CHAPTER 8
Sara exhaled as she took in her surroundings. Foster Pond was a hidden gem that the locals had somehow been able to keep a secret. She was honored that they’d given her a special pass and included her and the kids in the annual gathering. There was a pond, of course, with a small island in the middle accessible by a charming bridge and surrounded by acres and acres of rolling green grass. In the very center of the island sat a large gazebo that was adorned with twinkle lights.
The kids were in a bouncy castle that was inflated close enough that she could keep an eye on them and be there in seconds if an emergency arose, but far enough away that the adults could speak without having to raise their voices to be heard. She was seated around a fire pit with Ali, Jess, and another friend of theirs Brynn sipping a glass of wine. The foursome had spent thirty minutes talking about what a small world it was that Sara had shared Jess’s engagement video and that Ali and Jess even knew who she was, they’d FaceTimed Shelby, who instantly recognized both Ali and Jess from the engagement video. Sara had forgotten that Ali appeared at the end of it.
Then Sara blew her sister’s mind for a second time when she dropped the bombshell that Fairytale Love had been filmed in Whisper Lake. Both Ali and Jess said they’d been dealing with some personal things when the show was happening. Austin had told Sara that Ali’s brother suddenly passed away a couple of years ago, leaving her the guardian of his twin sons KJ and Ricky. And when they’d arrived at the BBQ, Charlotte had asked about a scar that Jess had on her chest, leaving Sara to want to crawl under the nearest rock and hide, but Jess hadn’t seemed to mind. She told Charlotte that she’d been sick, but two years ago, she got a new heart and now she was all better. Sara figured those were the reasons Ali and Jess hadn’t been too invested in a reality show being in town. But, Brynn filled Shelby in on some behind-the-scenes gossip she had about the show Fairytale Love, including that it was returning and would be aired on a streaming network.
All of Shelby’s life Sara’d been the disciplinarian, the buzzkill, the “mom.” The role was partly attributed to her Type A personality but mainly it was because someone had to be. And that was always how her rebellious sister had looked at her and treated her. But tonight as Sara was hanging up the phone, she saw the look she’d always wanted to see in Shelby’s eyes. She saw the very specific hero-worship that a little sister had for a big sister that was cool. It was an experience she’d never thought would happen. She’d been certain that ship had sailed since it was something she’d only witnessed in kids or preteens.
She’d shown up tonight with the hottest guy in town. Been included in a small-town ritual. Gotten to have adult conversations and hang out with amazing women that she hoped she’d remain friends with after this week. Her sister had actually thought she was cool and her kids were having the time of their lives.
Tonight was the kind of night that she’d seen in movies and television, and read about in books but never thought existed in real life. It was perfect.
Maybe this town really was magic.
A flutter erupted low in her belly and on instinct she turned her head and saw that Austin was staring directly at her. The drive over had been filled with the kids asking a billion questions, and once they arrived Ali had intercepted her and Austin had been hanging out with the guys. But for the past hour, they’d kept catching each other’s gaze.
Every single time they locked eyes, Sara experienced a flash of connection, a wave of intimacy, a bond of familiarity. It was unnerving and invigorating simultaneously. The two of them hadn’t had a moment alone, yet she felt like they knew one another. Not on a logical level, but deeper, on a soul level. And it wasn’t the wine talking. She’d been nursing the glass for the past hour and hadn’t even drank half of it.
“So how do you know Austin?” Jess asked, snapping her right out of her bliss bubble.
“Oh.” She blinked in surprise and spun her head back to Jess, feeling like a teenager getting caught sneaking in after curfew and finding a parent sitting in a chair in the front room. Not that she’d ever been the sneaker, she’d always been the parent in that scenario. “I um…I don’t.”
“You don’t?” Jess’s left brow arched. “Didn’t you two come together?”
“No…yes…I mean…” She’d spent the past hour talking to these women with no issues whatsoever. Why in the name of all that is holy was she stumbling over her words now? “Yes. We came together. No. I don’t know him, not really. We just met this morning.”
Wow. Hearing that out loud sounded strange even to her. How was it possible that last night at this time, she’d been snuggled between her two munchkins in a hotel room in St. Louis, Missouri, having no idea that Austin Stone even existed. It seemed truly inconceivable. And unlike Vizzini in The Princess Bride she knew exactly what that word meant.
“Really? This morning?” The surprise on Jess’s face seemed to back up the whole inconceivable theory Sara had.
“Yep.”
“Wow.” Ali shook her head. “You guys seem…”
“Like you know each other.” Jess finished Ali’s thought and emphasized the word.
“That’s what it was like for me and Axel the first time we met.” Brynn smiled from ear to ear.
From what Sara had seen, all three women were madly, head over heels in love with the men they were with. And Sara couldn’t blame them. After they left the rental shop Austin mentioned that Kade was a recently retired MMA fighter. Sara’s first thought had been, well his body sure hasn’t retired. Jess’s fiancé Ethan was a U.S. Marshall and looked every bit the part. He was tall, gorgeous and had an air of command that Sara could see women falling all over themselves for. And Brynn’s betrothed, Axel, was a master woodworker that was so good looking and sexy he could easily be the star of his own HGTV show. It would be number one in the 25-50 female demo.
All three of the men were very easy on the eyes, and would be described by Shelby as “panty-droppers” but to Sara, none of them held a candle to Austin. They were all tied for a distant second in the Hot and Sexy category.
Jess leaned forward toward Sara. “Has Austin seen you naked?”
“What?” Sara let out a nervous laugh just thinking about that. “No.”
“Have you touched his—” Jess cleared her throat and glanced down to her lap. “—junk?”
Sara’s head reared back slightly as she vehemently denied the question. “No!”
A large smile spread across Jess’s face as she looked back at Brynn. “Then it’s nothing like the first time you and Axel met.”
All three women started cracking up laughing and Sara had a feeling she was missing out on a great story.
Brynn waved her hands in front of her when she stopped chuckling. “It’s not what you think. I was taking a bath and then I dropped my keys.”
“Sure,” Jess nodded obviously giving her a bad time. “The old dropped-my-keys-in-the-bath excuse. We’ve heard that one before.”