This album is for Troy Maven—I would have never made it this far without your belief in me.
I closed my eyes and felt the tears roll down my face.
After a few minutes, I wiped them away and took out the next CD.
This one was called Beginnings. My hands shook as I repeated the process of scanning the songs and finding the dedication.
“This album is for you, Troy. Remember that night on the hill? Every song on this album has been written with that guitar you gave me.”
“Oh, Anson,” I whispered as I clutched the CD to my chest.
I wasn’t sure my heart could take looking at the next CD, If I Loved You More, but I found the dedication and burst into tears. It didn’t mention the code name, but his words gutted me.
“For her…because I don’t know where I begin and she ends.”
“Good God! No wonder he thought I wasn’t interested!”
My finger ran along the words. I read them over and over until my eyes strained.
“I don’t know where I begin and you end, either, Anson Meyer. I never have.”
When my phone rang, I quickly wiped my tears away and tried to get myself righted.
“H-hello?”
“Bristol?”
I pulled the phone away. It was a number I didn’t recognize.
“Who is this?” I asked.
“Is this Bristol Overmann?”
Oh, no. If this was a reporter, I was going to throw my phone.
“Why? What do you want!” I nearly shouted in the phone. “You’re not getting an interview from me!”
“This is Annie Foster, we, um, we talked about the tea box subscription.”
I covered my mouth with my hand and nearly screamed. Of all the people I had expected, the lady who owned a tea store in Oregon and sent out some of the most amazing subscription boxes I’d ever seen wasn’t one of them. She had seen my posts on Instagram and reached out to me about partnering up for a box. When she found out I made my own lavender tea, she was over-the-moon excited about it.
“Oh! Annie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to answer the phone like that.”
“No worries at all. Bad day?”
“Something like that. Anyway, I thought it was someone else.”
“Well, I’m hoping I can pay a visit and cheer you up then.”
I gasped. “Are you in Texas?”
“Yes! I know I told you I’d call if I was ever down your way, and guess what, I’m in Austin! I looked to see how far away you are, and it’s not that terrible of a drive. I found a cute little place to stay the night. Maybe two if I like the little town.”
My heart drummed in my chest. This would be amazing! If she liked Farmhouse Tea, and more importantly, the lavender tea, we could potentially work together. It would bring more people through Comfort and to the tea room.
“Oh, where are you staying in town?”
“Hotel Faust! It looks adorable. And from what I can tell, it seems to be right around the corner from your tea room.”
“Yes! I’m right down the road. You’ll love it there; my best friend’s parents own it. When were you planning on coming into town?”
“The day after tomorrow.”
I smiled and tried not to let my mind race with a million and one different things. Everything for her afternoon tea needed to be perfect.
“Wonderful. I’m assuming you’ll want to do an afternoon tea. Will you have any guests with you?”
“No, it will only be me. I do hope some of your friends will be able to join us, though. I truly want the full afternoon tea experience in your tea room.”
Of course she would want to see how I handled a group of people. “Yes, of course. How about we say two at the tea room?”
“Sounds amazing! I’ll see you then!”
The line went dead, and I glanced down at the items spread around me.
“Anson,” I whispered. I was going to have to talk to him. Mindy was right, we needed to work things out. That was either going to lead to friendship or…
“No, I can’t think about that right now.”
I picked up my phone and called my mother.
“Hello, Darling.”
“Hey, Mama,” I said as I gently placed everything back into the box and set it on the coffee table. “Please tell me you’re free the day after tomorrow.”
“I am, why?”
“Annie Foster will be in town and wants me to host an afternoon tea.”
My mother let out a little cry of happiness. “The lady who does the tea subscription boxes?”
“Yes! She wants me to invite my own friends. We have our normal afternoon tea with six people booked that day. It’s a small bridal shower-type thing. I’m going to need all hands on deck, and we need to find some folks to come to the tea with Annie.”
“Okay. Well, Mindy and Terry will be helping with the tea and the food. Anna can come in and help out. I’ll be in the kitchen, of course.”