“That’s very kind of you,” she answered, staring down at the piece of produce, feeling terribly homesick.
“No, ma’am, thank you,” Ricky replied with a wide grin. “It’s an honor.”
An honor?
She hadn’t recalled New York as this friendly of a city. She was about to ask the men if there was a take-a-picture-with-a-patron contest going on today when a group of customers broke away from the pack of New Yorkers perusing the Friday farmers’ market near Union Square and got the men’s attention.
Yes, that’s right! She’d traveled nearly one thousand miles from her farm to find herself a hop, skip, and a jump away from a farmers’ market in the city. It wasn’t her fault. Her hotel was down the street. Chelsea Blaine had suggested it. They’d texted a few times and were set to meet in the hotel’s bar for drinks in a half hour.
Mabel glanced at the bustling outdoor market. Couples with baskets and children carrying reusable bags paraded between the farm stalls offering everything from fruits, vegetables, and baked goods to fish and beef. She was familiar with this part of the city. It wasn’t that far from her old place in SoHo. She’d passed by here a few times over the years. Back then, she couldn’t stand the sight of it. Once, a reminder of the life she’d left behind. Now, it brought her comfort and a momentary reprieve from replaying her last conversation with Cal through her mind for what seemed like the zillionth time.
It nearly killed her to get on the bus out of Elverna, but she had to leave. If there was a chance that Bella Mae could still become something big, she had to see it through. It was his fault if he couldn’t understand that there was nothing wrong for her to want both Bella Mae and Eat Elverna to be a success. She reached for the M, something she’d done dozens of times since she’d given it back to Cal. A flood of competing emotions washed over her when, instead of the cool gold letter meeting her fingertips, she brushed across bare skin.
Anger and frustration mixed with a love so strong she could barely think muddled her thoughts.
How could he have done it? How could he be the Castle King? The name made no sense. She couldn’t piece together what it could even mean to Cal, but it was right there in plain sight on his laptop. And if he wanted to force her to return to Elverna, ruining her online persona was the way to do it. Still, the man seemed genuinely confused. Or maybe that was part of the ruse—part of his plan to fulfill a misguided promise to Jamie.
She had to remind herself that Cal loved her, but only by his rules. She passed a table lined with dried lavender and couldn’t stop the flood of sweet memories of the night she’d lost her virginity. That night had meant everything to her. Every one of his kisses and each caress spoke of true love. And the way he looked at her—just the thought of those stormy blue eyes set her pulse racing.
Alone in her hotel over the last few nights, it almost didn’t feel real not to hear the wind song as it passed through the fields or the sound of Cal’s breath hot against her skin as he devoured her body with kisses. She told herself that she’d spend these few days before she met with Chelsea to go over the Bella Mae posts and strategize a comeback for the lifestyle and fashion blog. But she couldn’t find it in her to log out of the Eat Elverna social media accounts and log in to Bella Mae.
In fact, she hadn’t even glanced at any social media since she’d arrived—Eat Elverna or otherwise.
She’d be walking into this meeting with Chelsea blind. It was a terrible business move on her part, but she’d fallen into a sort of city purgatory—a state of complete discombobulation and disbelief. The crowds. The sirens. The heady buzz of electricity that pulsed from within the city. It fed her soul while simultaneously making her long for Elverna’s country roads and acres of ancient grains swaying in the wind. It didn’t make sense. Nothing did.
It wasn’t like this four years ago when she’d climbed out her window and set off for a life far away from the country. She’d been determined to stamp out her inner farm girl and snuff out any semblance of that life.
Now, all she wanted was to melt into Cal’s embrace.
But she couldn’t give in.
She, too, had made a promise to Jamie.
Weeks ago, before her first meeting with Chelsea and the awful Lucce, she’d asked her brother to show her the way to fulfill her dreams. She prayed for him to illuminate the path forward. And while that road had many twists and turns, that path had led her here. She owed it to Jamie and to herself to complete this journey.
She strolled along, blending into the crowd of shoppers, when a voice rang out.
“Mae! Is that you?”
Mabel couldn’t help but smile at the sound of this New York accent. She turned, then pressed her hand to her chest. “Lily!” she exclaimed, embracing the teenager. “It’s so good to see you! What are you doing here?”
“I’m at the farmers’ market because of you,” the girl replied.
Mabel stared at the teen. What did that even mean? She cocked her head to the side. “Because of me?”
“Isn’t that right, Mom!” Lily chimed as Reba joined them.
A chill ran down Mabel’s spine at the sight of Reba Stromski. The woman’s parting words to her couldn’t have been more direct. Lily’s mother had no respect for her. But today, the woman gifted her with a grin.
“Lily wanted to get the ingredients to make a few of your food swoon dishes,” Reba replied.
Food swoon?
“You know about Eat Elverna?” she asked the pair.
“And Farm to Mabel. It’s everywhere on social media! And how’s your little goat doing? He’s so cute! Could you send me one of those Eat Elverna passports? Somebody posted theirs online, and I’d like one to put up on my wall! Oh! And I need to know! Is Cal your boyfriend? Is he really that handsome in real life?” Lily blurted, rattling off her rapid-fire comments and questions.
“Lily, slow down,” Reba chided playfully.
“You like Cal, too, Mom,” Lily tossed back, eyeing her mother.
“His cats are adorable,” Reba replied with a blush.
Mabel glanced between the mother and daughter. This had to be a joke. She rewound the teen’s comments. “Lily, you mentioned that Eat Elverna was on the Bella Mae page?”
“You didn’t know?” the girl replied as bewilderment flashed in her eyes.
“I haven’t checked the Bella Mae in a long time,” Mabel answered, noticing a person pass by them and take a picture of her.
This day was getting stranger by the second.
“Everybody knows that Bella Mae and Mabel Muldowney are the same person,” Lily began. “Thanks to the Castle King’s post, people put it together. Bella Mae’s necklace and Farm to Mabel’s necklace were the same, and the Castle King said you were from Elverna. It wasn’t really that hard to figure out, but everyone online loved connecting the dots. Did you do that on purpose?”
Mabel’s mouth opened and closed like a flounder. “No,” she said, making a mental note to check her social media accounts the minute this conversation ended.
Lily glanced around as more people snapped pics. “I’m not the only one who knows that secret, Mae. I should probably call you Mabel now. Or do you like it when people call you Farm to Mabel?” Lily asked.