“That’s the thing though. Itcanbe. Hell, Iwantit to be. Sometimes, when life is crap or not going to plan and you feel a little lost in the world, it’s an escape. It can be just the thing you need to lose yourself in a made-up world. Especially when fiction can be so much better than the reality you find yourself in.”
“It feels like I’mlivinga book right now,” I confess. “It’s just one I didn’t know had even been written.”
“Thatis fate, B. The trope is fated soulmates,” Cate tells me.
“Yep. I’m more convinced than ever now that your stay in Timber falls is straight out of the small-town romance playbook,” Alex says. “It’s giving strangers to lovers, secret crush, Alaskan mountain man romance, B. Which means Sutton is your book boyfriend come to life.” She sighs happily. “Do youknowwhat I’d give to be living your life right now?”
“Maybe you should just put your hands up and enjoy the ride?” Cate asks, somewhat sagely. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“You’re both forgetting I’m not here forever. I’m coming back home when my job is done here.”
“Is that a foregone conclusion? Because all we’ve heard since you got there is how great the town is and how friendly the people are. You’re a different person there compared to when you’re being rockstar cardiologist Blair back here,” Cate says. “You’re relaxed andfarless stressed. You’refinallytaking time for you.”
Alex nods in agreement. “Well overdue, I might say.”
“And then there’s the Coopers that have welcomed you in like you’re one of their own,” Cate finishes.
“Especially one Cooper in particular. ‘Sutton’s so thoughtful’. ‘Sutton’s an open book’. ‘Sutton kisses like I’m a treasure he can’t believe he’s found’,” Alex muses.
“I didn’t say that!” I half-laugh, half gasp.
“Maybe not in those exact words, but there’s definitely been some gushing,” she retorts, rolling her eyes before pinning me with a questioning stare down the camera. “You called us after your prepper bunker lock-in date and there was no wiping the smile off your face. I’ve never seen you look so happy, B.” Her expression softens and I feel the pinprick of tears again.
“But–”
“Babe, I’m not sure there’s abutpossible right now. Wait, maybe one–the most important one,” she says, her lips twitching at the side. “Butyou don’t know what you don’t know, so how about you start reading that Aster book you said one of the brides gave you and start finding out.”
I open my mouth to argue but fall flat. That’s because I can’t. She’s right. I can’t dismiss something outright without knowing what it is I’m dismissing.
“OK.”
Alex’s lips twitch. “Is that a ‘yes, you’re right’ OK, or a ‘I’m saying it to shut you up” OK?”
“Bit of column A, bit of a column B,” I shoot back with a smirk.
Cate smiles. “There’s our bestie. Now, there’s something else important we need to talk about.”
My brows furrow. “What’s that?”
“What you’re wearing to the wedding, of course.”
After showing her my floral sundress, a straw hat with a scarf draped off it that matches a deep yellow of the fabric, and tan leather sandals, both of them give me their seal of approval and make me promise to send updates about the book while I’m reading it.
Once we end the call, I figure there’s no time like the present. I pick up Isla’s book, planning to read at least the first chapter before going to sleep.
Two hours later, I’m reading “The End” and I’m left with more questions than answers.
That’s when I pull out my tablet and download the next book in the series, hoping to find them.
When I finallydostop reading and try to sleep, there’s one thing Sutton said that sticks in my mind and gives me the peace I need to finally drift off.
“I’ve been waitin’ for you, gorgeous, and I’ll keep doin’ it for as long as it takes for me to prove you’re right where you’ve always belonged.”
Chapter 17
Sutton
“You ready for this?” I ask Case from where I’m leaning against his bedroom doorframe.
