“I mean… you just never know who you will meet.”
“In a one-bedroom cabin in the middle of nothing?” My lips twitched as the mood lightened, and my shoulders relaxed. “You think I’m going to meet some kind of Prince Charming in the middle of the woods?
“God, no,” she huffed. “What good would Prince Charming in the woods in winter be for you?”
“Oh, lord,” l giggled, sipping my cider.
“Maybe some grizzly lumberjack with a big hard––“
“Rosie!”
“I was going to say ax! You’re going to need a lot of wood to stay warm there!” She laughed, and I playfully rolled my eyes.
“So, you’re not mad?”
“Me, mad? No!” She shook her head. “I actually had news of my own, so I’m glad you’re doing this.”
“Oh, what’s going on?”
“My agent called,” Rosie shared. “I have a photoshoot booked in London then Dubai for the new year. I was actually going to cancel on you because work… I need it.” She sighed, and my brow lifted.
“Money?” I asked, because if she was having financial issues, this was the first I was hearing of it.
“No.” Her smile was genuine and honest. “It’s just… my time to stop modeling is coming, so I should book as many gigs as I still can before they tell me I’m too old for them.”
“This almost thirty thing is really getting to you, huh?” I asked quietly, leaning closer. She simply lifted a delicate shoulder before letting it drop.
“It’s not that bad. It’s just…”
“What?”
“I just thought I would be somewhere else in life by now.”
“Like what?”
“Oh, you know, nothing huge.… just two or three adorable kids. A husband who is obsessed with me and how much he loves me,” she half-joked. I pressed my lips together.
“Oh, is that it?” I had to cough away a laugh.
“I don’t know… Life’s been good. I’m lucky. I’m not ungrateful for the experiences I’ve been able to have thanks to modeling. I’ve seen the world, almost in its entirety.”
“But?”
“But what now?” she asked.
“What about opening a business? You always used to talk about that.”
“And open it where? Here? In Moonlit Pines?”
“You could always move.” I hated the suggestion but knew my best friend needed to leave if it meant spreading her wings to find happiness.
“I don’t want that, though. I love it here. Maybe finding the guy and starting a family isn’t in the cards for me.”
“Babe, if it’s not meant for you, I don’t think it’s meant for me at all whatsoever,” I shared, and her eyes softened.
“We both know that’s not true. You’re going to meet someone. I know it. feel it in my bones. The winds of change are coming.
“The winds are just winter calling,” I teased.
