Kara looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “Really? Do you honestly believe that now? Weren’t you the one who couldn’t wait to escape from here?”
Jamie slid his chair closer to her and put his arm around her shoulders. “Yeah, well, I was wrong. I guess I just didn’t understand how special what we had here was. I missed a lot of it after I moved away, and I regretted leaving you and Maeve too.”
Kara bit down on her bottom lip to stop herself from replying with a sarcastic retort. She might not believe what Jamie was saying, but making a smart comment about him finally having grown up would serve no purpose.
“How about I go over and check out the desserts and bring us some back?” Jamie asked a few seconds later, breaking the silence between them. Kara nodded, relieved to have a few minutes to herself.
The purpose behind tonight’s event was to celebrate the town’s good fortunes and extend the feeling of community. It also helped cement any new friendships that might have been formed during Volunteer Day. Kara looked around the crowded room. She knew she should be focused on feeling the community spirit, but instead, she found herself searching the crowd for Scott. His kiss still felt fresh on her lips, and she hoped she could see him for at least a short time this evening.
Kara finally located him, and as if he sensed her gaze, he looked up from the group he had been talking to and locked eyes with her. Kara lifted the glass of wine that Mark had delivered to her earlier and tipped it in Scott’s direction. She watched as a slow, sexy smile spread across his face, and he excused himself from the people he had been chatting with to make his way over to her.
Kara straightened in her seat and smiled back, giving her the perfect vantage point to see a pair of scarlet-tipped hands come up behind him and swing him around. A moment later, a scantily dressed Candy arched her back and smiled widely at the people around her as she pulled Scott toward her and locked her lips on his.
Déjà vu.
Kara frowned as she watched Candy thoroughly kiss Scott. Finally, she tore her eyes away and got to her feet. Candy and Scott might have a history, but he’d told her it meant nothing, she reminded herself.
She looked back over at them and gulped hard when she saw Candy still had her lips pressed against Scott’s. Kara clasped her suddenly shaking hands in front of her and took a deep breath.
It’s stupid to be upset. A kiss means nothing.
Still, tears stung her eyes as she headed off in the opposite direction, so she didn’t see Scott scowl as he flung Candy’s hands off him and pushed her away.
Kara moved quickly toward the dessert table and tried to calm her rapid breathing. She and Scott might have had a few special moments together, but it was silly to think anything lasting might come of it. He was a famous ex-professional baseball player and a successful lawyer who was about to leave town to become a celebrated pro-sports commentator. Kara was a single mom who enjoyed working with plants and certainly had no intention of ever leaving Larkin Bay.
As Kara wiped her eyes and tried to calm her trembling lips, she hurried toward the bakery table, where her friend stopped hovering over the desserts long enough to give Kara a warm, welcoming hug. “How are you? How is Maeve? Is she here?” Jaycee asked.
Kara shook her head and was about to answer but was silenced when the loud music suddenly stopped. Both women looked over at the stage at the far end of the hall to see what had caused the sudden lull, and Kara was surprised to see Jamie was standing on the stage beside the musicians.
They both watched him take the microphone and tap on it twice to get everyone’s attention. The hall quickly quieted as everyone turned to hear what he had to say.
He chuckled as he looked over the gathering. “Hi, everyone. Welcome and thank you for attending Larkin Bay’s annual volunteer dinner celebration.” He paused as his words were greeted with hoots and applause from the audience.
“I wanted to start off the speeches tonight by coming up here and thanking everyone for volunteering and helping make today such a great success. I’ve heard from the organizers that we’ve completed a record number of projects, and it was only because of your generous giving of your time and support that this happened.”
“I thought this was Mayor April’s speech to give,” Jaycee whispered to Kara. “She spent months organizing today’s schedule.”
Kara shrugged in reply. It was typical of Jamie to want to be the center of attention and take credit for someone else’s work.
“As many of you know, I’m Jamie Hunter and I grew up in Larkin Bay. I’ve been away for the last few years, but when I was young, I helped every year on Volunteer Day. I must admit some years when I was a teen I helped a little less willingly than others”—he paused for a moment while some of the crowd laughed, then continued with a wry smile—“but my mom and dad always made sure I did my part. And after helping again today, I can honestly say there is nothing like leaving something to make you realize how special it was. It’s true what they say; distance really does make the heart grow fonder, and now I realize those were truly the good old days.”
Kara glanced over at Jaycee and rolled her eyes. Jamie did always know how to tell a good story. If she didn’t know him so well, she might even believe all that he was saying.
Her friend smiled sympathetically back at her and then they both turned to look back at Jamie, who cleared his throat before he continued speaking. “And it wasn’t only Larkin Bay’s Volunteer Days I’ve missed since I’ve been gone. It was the people here too. I missed my parents and my bratty but equally adorable baby sister, Elizabeth, but mostly I missed the two people I was stupid enough to leave in the first place—Kara and Maeve.”
Jamie stopped for a minute to shoot a broad grin at Kara, who smiled uncertainly back at him.
“So I thought I would come up here tonight and rectify that mistake. Kara? Can you come up here and join me, please?”
Kara glanced over at Jaycee again, her eyes widening in dismay.
What’s Jamie up to?
Kara didn’t move for a long moment. Finally, a few people standing near her, friends she had known her entire life, began to clap and gently nudge her toward the stage. She reluctantly crossed the room and climbed the steps to the top riser.
“Jamie, what are you doing?” she hissed while forcing a smile to her lips.
Grinning at her, he grabbed her by the hand to pull her forward so she was standing closer to him. As Kara stared at him in disbelief, Jamie slid down to one knee and pulled a Tiffany blue ring box out of his jacket pocket.
“Kara, you were my first girlfriend,” he said into the microphone, looking up at her earnestly, “and I want you to be my last. Will you marry me?” He held out the box toward her as he winked and then grinned broadly at her shocked expression.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kara didn’t feel like getting dressed up, but she knew it was expected of her, so she was making the effort. Unfortunately, this was the third time this week she’d searched her closet hoping to find something different from her usual uniform of jeans and T-shirts. Today, after searching through to the very back of her closet, she was rewarded when she unearthed a beautiful sweater that Mary had bought her for her last birthday.
It was a light sage, which brought out the green flecks in Kara’s eyes and, when paired with a pair of black boots and pants, gave the impression that she had cared enough to dress nicely for the evening without going too far.
It’s perfect.
“Where do you think Jamie is taking us tonight?” she asked Maeve, who looked up from the picture she was coloring and gave her mother a disinterested shrug.
Kara laughed as she watched her daughter’s actions mimic her own ambivalence. “I don’t know either,” Kara replied, crossing her arms in front of her. “But I hope he remembers you like to eat early and can’t sit still very long. If he doesn’t, both you and me are going to be cranky.”
Looking away from her daughter, she picked up her vibrating phone. She hesitated for a long moment before looking away from the screen.
Scott.
