“All the good ones do that.”
When she heard a female voice that sounded familiar, she turned towards it. None other than Karina Black was standing in the doorway. Emma wouldn’t have thought she would get star struck, but thank goodness she wasn’t a betting woman, because she would’ve lost that bet.
“Hi. I’m Karina.” The pop star stepped out and extended her hand.
“I know,” Emma breathed before realizing she was being ridiculous. “I mean, hi. I’m Emma.”
Either Karina didn’t notice her blunder or she was very used to people behaving strangely when they met her. She gracefully handled the situation. Waving at Logan, she said under her breath, “He’s not going to leave until he sees that you’re in the house.”
“Oh!” That snapped her out of her star-struck stupor. Upon walking through the doorway, she turned back and lifted her hand. Drew had climbed to the front seat. And sure enough, as soon as Logan saw that she’d safely made it inside, he waved and left.
It was odd how right, how natural, it felt to see her son and Logan drive away together. Yes, he was Drew’s godfather. But it wasn’t like he’d been around that much. Not that she blamed him. She was pretty sure she’d scared him away the one time he had visited.
“Man, he’s got it bad.” Karina shook her head as the truck drove down the road.
Not wanting her to get the wrong idea, Emma corrected her. “Oh, no. We’re not… He’s just… He’s Drew’s godfather.”
A knowing grin pulled at Karina’s mouth, but to her credit, all she said was, “Got it.”
Then her entire demeanor changed. Instead of looking like one of the coolest, most graceful and together people Emma had ever met, she morphed into something else completely. Bringing her hands together, she lifted them towards her mouth before she whispered conspiratorially, “Okay, all the girls are in the back, but before we go out there, I have to know. Is Tina going to end up with Kade or Sean?”
Shock. That was what Emma felt to be standing in a stranger’s home with Karina Black as she talked about characters she’d made up. She was having a difficult time wrapping her head around it. Part of her brain knew she needed to speak, but the other part kept thinking, This is Karina Black!
“Are you asking about Sean and Kade!?” An attractive blonde walked in, shaking her head in faux disappointment. “Karina, you promised.”
“Promises, shmomises. It’s been two years, and I need to know.”
“Hi. I’m Amanda. You must be Chelsea… I mean Emma. Sorry.”
“Hi. It’s so nice to meet you. Both.” Emma waved her hand between them. “Drew hasn’t stopped talking about you. Thank you both so much for all you’ve done for him. I can’t remember the last time he’s been this happy.”
“Are you kidding me? I should be thanking you. He’s such a great kid and a really hard worker. He’s been amazing. You’ve done a really great job.” Amanda’s response was infused with so much sincerity.
That was one compliment Emma actually enjoyed getting. Being a mom was far and above her greatest accomplishment.
“Thanks. He makes it pretty easy.”
Karina grinned and crossed her arms. “I don’t know how you ever tell that kid no. When he wasn’t sure if you wanted to stay or not yesterday, he had the biggest brown puppy-dog eyes and he wasn’t even asking for anything.”
Emma laughed. “I’m not immune. Believe me.”
There was a loud roar of laughter from the back of the house, and the butterflies that had been hanging out with Emma all day came fluttering back. Karina and Amanda seemed nice, but it sounded like there was quite a crowd back there.
“Okay, before we go back there, you should be prepared for two things,” Amanda said in a serious tone that sent the butterflies flittering up a storm.
“Okay.”
“First: technically, we are a book club, but the only book we’ve actually all read is When It’s Real.”
“Yeah,” Karina chimed in, “this is really more of a wine and gossip club.”
“Right,” Amanda agreed.
The jitters started to subside. Both Amanda and Karina had a way of putting her right at ease. In the span of a few sentences exchanged, Emma felt like she’d known them for years.
“Second: there’s a lot of us. We thought about wearing name tags—”
Karina’s hand shot up. “But I nixed that, because come on. How janky is that?”
“You nixed it because everyone knows who you are. Anyway, like I wa—”
“Uhhh, not true.” Karina’s hand shot up again. “Ryan didn’t know who I was.”
“Who’s Ryan?” Emma asked, because she couldn’t fathom that there could be a soul on the planet who didn’t know who Karina Black was.
“Ryan’s my fiancé,” Karina said dreamily.
Emma knew that Karina Black was engaged to Ryan Perkins, but there was no way she could be talking about him. So she asked for clarification, “Ryan Perkins didn’t know who you were?”
Karina slowly shook her head. “Nope. Not a clue.”
“Not after they met and not after spending an entire day moving her stuff into her house,” Amanda interjected.
“Ryan Perkins didn’t know who you were?” Emma felt like a broken record, but it was too difficult to process.
“Nope.” Karina popped her lips when she made the P sound. “Not. A. Clue.”
“Wow. I’d love to hear that story sometime. I’ve interviewed a ton of couples for research, but your story sounds truly unique.”
“Oh, it is,” Karina confirmed. “Amanda and Justin’s is pretty good too.”
At the mention of Amanda’s husband, she covered her hands over her heart and swooned, “It is.”
That. Right there. That was the exact feeling Emma attempted to capture in the books she wrote.
“I’d love to hear it, too.”
“Okay!” Amanda smiled eagerly.
“If real-life love stories are what you’re looking for”—Karina whistled—“then you hit the mother lode with this group. Every hen in this house has found the rooster of her dreams.”
“That’s true.” Amanda clapped excitedly before linking her arm around Emma’s elbow and starting towards the back of the house.
“Well, I don’t want to intrude—”
“Please.” Karina fell into step beside them. “If there’s one thing they like to cluck about, it’s love.”
As they walked out the back door, Emma was struck by two things. One, the covered back patio was gorgeous. Strung globe lights gave the space a warm glow. In the center of the space, there were a variety of couches and comfortable chairs with bright accent pillows in coral and teal. One corner boasted a small, wooden bar, and the other had a large table that looked like it sat up to twelve.
The second thing that struck her was how young and attractive everyone was. All the women were talking animatedly in small groups and hadn’t noticed that she, Karina, and Amanda had joined them.
Amanda cleared her throat and announced, “Ladies, can I have your attention?”
All heads turned their way, and for a split second, Emma thought about making a break for it. She might’ve given in to her flight instinct if not for Amanda’s firm hold of her arm.
Amanda continued. “This is Emma, a.k.a. Chelsea Paige.”
There was a loud swell of applause and cheers and Emma felt her face heat with embarrassment. The positive wave of energy in the room was overwhelming.
“Hi.” Emma waved and smiled, trying to push down the self-consciousness that was bubbling up like water in a pot over a high flame.
Amanda gestured to the couch, where Lauren, who she recognized from the reality show Home Sweet Vacation Home, was sitting. The redhead next to her looked familiar, but she didn’t know from where.
“This is Sam and Lauren. Lauren is a realtor and the host of Home Sweet Vacation Home with her husband, Ben. Sam is a retired Olympic gold medalist who runs the ski program for Mou
ntain Ridge with her husband, Luke, who is also an Olympic gold medalist.”
Oh, that was where she knew her from. Emma had seen her compete.
“Hi.” Emma waved.
“Then, over here, is Nikki and her sister, Amy.” Amanda motioned to a stunning blonde and a pretty brunette.
Emma could see the resemblance since it had been mentioned, but she didn’t think she would’ve picked up on it on her own.
“Nikki just got her PhD in psychology and runs a nonprofit with her husband, Mike Gowan. He used to be a congressman. And Amy and her husband, Matt, are both teachers at the high school and the proud parents of twin baby girls.
“The two lovelies beside them are their sisters-in-law. Lily is an amazing choreographer who is married to Nikki and Amy’s oldest brother, Eric. He is also the chief of police. And Tessa is a photographer who is married to the youngest of the Maguire clan, Jake. They eloped, much to the chagrin of Jake’s mom—”
“And sisters!” Nikki injected.
The girls all laughed.
Then Amanda continued. “They also just adopted a beautiful baby boy named Conner and, as you can see, have another one on the way.”
“Congratulations!” Emma enthused.
Turning slightly to the left, Amanda motioned to two women, both beautiful brunettes. One was clutching a copy of When It’s Real to her chest.
“This is Shelby. She’s Amy’s husband Matt’s little sister, and she’s married to Logan’s brother, Levi.”
“Hi!” Emma beamed. She and Shelby didn’t know one another any more than she knew the other women, but she and Levi had always gotten along, so she was really excited to meet his new bride, who Logan had said was amazing. “I’m so happy for you and Levi. He’s a great guy.”
“Thanks! I’m a huge fan,” Shelby voiced excitedly.
“And finally, we have Jane. She worked with Nikki’s husband, Mike, for over a decade on his campaigns when he was in politics, and now, she helps run the nonprofit. She just got engaged to Logan’s cousin, Adam.”
“Hi. Congrats to you, too. I’ve never gotten the chance to meet Adam, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about him.”
At the mention of Adam, Jane’s face transformed just as Amanda’s had at the mention of Justin’s name. “Yeah, he’s pretty great.”
“All right. Intros are over. Let’s have some wine!” Karina clapped.
As the women started throwing out their orders of red or white, Emma hung back. Turning to Amanda, she quietly said, “Wow. You weren’t kidding about everyone being happily attached.”
“I know.” Amanda nodded enthusiastically then lowered her voice. “Would you mind signing a few books? I know that the ladies would love it.”
“Of course.”
“Great! Red or white?” Amanda asked.
Normally, Emma wasn’t a drinker, but a glass of wine sounded like just what she needed. “White.”
“Coming right up.” Amanda made her way across the room, and before she’d made it two feet, Shelby was at her side.
The night ended up being so much more fun than she’d imagined. The women gladly shared their tales of happily ever after as Emma took notes. They also all gave her their opinion on who Tina should end up with.
She still didn’t know who it was going to be, but she did know that, no matter how much fun she was having, it didn’t stop her from thinking of the one distraction she couldn’t seem to shake.
Logan.
He consumed her thoughts, and without even meaning to, she spent the night counting down the minutes until she would see him again.
*
Logan had checked the clock every three minutes or so for the last two and a half hours, which meant he only had to do it ten more times until it was time to pick Emma up. He could justify his time preoccupation with the fact that he was worried about Emma, which he was. She might’ve tried her best to convince him that everything had been fine and she had been happy about going to the book club meeting, but he knew better. She hadn’t been looking forward to the get-together.
That wasn’t the reason for his compulsive time watch though. The truth was he just missed her.
Not that he wasn’t worried. He was, and not only that, he was responsible. He had seen the turmoil in her eyes when he’d stupidly brought it up last night in front of Drew. As soon as the words had left his mouth, he’d wished he could’ve sucked them back in, especially after Drew had started in on the begging.
Logan wasn’t used to forgetting things. Ever. So to misstep and say something that he’d specifically said he wouldn’t was a very new, very foreign experience for him. He was chalking it up to the fact that all of the blood had drained from his brain to the area below his belt when Emma had fallen back against him in the kitchen.
All day, all he’d thought about was the feeling of her body pressed tight to his. The flowery scent of her silky hair as it had brushed against his neck. The way her breath had caught when he’d tightened his grip on her hip. It made all kinds of unwanted images of her gasping as he slid inside her slick heat…
“You been spending any time with him?” Levi handed Logan a water as he motioned across the gym at Drew, Charlie, Noah, and Noah’s father, who were playing Horse.
The guys he’d been playing with were taking five on the bleachers while Eric dealt with a call from the station. Logan was actually relieved to get the break. He hadn’t played a real game, five-on-five, for years and his body wasn’t happy about it.
If, before this game, someone would’ve asked Logan if he was in as good of shape at thirty as he had been in his early twenties, he would’ve said that, no, he was in better shape. But clearly, he was delusional, because that in no way was the case. His back felt like it’d just been used as a punching bag, and his legs were on fire.
“Yeah. He’s staying with me,” Logan said, answering his brother’s obvious question.
“Not Drew. Charlie,” Levi clarified.
“No.” Logan knew he should’ve been. That was part of the reason he was in town.
Levi dropped his head back as he took a long swig from his water bottle. Then he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sighed. “He’s not the same, you know. I think he’s really changed.”
Logan and Lucky had never known their father. But Levi had. Charlie had been in and out of Levi’s life on a fairly regular basis until he’d gotten their mom pregnant with twins. Then he’d stopped coming around.
“Lucky talks to him every day.” Levi stared across the gym at their father.
“Yeah, I know,” Logan said as Charlie showed Drew a shooting technique.
He wasn’t bad, actually. At least now he knew where he and his brothers had gotten their athletic abilities.
“He’s even calling him Pops.”
“I know.” Logan’s tone was flat.
He wasn’t sure how to feel about the whole “prodigal father returning” thing. Lucky was totally on board. But Lucky was like that. He lived in the moment. Never really thought about the past—or the future, for that matter. It probably helped that Lucky’s memory wasn’t as acute as Logan’s.
Chances were his twin didn’t remember what their father had said when he’d found out that the only thing left to him in their mother’s will was them. He had been the proud owner of twin twelve-year-old boys. Charles Dorsey had not taken that news well.
Levi had ushered them out of the lawyer’s office as fast as he could, but not before Logan had heard things he could never unhear.
“He said he had dinner the other night with you, Emma, and Drew.” Levi sliced a glance towards his brother.
Logan saw this for what it was, his brother’s blatant attempt at fishing for information.
Since Levi was more of a father than Charlie had ever been, Logan decided not to give him a hard time about it and tell him what he wanted to know. “Yeah. I invited him before Drew showed up. I really have been trying… It’s just…”
Levi r
ested his elbows on his knees and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, me too. I only invited him tonight because I knew there’d be so many people here I wouldn’t have to talk to him one-on-one.”
The men sat on the bleachers and watched Drew shoot around with their dad. Logan would bet one month’s salary that the irony wasn’t lost on Levi that Charlie was being a better father figure to a kid he didn’t even know and had no blood relation to than he’d ever been to either of them.
“Sorry, guys,” Eric said as he came back into the gym. “I gotta go.”
“Yes!” Eric’s little brother Jake, whose team Logan was on, pumped his fists in the air. “We win!”
Ignoring his brother’s victory dance and cheer, Eric turned towards Logan. “I heard that you were on leave. You looking to pick up some work while you’re here?”
Logan wasn’t surprised Eric knew he was a cop. This town could rival the CIA with the amount of information they had on everyone.
“Not sure. Why?”
“We’re short staffed. We’ll find out tomorrow night at the city council meeting if our funds were approved for new hires. If they are, I’d love to have you.” Eric’s phone buzzed again, and he picked it up before he grabbed his gym bag and headed out the double doors.
Jake didn’t look sorry to see his brother go. He was too busy giving everyone high fives and telling them, “Good game.” When he got to Logan, he added, “Sweet three-pointer. You know, if you become one of Hope Falls’ boys in blue, we’ll have to be on different teams.”
“Is he really looking for people?” Logan didn’t know Eric very well, but he didn’t seem like the kind of guy who talked out of his ass.
Not that the job appealed to him at all. It didn’t. But he did like to keep his options open, and to keep something open, he needed to know if it was an actual option first.
“Oh, yeah. So is the fire department. In the last four years, Hope Falls has had a serious influx of residents. It’s gone from five thousand to almost forty. It’s crazy. The town outgrew itself, and we’re all scrambling.”
Then Jake continued on his high-five mission.
“You thinking about staying?” Levi asked casually.
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