the grove, a late night of basketball at Rupp Arena or slapping the glass to celebrate another Washington Capitals goal.

  She is a strong believer that with enough hard work and determination you can accomplish anything.

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