An Unexpected Love (Treasured Dreams Book 3) Read online

  Even though it had been almost two decades, the memory resurfaced still feeling terribly painful after all of these years. Part of me wanted to hide from the incident, but a bigger part of me wanted to share this with Dave. It would be a huge step forward in our relationship. As an adult, nobody besides my mom knew what had happened to me.

  “Tell me the rest,” he said, brushing my hair back from my face. “Let it all out, angel.”

  My throat tightened. “Like I said, I worked hard on my display. My mom bought me all sorts of art supplies so I could put up advertising around town. On the day of the craft fair, I got to school early so I could set up in the gym. The booth looked amazing. My mom even took a picture . . .” I paused, my cheeks heating as I remembered that humiliating event. “I came across the photo she took the same day I got the offer from Moxie, and it reminded me of what happened.”

  “What?” he asked.

  “After putting my heart into all that work, I didn’t sell one bracelet.” My stomach dropped, and I stared at the scaly trunk of a Western White Pine tree in front of me. “A girl in my class, Cara Caruthers, had told everyone that I’d bathed the strands of the bracelets in cat pee before I made them.”

  “Cat pee?” he asked, his tone incredulous.

  “Yep.” My gaze traveled upward, following the two-hundred-plus feet of the tree to its top. I admired the tree’s ability to stand strong and majestically year after year. I’d thought I had that kind of strength, but right now all I felt was fear. “People from my class said Cara swore I’d told her cat pee was my secret for making great bracelets.”

  “People believed her?”

  “Apparently so.” I shrugged, glancing at Dave’s surprised expression, and then starting back down the path. “I’d thought Cara was my friend, so I hoped the rumor had been a mistake or something. When I confirmed it was true, I felt determined not to let her mean spirit get the best of me.” I stopped and groaned at the memory of what happened next. “This is so pathetic . . .”

  “What is?” he asked, his voice soft.

  Tears burned the backs of my eyes. “I decided if nobody would come to my booth, I’d take my bracelets through the aisles of the craft fair and sell them to the students who were walking around. By that point everyone had heard Cara’s story, though. I still couldn’t sell any of the bracelets, and a few students made cutting remarks to me.”

  His jaw pulsed. “Kids can be so cruel.”

  “No joke,” I replied, nausea building in my belly. “That was bad, but when I got back to my booth, all of the remaining bracelets were gone. Someone had stolen them.”

  Dave blew out a breath. “I’m a thirty-year-old man but I’m wishing I could go back in time and guard that booth for you. Trust me, nobody would be touching those bracelets unless they were purchasing one.”

  “My hero,” I said, slipping my hand into this. We hiked further down the trail, hands clasped together, arms swinging back and forth. “Guess what else? I found out later that Cara had taken the bracelets and sold them as her own. Not only had she ruined my efforts to raise money for our class, but she’d also taken credit for my work. Such a double whammy.”

  “I’m sorry that happened to you,” he said, his tone sincere.

  “Thanks.” I shrugged. “I’m sure everyone has their own tragic childhood story. Maybe there’s something about that kind of blow when you’re young that stays with you for the rest of your life. But I failed and that’s what hurts the most.”

  “I can’t imagine what that must’ve been like for you.” He stopped suddenly just before we reached the rock we stood on earlier, and dropped his backpack to the ground. He slipped his arms around me and pulled me close. He pressed his lips to my cheek, his breath warm against my ear. “I’m glad you shared that story with me,” he whispered.

  “Me, too.” I melted against him and the heavy weight on my shoulders lifted, making my burdens seem so much lighter. “I know that happened a long time ago and that kids can be mean. But that doesn’t erase that feeling of failure that hit me when I saw that photo of my booth again. I’d been thrilled about the offer from Moxie until I saw that picture again. My business is going well enough, and I don’t think the risk of failing is worth the potential reward.”

  He pulled back a little. Instead of looking disappointed in me, his eyes lit up. “So you were excited about the offer from Moxie initially?”

  “Yes . . .” My eyes widened. I was chickening out on expanding my dream, and being a complete wimp because of a thief from eighteen years ago who had made up a rumor about cat pee and had stolen my bracelets. Why did Dave look happy about that?

  He squeezed my hands between his, shaking them up and down as if he couldn’t contain his excitement. “Even though what happened to you was terrible, do you know what’s ironic about it?” His smile widened. “That girl, Cara, must’ve thought an awful lot of your work if she sold the bracelets and passed them off as her own. Right? Maybe she was envious of your talent and handled it badly, which wouldn’t excuse what she did. But that would mean that you succeeded in creating products so desirable, even the quintessential mean girl had to have them.”

  Adrenaline shot through my veins and I blinked, ducking my head as I realized what he said might be right. “I-I never thought of it that way.”

  “Do you know what else?” He lifted up my chin, so I met his gaze. “You and I were talking earlier about your creative method and how each piece of jewelry you make contains a part of your soul. I don’t think it’s an accident that you created that butterfly charm this morning. And I certainly don’t think you chose a butterfly because you wanted to hibernate or hide.”

  My fingers flew to my charm. “Really?”

  “Your subconscious knows you’re in transition. For instance, there’s a long time where the caterpillar is busy building up its resources before it makes its chrysalis.”

  My brows quirked. “Um. . . Are you saying I’m a caterpillar living in a cocoon? Because that doesn’t exactly feel like a compliment.”

  He shook his head. “No, you weren’t inspired to create a caterpillar charm. Did you? When the time is right, the caterpillar emerges and becomes a beautiful butterfly. You’ve been building up resources in your business, building your clientele, and when you’re ready your business, Treasured Creations, will emerge into something bigger than it is now.”

  My heart caught in my chest. His faith in me meant more than he could ever know. I swallowed hard against the lump that had formed in my throat.

  “You know,” I said slowly. “There are so many things I’ll lose if I don’t accept the contract. Like the ability to make enough money to set aside to buy a house someday.”

  “Having a little more money would be a nice perk,” he agreed.

  “And making enough to start saving for retirement,” I said, standing taller. “In addition, Moxie can provide me with a bigger audience and I’d love to reach more people to share my creations with them.”

  “You do have an amazing talent.” He ran his thumb along the back of my hand, sending tingles up my arm as he gently pulled me closer.

  “All of my designs have to do with the joy of living in this small town. Our town, you know? I mean, when you get right down to it, that’s what I’d be sharing.”

  He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my palm. “I definitely think that’s something worth sharing.”

  “When I think of it all that way there’s no reason not to accept the contract.” I swiveled, pulling Dave up onto the rock we stood on earlier. With him beside me, I looked out over the valley again and the lake glimmered in the distance, the same deep shade of blue as one of the stones I’d put in my charm. Exhilaration flowed through me and this time there was no anxiety.

  Dave’s arm tightened around me. “The view is beautiful, isn’t it? We’re so lucky, Holly. I want you to know that whatever you decide with your business, I support you.”

  “Thank you,” I said, leaning into hi
m.

  Had I really been scared to open up to Dave? The past couple weeks my feelings for him had been growing into something else, something bigger—just like the caterpillar with its cocoon. But deep down I wasn’t sure if he felt the same way. I’d been worried about moving forward with him, but now I was ready to take that risk. . . .

  Then it hit me unexpectedly, the real reason I’d designed this butterfly.

  I turned to Dave, fingering my charm. “You were right that there was a reason I created this butterfly this morning, but it has nothing to do with Treasured Creations. These past months with you have been amazing, but I’d held a little piece of myself back. Until today.”

  “Holly—”

  “I love you, Dave.” My breath caught in my throat, and tears blurred my vision. “I really, truly, love you.”

  “I love you too,” he whispered, then leaned down and captured my mouth in a sweet kiss more beautiful than the magical valley surrounding us.

  When we broke apart, I smiled. “I’m going to sign the contract.”

  He caressed my cheek and grinned at me. “I kind of thought you might.”

  Just as he leaned in to kiss me again, I noticed a fluttering from the corner of my eye. There, among the sparse huckleberry bushes, was a single butterfly dancing over an outcropping of rock. I laughed aloud, and knew it was a sign of good things to come.

  THE END

  If you enjoyed spending time

  with these characters,

  be sure to read Holly’s next adventure in:

  An Unexpected Proposal

  (Treasured Dreams series, #4)

  About the author:

  SUSAN HATLER is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, who writes humorous and emotional contemporary romance and young adult novels. Many of Susan's books have been translated into German, Spanish, French and Italian. A natural optimist, she believes life is amazing, people are fascinating, and imagination is endless. She loves spending time with her characters and hopes you do, too.

  You can reach Susan here:

  Facebook: facebook.com/authorsusanhatler

  Twitter: twitter.com/susanhatler

  Website: www.susanhatler.com

  Blog: susanhatler.com/category/susans-blog

  Titles by Susan Hatler

  Kissed by the Bay Series

  Every Little Kiss

  The Perfect Kiss

  Just One Kiss

  The Sweetest Kiss

  Better Date than Never Series

  Love at First Date

  Truth or Date

  My Last Blind Date

  Save the Date

  A Twist of Date

  License to Date

  Driven to Date

  Up to Date

  Déjà Date

  Date and Dash

  Treasured Dreams Series

  An Unexpected Date

  An Unexpected Kiss

  An Unexpected Love

  An Unexpected Proposal

  An Unexpected Wedding

  An Unexpected Joy

  An Unexpected Baby

  Young Adult Novels

  Shaken

  See Me