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Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Chapter Eight
  13. Chapter Nine
  14. Chapter Ten
  15. Chapter Eleven
  16. Chapter Twelve
  17. Chapter Thirteen
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Chapter Fifteen
  20. Chapter Sixteen
  21. Chapter Seventeen
  22. Chapter Eighteen
  23. Chapter Nineteen
  24. Chapter Twenty
  25. Chapter Twenty-One
  26. Chapter Twenty-Two
  27. Chapter Twenty-Three
  28. Chapter Twenty-Four
  29. Chapter Twenty-Five
  30. Chapter Twenty-Six
  31. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-One
  36. Chapter Thirty-Two
  37. Chapter Thirty-Three
  38. Chapter Thirty-Four
  39. Chapter Thirty-Five
  40. Chapter Thirty-Six
  41. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  42. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  43. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  44. Chapter Forty
  45. Chapter Forty-One
  46. Chapter Forty-Two
  47. Chapter Forty-Three
  48. Chapter Forty-Four
  49. Chapter Forty-Five
  50. Chapter Forty-Six
  51. Chapter Forty-Seven
  52. Chapter Forty-Eight
  53. Chapter Forty-Nine
  54. Chapter Fifty
  55. Acknowledgments
  56. Discover More
  57. About the Author

I rubbed the tension out of my eyebrows. Going door-to-door to interview the local businesspeople wasn’t working. Rather than continue on the same path, it was time to pivot. But how?

And then it came to me. Wherever individuals went to vent about everything, from politics to underwhelming television finales to the asshole who stole their parking spot, was the same place they’d complain about Andrew Hanes and The Hollows. Social media. With optimism in my veins, I opened Twitter on my phone, searched #AndrewHanes, and scrolled through the results. My shoulders slumped. All the posts were about deals closing in some New York City properties; nothing about Pleasant Hollow. Searches of #PleasantHollow and #TheHollows were equally unfruitful.

On Instagram, however, my search of #PleasantHollow yielded more than a thousand posts. This was initially promising, until I saw that most of the recent posts were mine, teasing my story with pictures from my bus ride and photos I’d taken since my arrival. Several other images were clearly from other towns called Pleasant Hollow located in Georgia and Missouri.

And then I noticed an interesting trend. A large portion of the photos under the #PleasantHollow hashtag were of brides and grooms, table settings, and centerpieces. All were posted from the account of a wedding planner named Davina Lawrence. I knew it was the right Pleasant Hollow since her posts also included #NewYorkState and #TwinklyNails, the local nail salon.

A tingle of hope ran through me. I closed out of Instagram and opened Google, where I searched for Hallmark movies featuring wedding planners. My excitement built as the screen populated with results. I knew it. Wedding planning was a very popular vocation for Hallmark leading ladies. Maybe I could do character profiles of Pleasant Hollow residents with Hallmark movie jobs. Despite lacking the Andrew Hanes component on its face, the idea didn’t stray far from the story I’d pitched—comparing Pleasant Hollow to a Hallmark town—and it would be a hoot for the readers of Tea.

After sending Davina a DM on Instagram, I focused on other popular professions and landed on Garrett, the handyman. There was always a guy in the movies “fixing” things, even if he wasn’t the leading man. Monica and Jennifer had mentioned he was single, which also fit the bill. I recalled seeing his card on the bulletin board at Pinkie’s and would grab it on the way to the Oven for dinner and give him a call. I’d start with Davina and Garrett, a.k.a. “wedding planner” and “handyman,” respectively, and take it from there.

I might just be able to pull this story off after all.

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

The cashier called out, “One veggie slice.”