by Kait Nolan
Cheeks faintly flushed, Norah rose from her seat and edged into the aisle, looking a trifle embarrassed as she made her way through the gate from the visitors’ gallery to stand in front of the Council.
“Norah, you have given of your expertise, your time, and your personal resources, all in the name of supporting this town you’ve decided to make your own. We owe you a debt that can never be properly paid because you cannot put a price on the gift of hope. But we came together today to honor you and your endless contributions to Wishful.”
Sandra stepped down from the bench and brought her the engraved plaque, while the room erupted with applause. Cam’s heart fairly burst with pride as Norah accepted it and then his mother’s embrace. Sandra gestured to give Norah the floor.
With a helpless look at the audience, Norah lifted a hand to her cheek. “For probably the first time since any of you have known me, I don’t know what to say.”
A faint ripple of laughter swept through the assembly.
“Thank you. I’m so honored. But really this doesn’t belong to just me. I might’ve had the ideas, but I couldn’t have executed any of them without help from all of you. The success isn’t mine, it’s Wishful’s.”
“Well, we’re glad to hear you say that,” Hank said.
Norah turned back to face the Council.
“See, there’s the matter of the vacancy in the City Planner’s office,” Grace said.
“And we can’t think of anyone better suited to the job than you,” Ed said.
Norah blinked. “You’re…offering me a job?”
“Normally we’d do a formal interview, get references, the whole shebang,” Sandra said. “But in this case, your actions over the last four months more than answer all our questions. You’re smart, dedicated. You’re above reproach. And you consistently put Wishful first. That’s exactly what we want in a City Planner. We realize we’ve put you on the spot, so you don’t have to give an answer right now. Take some time to think about it.”
She turned her gaze on him, and Cam knew her answer even before she spoke it. “I don’t have to think about it. Yes. There’s nothing else I’d rather do.”
~*~
“You totally knew they were going to do that.” Norah poked an accusatory finger in Cam’s arm.
He grinned, unrepentant, and draped an arm around her shoulders. “I totally did.”
“Well, I’m glad I wore the suit since I was up there in front of all those people.”
“You could’ve gone up there in shorts and a t-shirt and it wouldn’t have diminished your accomplishments or how much we all appreciate them.”
“Yeah, but the suit looks better in pictures.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
“It was your idea to make me the new City Planner, wasn’t it?”
“I might’ve put the bug in their ear when we were discussing qualifications for the position. But I couldn’t have gotten you hired all on my own. The decision was unanimous. No contest. No discussion. You were made for this job.”
“I think maybe I was.”
“C’mon, I want to show you something.” Cam steered her across the green, toward the fountain. “I’ve been instructed to inform you that the honors don’t end with just a plaque.”
“They don’t?”
“Nope. You’re getting a burger named after you at Dinner Belles. And Cassie is creating a drink in your honor for permanent inclusion on the menu at The Grind. The General Burke.”
Norah gave a happy sigh. “You know, I have no idea what cockles are, but that just warms my heart all the way down to them.”
“Pretty sure that makes you an official local. There’s no getting rid of us now. We’ve got our hooks in you too deep.”
“You had your hooks in me from day one. You and your silly dog.”
“It was a masterful plan, if I do say so myself.”
He pulled her to a stop beside the fountain, keeping her tucked close against his side. “What do you see?”
She looked but couldn’t tell what it was he wanted her to home in on. “Did they clean it?” As far as she could tell, it still had the same patina of age it always had.
“Look closer.”
Her gaze skimmed the edges, the base, the pool of water with its glinting treasure beneath. “I still don’t know what you want me to see.”
“Okay I’ll chalk it up to the fact that you’re wiped out. Here’s a different question. What do you hear?”
Norah listened closely. A faint breeze rustled the leaves of the massive oaks shading the green. Voices from people walking down Spring Street and Main carried back on the wind. And underneath it all, the soft burble of…water.
“It’s running!” She could see it now, the faint trickle of water. Not a lot, but something where there’d been nothing for years.
“It is. I noticed it before we left for Chicago last week.”
“Did they finally figure out what was wrong with it?”
Cam tugged the plaque from her hand and set it aside, pulling her to sit beside him on the fountain ledge. “Nobody’s touched it.”
“But it’s running again. Why would it just spontaneously start up?”
“I have a theory.” He said it in a tone that clearly expected skepticism.
“Lay it on me.”
“Well, actually it was sort of your theory. Do you remember the day we made our wishes?”
“Sure. Hard to forget when I got my wish.”
That distracted him. “What was it?”
“For my time here to show me what my path was, what I was meant to do. I’d say I pretty much got my answer today.”
“I got the wish I made that day, too.”
“Yeah? What was yours?”
“I wished for a miracle to save Wishful. We got you.”
Norah’s heart squeezed. “Cam. You are the sweetest thing.” She leaned in, brushed her lips over his.
“Don’t know that it’s sweet if it’s just plain truth.”
“Flatterer.” She settled back. “So what was your theory? Or my theory. Whatever.”
“You said that the fountain dried up as hope in Wishful did. Over the last four months, you gave that back to us. You saved us in more ways than one. Me most especially.” He leaned over and trailed his hand through the water, scooping a coin up from the bottom.
“What are you doing? You can’t do that. That’s somebody’s wish.”
“Sure I can. It’s mine.” He turned his hand over to show her. But it wasn’t a coin in his palm. It was a ring. Diamond, flanked by sapphires and filigree. Gorgeous and sparkling in the late April sun.
Norah’s throat closed up.
“I could’ve asked you that day at my grandmother’s, but it was always meant to be here. Source of hope. Font of wishes.” He took her limp hand in his and smiled. “I love you. I want to spend the next fifty or sixty years showing you how much while we build a life and a family together and keep right on saving this town, side by side. Say you’ll grant me my wish and be my wife.”
She swallowed hard. He was so steady, so perfect. So hers. It was worth every hour of work, every moment of frustration and doubt, every turn in her life, because all of it had brought her here, to him.
When she couldn’t make a sound, she just nodded. Cam’s fingers were warm and sure as he slipped the ring on her finger, then raised it to his lips.
Norah still didn’t make a peep. She was positive if she opened her mouth, she was going to burst into happy tears.
“Wow, speechless twice in one day? That’s got to be a new record.”
That surprised a laugh out of her. “Don’t get used to it.”
He cupped her face and drew her close. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“I love you so much, Campbell.”
When he kissed her, she tasted his smile, and it was sweet, as life was sweet.
“Let’s go home before anybody sees us.” He pulled her to her feet.
“What?�
� She laughed.
“Once this hits the wind, it’ll take us five hours to cut loose, and I’ve got a mind to celebrate.”
“I can’t argue with that.”
As they headed for his truck, Norah looked around at the town she’d adopted as her own and reflected that life would never be dull in the place where wishes came true.
A Note From The Author
Thank you for visiting Wishful! If you liked it, please consider leaving a review. Every one helps! These days, it's harder than ever to get a new book noticed. Many of the promotional opportunities out there require a minimum number of reviews—10 at the low end, 50+ at the high. If you enjoyed this book, taking just a minute of your time to click the star rating and write a few words would help me tremendously, and allow me to continue to bring you the stories you enjoy.
If you’d like to read more in Wishful, sign up for my newsletter http://eepurl.com/bs79YH and receive a FREE COPY of Be Careful, It’s My Heart, Tyler and Brody’s story. You can find a sneak peek at the end of this book. I wrote their novella on a lark and fell in so love with the town, I knew I had to write more, which is where To Get Me To You came from.
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Find out more about me at my website http://kaitnolan.com
Other Books By Kait Nolan
Contemporary Romance
Wishful
To Get Me To You (Cam and Norah)
Be Careful, It’s My Heart (Brody and Tyler)
Know Me Well (Liam and Riley): Releases August 14th! Preorder yours today!
Meet Cute Romance
Once Upon A Snow Day
Once Upon A New Year’s Eve
Once Upon An Heirloom
Once Upon A Coffee (A Wishful Meet Cute)
Paranormal Romance
Mirus Series:
Genesis (an omnibus including, Forsaken By Shadow (Mirus 1.1), Devil’s Eye (Mirus 1.2), and Blindsight )
Riven
Whisper of Shadow (Also available in the Magical Mayhem anthology)
YA Paranormal Romance:
Red
Whisper of Shadow
The best things happen while you’re acting…
The historic Madrigal theater, in the heart of downtown Wishful, is about to close its doors forever. A last ditch fund-raising effort, a production of White Christmas, is probably the only thing that could bring Tyler Edison out of retirement. She fell in love on that stage, but when Brody Jensen abandoned her, she lost the heart to sing and dance for the crowd. Maybe it’s time to take that back…
It seems like pure chance when Brody’s job, which has taken him all over the world, brings him back to his little hometown to oversee his boss’s latest secret project. Brody’s looking for closure, planning to sell the house his parents left him and finally put his past, and his memories of Tyler, behind him. What better way than to be a part of this last show? Even though his leading lady is surely long gone…
Put on your dancing shoes, auditions start at six o’clock.
Excerpt Be Careful, It’s My Heart
“Okay, let’s see where you are, Brody,” called Nate. “‘The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing’, from the top.”
Tyler lifted a finger for them to wait and put her head together with Mitch Campbell over some plans for their inn backdrop. Brody knew the architect from way back. He was Cam’s cousin, a few years older than him, Tucker, and Cam. Mitch had volunteered to head up set construction for the show, which meant wrangling all the untrained help.
More power to him, Brody thought. He didn’t envy the man that job. He did envy the easy smile Tyler shot Mitch before clapping him on the back and moving to take up her position on stage. She’d smiled at him like that once upon a time.
She didn’t smile now as he crossed the stage. Her face was set in a carefully neutral expression. Fine. He could be every bit as professional as she could. Brody reached for her, curving one hand around her waist, the other taking her free hand. They fit. They’d always fit.
Somebody queued up the music. Tyler glanced down as if checking the position of their feet, which was ridiculous since she knew exactly where her feet were in the pitch black dark. The faint trace of color high in her cheeks gave her away. So she wasn’t as unaffected as she wanted him to believe. Brody could see the thrum of her pulse at the base of her throat, felt the answering echo of his own as she lifted her head again, focusing on his eyes.
She was stiff at first, resisting his lead. They stumbled a few times. He missed several steps. Then she did. And then the song was over, and she was frowning, knowing they botched the number.
“Okay, try it again, and this time, Tyler, remember you aren’t doing an impression of a fence post. Loosen up,” ordered Nate.
She took a moment, closed her eyes as if to center herself, then nodded. With a roll of her neck, she shook out all her limbs. Brody felt the difference in her posture as soon as she took position again. The music swelled, and they locked eyes. On cue, they began to move, and at last, at long last, he felt like he was home. Everyone and everything faded except the music and the woman in his arms.
He led, spun, dipped, and by the time she broke away into a quick shuffle tap, her eyes were sparking with fun and her cheeks were flushed with exertion. Brody found himself grinning, improvising in response, as he couldn’t remember this section of choreography to save his soul. He watched her, starting to follow her lead, mimicking, mirroring as they came back together and whirled around the stage. And at last they ended, Tyler in a deep dip over his knee, her face flushed and smiling, her chest heaving.
“Excellent!” called Nate. “You’re remembering how to move together.”
Something hot and dark flashed in Tyler’s eyes. Brody tugged her up, into his arms, and held her a moment too long, letting the awareness, the heat sink in. No, he hadn’t forgotten what it was to move with her—on stage or in the dark. Neither had she.
Her breathing faltered and she tugged away like he’d shocked her. She looked flustered and wary, which she’d never been at any point in their courtship. It was kind of adorable. Brody was wise enough to repress a smile.
Eight years had done nothing to dim the chemistry between them. She clearly hadn’t expected that and didn’t know what to do with it, so the default response was retreat. But before her brain had kicked back in, she’d been smiling, having fun, just like they used to. He could work with that.
Pick up your copy of Be Careful, It’s My Heart today!