next to the recliner.”
“Uh, you were going to introduce Everleigh to your quilting club. So they could help her?”
“Hon, they’re too small for what you want. Everyone in the village comes to mahjong. Not just quilters. Women who embroider, or crochet, or sew their own clothes. That’s what you need, and that’s what I’ll deliver.”
Sydney and Everleigh exchanged amused glances over her head. Gram…gambled? Over a tile game? How wild were the residents of Egret Bay Retirement Village?
Desperate for five minutes alone, she squeezed her grandmother’s arm. “You know, before we go down the hall, I’d love if you could have a little talk with Everleigh. She’s new here, but she really wants to connect to what makes Chestertown so special. That way she can talk it up to potential inn guests. Will you tell her why you decided to stay?”
The warmth leached out of her eyes, replaced by a flatness. “You mean in this ‘speck of dust on a map’? Isn’t that what you called it?”
Geez. Family never let you forget a single misstep. No matter how many years—and years of maturing—elapsed. She handed over the hot teal purse. “Yes, Gram. When I was fifteen I said thoughtless, hurtful things about Chestertown to you. I lashed out. And I know I was wrong. How many times do I have to apologize?”
“Oh, you’ve covered that enough, hon.” She tucked an errant lock of hair behind Sydney’s ear. “But you haven’t apologized to yourself yet.”
Sydney lurched backward, butting her into the wooden chair that paired with the small bistro table. “What? Why would I do that?”
“Because running away from here put a distance—real and figurative—between you and your family. You hurt yourself with that.”
A charged moment froze Sydney in place even more than the chair…and then sent her running.
Because that was her comfort zone.
It was what she knew how to do. It was easy.
Easier than continuing this conversation, at any rate.
“Sorry.” She pulled her phone from her back pocket and waved it in the air. “I have to make a call. Work thing. Shouldn’t take long. You two chat.”
Rather than going into the bedroom, Sydney went out the front door. No way would she risk Everleigh hearing even a smidge of this conversation. She hustled down the length of the hall to the lobby area while the phone rang.
She and Sanjay usually pinged each other on G-chat. That way if it was the wrong time zone or in the middle of a shoot, it wouldn’t wake you up. But this was an emergency. She couldn’t wait for what might be a convenient time for him.
She had to know.
Had to confirm whether the churning in her stomach was paranoia, or dread at how everything between she and Alex was about to change.
How stupid and lax she’d been.
It had been lovely to exist in a bubble with Alex. One that had nothing to do with either of their pasts. Where anything that happened outside of Chestertown wasn’t even a factor.
Sydney had done it out of pique. Frustration at Excursions 365 promising her a promotion if she jumped through the right hoops, and then reneging. At treating her so poorly. This sabbatical with her grandmother gave her the chance to step away, clear her head.
Submerging herself in the bubble of right now, of living only in the moment, had been a relief.
But Sydney knew better. Basic dating safety as a woman in today’s world. Don’t sleep with a guy unless you know his last name.
Had Alex introduced himself with his full name, that first day in the Mercantile? Sydney just couldn’t say for sure. Maybe? She’d been frustrated, then he’d pissed her off further. And then…they were suddenly way past formal introductions. Especially with the whole town believing they were engaged. And Chestertown was a call everyone by their first name kind of place. There were no strangers.
So stupid.
Sydney dropped onto a cushioned chair patterned with the namesake egrets of the village.
Sanjay finally answered. “Hey there. Does this mean you’ve decided to take the next step in that awesome job offer?”
Hardly. “I told you I needed time. No. I won’t leave until I know Gram’s out of the woods. Everything else has to wait—even my career.”
“Then what’s with the call? Are you okay?”
“I’m…not sure. Remember that story I broke about that Pittsburgh hotel?”
“You mean the one that should’ve earned you your own show? The one they challenged you to write as proof that you could make anyplace, even the Steel City, interesting enough for