Confessions from the Quilting Circle - Maisey Yates Page 0,111

needed to escape. And that you did with Michael. What I said to you....about how I would never, it was wrong. I would. I did. With Adam. We didn’t have a physical relationship or anything before this and I wasn’t totally conscious that we were flirting. But I took a break from my life and I let myself use him as an escape. Jacob wasn’t a burden. But it was hard. It was so hard and I was lonely. Somehow taking a break from the real world and taking about other things made me less lonely.”

Adam reappeared with the envelope as soon as Rachel quit talking. “I sold them all. If you want to think of monthly specials, in addition to some of the standbys, that would be great. It was really popular.”

“Excellent,” Anna said. “That’s perfect.”

Her mind was still turning over with her sister’s apology. With what she’d said.

She supposed she could choose to get mad. Mad that it had taken Rachel this long to acknowledge it, but she didn’t have it in her.

Their lives were complicated in ways they never would have chosen. If they could find their way through the mist and to the light, then why be mad over the how, when or why.

They’d connected here. At this point of pain. And suddenly it was like she could see Rachel clearly, and she knew Rachel saw her now, too.

She looked between him and Rachel. “Well, I’m going to leave you. I have another stop to make.”

And she marched right down to Fog, money in hand. She talked to Jo about making turnovers. And then, feeling truly brave indeed, she went down to Sunset Bay Coffee Company to make the same offer to Natalie.

It was a strange meeting, and it took a while for Natalie to warm up, but once she did, she was interested in what Anna had to offer.

“Full disclosure,” Anna said, “Fog will have some turnovers, and J’s will have pie. But if you want to, I can make you different specials. Things to differentiate between here and there.”

“That would be great, Anna,” she said. “I’d love to have your baked goods. I miss them at church.”

Anna huffed out a laugh. “Right.”

“Sorry. I promise I wasn’t being snarky. I mean it. I miss seeing you there.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome here. Anytime.”

That was entirely unexpected and...nice. It was nice.

She’d felt like a pariah, and had told herself she was comfortable with it. Had told herself she’d blown up her life.

Maybe none of that was true. She’d just rearranged it.

With herself in the center of it. And come to find out...that was okay. More than okay. She didn’t have to be colorless.

“Thank you for that, too,” Anna said.

She looked over and saw Xavier sitting at a table by the door. He ran a large hand through his dark hair and she paused to watch the motion. He was concentrating on whatever was on his computer screen and he didn’t notice her.

She wanted him to notice her.

And she didn’t have to just sit back and hope he would.

She walked over to his table and leaned in. “Hey,” she said.

He looked up from his computer and smiled. “Anna, hi.”

“I’m just headed out. I don’t want to interrupt you. Just wanted to say hi.”

He smiled at her, and she lit up inside. Before he could say anything else she moved away.

And when she stepped out into the sunlight, it felt like the first step into something. Maybe into that new life that she’d been wanting so very much.

The life that had always been there, waiting for her to make it.

WENDY

When her granddaughter showed up at the Lightkeeper’s House unannounced one morning after all the guests had been served breakfast, Wendy was surprised.

Emma had spent a lot of time in the Lightkeeper’s House when she was a girl, learning to avoid the times when the guests were most likely to be milling about in the main house, and choosing times instead when she could putter around with her grandmother, or sit in the kitchen with a book.

But, of course, Emma had lost interest in that a long time ago, so seeing her standing on the front porch, reminding Wendy so very much of when she was young, threw Wendy back to a different time.

“Can I come in?”

“You don’t have to ask,” Wendy said. She looked out at the ocean, at the brilliant blue, the sky clear for the first time in so long. They’d been having beautiful weather for the last