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“Absolutely,” Mabel agreed, her own eyes misty now. “I would be honored.”

Nicole turned to Imogen. “What do you say? Are you up for being a bridesmaid?”

Imogen opened her mouth to respond, to say of course she would. But the words caught in her throat, and she suddenly felt as if she might burst into tears. She pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to compose herself for a moment before she spoke.

“I would love to,” she managed to say. “But I hope the bridesmaid dresses will accommodate a growing waistline, because…” She took a breath, looking around at her friends. “I’m pregnant.”

For a moment, there was absolute silence, and then the booth exploded with excitement. Vanessa let out a shriek of joy, Mabel clapped her hands together, and Nicole launched herself across the table to pull Imogen into a fierce hug. Layla’s smile grew even wider, and everyone was talking at once, asking questions and offering congratulations and reaching for Imogen’s hands.

“Oh my goodness,” Vanessa said, her eyes wide. “Imogen, that’s incredible! When did you find out?”

“When you made me go to the doctor because I wasn’t feeling well,” Imogen admitted. “Turns out it wasn’t a stomach flu.” She gave Nicole a rueful look. “I’m sorry if I upstaged your announcement, I just⁠—”

“This is perfect,” Nicole interrupted, still holding Imogen’s hands. “This is absolutely perfect. We’re both starting new chapters.”

They were both tearing up again, Imogen found herself laughing through her tears at the absurdity of it all. Here they were, two grown women crying with happiness in a diner booth while their friends looked on with matching expressions of joy and affection.

“Does Lincoln know?” Mabel asked, and Imogen nodded.

“I told him during the storm. It wasn’t exactly the romantic announcement I’d planned, but…” She smiled, remembering the look on his face. “It was perfect anyway.”

“And Katie?” Vanessa prompted.

Imogen hesitated. “Not yet. We’re still deciding the best way to tell her. We hadn’t talked with her about us trying, because we weren’t seriously trying yet, so I’m not entirely sure how she’s going to feel about it. But I’m sure—I hope—she’s happy too.”

“This calls for a celebration,” Mabel declared. “Jackson! We need champagne! Or sparkling cider, at least.”

“What’s all the commotion about?” Jackson called from behind the counter, where he’d been wiping down the espresso machine.

“Nicole’s engaged and Imogen’s pregnant!” Vanessa shouted back, not bothering to keep her voice down.

The entire diner seemed to pause for a moment, and then applause broke out from the other tables. Jackson abandoned his cleaning and came over, a huge grin on his face, and soon Christopher appeared from wherever he’d been, Henry came in from outside where he’d been checking on the generator, and suddenly the whole place was filled with congratulations and well-wishes.

Imogen sat in the middle of it all, surrounded by her friends and neighbors, and felt a wave of gratitude wash over her. She had something more valuable than anything else in the world—she had an entire community of people who supported and loved each other, and that was worth more than any amount of money.

As the excitement began to settle and people returned to their own tables, the women in the booth fell into a comfortable conversation about wedding plans and baby names. Nicole was talking about wanting a winter wedding, maybe next December so they could have a full year to plan. Mabel was already offering to help with decorations, and Vanessa was suggesting venues.

Nicole turned to Layla, her expression hopeful. “Do you think you’ll be able to come back for the wedding?” she asked. “I know you have your work in Portland, but it would mean so much to have you there.”

All eyes turned to Layla, and Imogen watched as a series of emotions played across the reporter’s face. There was uncertainty there, and nervousness, and something that looked almost like longing. Layla’s gaze drifted toward the front of the diner, where Christopher was talking with Jackson, and Imogen saw the way her expression softened.

“I hope I can break away from work to come, absolutely,” Layla said, her voice a little unsteady. “I really do.” She looked around at each of them, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “I’m going to miss everyone at this table when I leave. I know I wasn’t the most positive person about Fir Tree Grove when I arrived, but I really have come to love this town. I’m sorry I was dismissive of so much of it. It really is something special.”

Imogen felt her heart squeeze with sympathy. She recognized the look on Layla’s face. It was the look of someone who had found something they weren’t sure if they were going to be able to keep, and didn’t know if they’d be able to make the leaps required to have a chance at it.

She had a feeling it was more than just the town too. It might be her motherly intuition, she thought to herself, but she thought that it was more than just the other women that Layla would miss when she left. She’d seen the way Layla and a certain bed and breakfast owner looked at each other.

Imogen thought that Christopher might have something to do with Layla’s change of heart too.

* * *

Christopher kept his eyes on the road as they drove back to the bed and breakfast, navigating the snow-packed streets, but he was acutely aware of Layla in the passenger seat beside him. She’d been talking almost nonstop since they’d left the diner, her words tumbling over each other in her excitement.

“I can’t believe Nicole’s engaged,” Layla was saying, her hands gesturing animatedly as she spoke. “And the way she described Henry’s proposal, it was just so… romantic. So genuine. He didn’t try to make it into some grand production, he just told her how he felt and asked her to marry him.”

Christopher smiled, stealing a glance at her. Her cheeks were still flushed from the warmth of the diner and her excitement, and her eyes were bright with emotion. She looked beautiful, he thought, and then immediately tried to push the thought away. She was leaving soon. She’d made that clear from the beginning. There was no point in letting himself get too attached.

Except he already was attached. Somewhere between her arrival at his B&B with her skeptical questions and dismissive comments about small-town charm, and now, sitting beside him talking about romance and weddings with stars in her eyes, he’d fallen for her. He felt more sure of that with every passing minute.