“Great. Maybe tonight once I feed everyone.”

“Don’t you get tired of cooking?” Evie asked.

Mia chuckled. “Occasionally. But, cooking reminds me of Momma, and that helps. Plus, I don’t have a family to cook for.”

“So, you’ve never been married?” Evie asked.

“Evie, honestly, stop asking people personal questions!”

“It’s okay. She’s my niece,” Mia said, smiling. “She can ask me anything. No, I’ve never been married. I was engaged once, a very long time ago.”

“What happened?”

“Well, we just wanted different things, I guess. We were young, just out of high school.”

“I can’t imagine getting married so young.”

“It was a good thing we didn’t, I suppose. We weren’t ready. So, Kate, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a party planner.”

Mia stared at her. “Really?”

“What’s so shocking about that?” Kate asked, laughing.

“Momma was a party planner and caterer for a long time before buying this place.”

“Wow, Mom. You must’ve gotten that from her,” Evie said, nudging Kate.

“Maybe. Can you pass the maple syrup, please?”

Sensing Kate was uncomfortable talking about her mother, Mia passed her the syrup and quickly changed the subject.

Chapter Six

As Kate walked along the tiny square with Mia and Evie, she wondered how anyone could live here. There was nothing to do. No freeways, no malls, no fancy coffee shops. It was like a hometown from the olden days, and she felt very removed from society. And the quiet was deafening. She’d never really understood that saying until now. She longed for the sound of a car horn.

Still, she was enjoying the time away from her business and responsibilities. Thankfully, or maybe not, she didn’t have any parties to plan in the upcoming weeks. She would need to get some stuff on the books soon, or her savings would run out. It was a bit worrisome that June was almost there and she hadn’t booked any wedding receptions. Summer was prime wedding season.

“And there’s the bistro. Ya’ll ready to eat?” Mia asked. They’d spent most of the morning shopping in the little speciality shops in the square. First, there was the homemade soaps and essential oils shop where Kate had started to get a headache from all the smells. Turned out, you could have too much lavender.

Then, there was the candy store where Evie watched them make fudge and Mia had bought her a big enough bag to keep her awake for years to come. Finally, they’d gone to the candle store where they’d watched a woman make hand dipped candles that smelled like tobacco. A little weird, but interesting.

“I’m starving,” Evie said.

“Seriously? You ate your weight in pralines and fudge an hour ago,” Kate said, laughing. “I swear she’s more like raising a growing teenage boy than a girl.”