1. a small, picturesque town tucked in the Sierra Nevadas with an idyllic landscape backdrop of lush deep green pine trees and dotted with colorful aspens. The heart of the town, Main Street, is a five-block stretch of small storefront businesses, lined on each side with wooden sidewalks filled with a cast of colorful characters sure to enrich your life.
Effect:
verb (action)
1. someone who never thought they would ever fall in love or fall in love again and suddenly they meet their soul mate
2. a person who thought that their career was over suddenly gets a new opportunity that changes their life forever
3. someone who is running from something bad in their past, or has issues with their family, they move here and the situation resolves itself
4. those who are lonely, find support from the community
5. things magically fall into place in the following areas: love, career, friendship
6. saves people
7. heals people
8. is the missing puzzle piece in people’s lives
“These are amazing!”
“I also ordered pens, mugs, wine tumblers, and PopSockets with The Hope Falls Effect on them. I’m trying to make it a thing.”
Audrey was so impressed, as always, with Viv’s creativity. She’d been the one who’d come up with the logo and swag for Brewed Awakenings. She designed mugs and pens for the coffee shop for each season, and they usually sold out.
“I’m thinking of adding some of these to Brewed’s swag collection.”
Audrey looked at her sister who was clearly in her element. When Viv was excited about something, she came to life. Her brain was an endless idea factory.
“What?”
“Nothing, I’m just really impressed with how your brain works.”
Viv smiled widely. “Thanks, most people are horrified at how my brain works.”
* * *
Josh pulledup to Om Sweet Om, which wasn’t opening for another week, and saw Viv’s SUV parked out in front. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved that Viv was the one who was here or disappointed. When Nonna had asked him to come by and get some information about a yoga class for Valentine’s week his first thought was that it was another setup and Audrey would be there just like when she asked him to go to Dining in the Dark.
But she wasn’t. Viv was here. He recognized Viv’s Jeep Cherokee right away.
He hadn’t gone into Brewed Awakenings the last few days because he’d been trying to figure out why Audrey revealing that she was a virgin had been affecting him so much.
They weren’t together. They could never be together. He loved her but he knew there was absolutely no future for them.
He was broken. Physically and emotionally. She deserved someone who didn’t have night terrors and get anxiety attacks. She deserved someone who didn’t have to take medication for constant back pain. She deserved someone who could give her a family.
Over the years, he thought he’d come to terms with her being with someone else. He loved Audrey, he was in love with Audrey and because of that, he wanted the best for her. He wasn’t the best, plain and simple.
But for some reason, knowing that she’d never been intimate with someone had brought up a lot of feelings for him that must have been simmering under the surface. Feelings that he’d been able to ignore before now. Primal me-Tarzan-you-Jane feelings that he wasn’t sure he could disguise if he saw her.
So, he’d stayed away. But when Nonna had asked him to come to the yoga studio, his pulse raced at the thought of Audrey being there.
He knew that he was being ridiculous. She was his friend, one of his best friends. If he wanted to see her, all he had to do was stop by her house. Or the coffee shop.
He hadn’t been in counseling for a few years, but if he didn’t get this straightened out in his head in the next couple of days, he thought he might need to call Dr. Lowe.