She turns her phone to me. On the screen is a group text thread labeledPelican Point Morning Crewwith at least thirty people in it. And there, in crystal-clear quality, are multiple photos of me and Logan on my porch last night.
One shows him backing me against the pillar, his hand cupping my face. Another catches us mid-kiss, my hands fisted in his shirt. A third shows us laughing, foreheads pressed together, looking at each other like we're the only two people in the world.
They're actually beautiful photos. Romantic, even. I wouldn’t mind a copy. But still?—
“Mrs. Henderson took these?!” That freaking busybody…
The woman must have the hearing of a bat, the stealth of a ninja, and one hell of a camera on her phone. Does she patrol the neighborhood with night-vision goggles? Is this what retirement looks like, lurking in bushes at midnight with a smartphone, waiting to catch unsuspecting neighbors in compromising positions? I'm half convinced she has motion sensors installed on every porch within a three-block radius.
“She was sitting outside when you two sashayed onto your porch and started going at it. She just happened to have her phone ready,” Amy explains, trying and failing to suppress her smile. “She sent them to her book club group chat, which forwarded them to the church ladies, who sent them to basically everyone in town. You're trending, sweetie.”
“Oh, for the love of god. We did not sashay.” I drop my head to my desk, not bothering to dispute the ‘going at it’ part because they held the evidence in their hands. “I'm going to wring her miserable, nosey-ass neck.”
“Why?” Julie sounds genuinely confused. “Look at these, they’re hot! And Mrs. Henderson literally said you two were adorable. She said, and I quote, ‘These two young people are adorable together. About time someone put a smile on that girl's face.’”
“I smile all the time,” I object, lifting my head. “Wait… Mrs. Henderson said I'm adorable?”
“Which is basically her version of a papal blessing,” Amy adds. “I've lived here twenty years, and I've never heard her say anything nice about anyone. She once referred to the mayor as a human toadstool.”
Despite the absurdity of the situation, I laugh. Because it's ridiculous. All of it. Mrs. Henderson acting as town paparazzi, group chats dissecting my love life, the idea that half of Pelican Point has seen me making out with Logan Maddox on my front porch.
And the weird thing is, I don't actually care.
“Well, she’s not wrong about the mayor,” I comment, still laughing. “Okay, fine. Yes. Logan and I are dating. Officially. As of last night.”
Julie squeals, and Amy claps her hands together.
“Finally! She admits it.” Julie leans forward eagerly. “Okay, now give me all the deets. How serious is this?”
“We have our first official date Saturday night after the market.”
“A date-date?” Amy asks. “Or a ‘let's hang out’ situation?”
“A real date somewhere fancy. He's making reservations at someplace special and told me I had to wear something nice.”
Julie and Amy exchange matching smirks.
“That's serious,” Julie declares. “Men don't do 'wear something nice' unless they mean it.”
“What does Violet think?” Amy asks.
“We haven’t really said anything to her, but we’ve been at each other’s houses every night since they moved in.”
Both women gasp.
“Shut the front door!” Julie demands.
I explain how Cookie found Violet on our porch that first morning and how the two had been practically inseparable since. “And she calls me Aunt Heather now.”
Amy's hand goes to her heart. “Oh, that's precious.”
Julie grins. “Kudos to Cookie. I never took her for a therapy dog. And I’m glad to hear the little diva doesn’t mind sharing her human.”
I snort. “I don’t think I’m her human anymore. I’m fairly certain Cookie's in love with Violet, and vice versa. In fact, she spent the night at Logan's last night and refused to sleep anywhere except curled around Violet like a bodyguard.” I pull up the splooting photo and show them.
“And this was them at six AM. They woke Logan up having a tea party.”
“Stop it!” Julie grabs the phone. “Oh my god, that crown! I can't handle this level of cute.”
