“More details, Lor. That’s noteverything. I was at Mason’s when he came home last night. The man looked absolutely drunk in love.” Karoline sings the last part off-key, matching Beyonce’s song. Something I only know because Lucy once played it on repeat for days. “Plus you two sat next to each other in church thismorning.Closeto each other. What did you do to that man? And what did he do to you?”
Hadley tosses her hair into a platinum blonde ponytail before digging into her spaghetti. Lucy’s green-hazel eyes warm as she mentally nudges me to speak from across the table.
“I don’t know. It was a lovely evening. We talked. Laughed. Had fun.”
“So do you have a boyfriend now?” Hadley asks, her fork paused at her mouth.
“No?” As I think about the night, the one that very much felt like a date by the end of it, I can’t deny that the thought of actively dating Finley is intriguing. But I still know I can’t move. I can’t become a queen. So therefore I can’t date Finley.
“That sounded like a question,” Hadley says with a smirk.
“Maybe I find the idea appealing.” I shove garlic bread into my mouth while the three women erupt in applause and excited squeals. The corner of my lips tugs upward as I chew.
“Please give us more information. I’m starved to know everything,” Lucy exclaims, sweeping her braid to one side of her shoulder. “You went to bed when you got home and then we didn’t get to talk much because I woke up late for church.”
I recount the conversations, carefully including the way he made sure I was safe all night and how it feels like our brains were meant for each other as we challenged each other fact for fact in the library. But I was sure to leave out his personal admission ofstomach issues. “But I can’t date him. It wouldn’t be right. I don’t want to leave Juniper Grove. And I definitely do not want to become queen of an unknown country.”
Lucy scoffs. “That’s the coolest part!”
“To you, Little Miss Romance Writer.” I shove a forkful of spaghetti into my mouth.
“I don't think you should write him off just yet, Lorelei,” Karoline says, surprising me. She typically doesn’t put her thoughts into conversations like this. I set my fork down to listen. She tucks a lock of brown waves behind her ear. “I didn’t want to leave this area either, but in three months, I’ll move to Nashville. And while I’m going to miss Juniper Grove and everything this place has given me, I know that I’m going to build a new life with the one my heart was meant for.”
“But I’ve been here my entire life,” I state.
“You’re right,” she says. “I moved here from Dallas, but this place quickly became home. And once you find a place that feels like home, you don’t want to leave. But I’ve learned home is more than a place. It’s the people.”
“That’s the—”
She cuts me off. “Before you say that’s why you want to stay here, remember that you can build new relationships. And you won’t lose the ones here in the process.”
“Hear, hear.” Hadley holds up her glass of sweet tea. “You couldn’t get rid of us if you died. We’d just die with you.”
Lucy clinks her glass with Hadley’s. “Speaking truth, my dear friend.”
I shove another bite of spaghetti into my mouth as I process their advice. I hear what they’re saying, and I do trust that I wouldn’t lose their friendship. I definitely wouldn’t lose my twin. In fact,she’d probably move to Korsa with me to search for a duke or something.
Hm. I wouldn’t mind that, actually. It would be nice to have her around.
But there is still the idea of being a queen. A whole queen to an entire country. One I’m not familiar with.
You’d have Finley to guide you through,my inner voice comments out of the blue. No. That wouldn’t be enough. Would it?
“When are you seeing him again?” Lucy asks, taking a sip of her sweet tea and ripping me, thankfully, from my confusing thoughts.
We didn’t make plans at the end of the night, nor did we do so today. The thought makes me sad, I notice.Huh.“Probably not until the weekend. I have a big case plus some smaller ones I’m preparing for at work, and I will need the evenings this week to work.”
Karoline stands, placing her hands on the table. “Well, I do need everyone to make themselves free Saturday morning. I have a dress fitting booked for us.”
We exchange glances as Karoline walks to the living room, quickly returning with an armful of olive green and white flannel shirts. She holds up the backside of the flannel where it reads “BRIDESMAID” in bolded, bubbled, black font. She hands one to Hadley, Lucy, and then me. “Will you all be my bridesmaids?”
“Thought you weren’t going to ask!” Hadley jumps up and hugs Karoline.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Lucy shouts.
Me? You think ofmeas someone worthy of standing beside you?
“Of course,” I say aloud, stunned.
