Dad’s eyes well up with tears.
“Hal Wild. What a great man your dad was.” Dad shakesMichael and Ayden’s hands. “He was the best friend to my brother. And you know, I met you boys once years and years ago. Your dad came out to the bar with Tony and me when I was in Lucky Bay visiting. I stopped by your house beforehand with Tony to pick him up. You were both polite as could be, sitting at the kitchen table with your ma.”
“I didn’t know that we’d met,” Michael says.
“Me neither,” says Ayden as he glances over at me.
Bella gasps next to me. “It’s like you and Michael are fated!” she whispers.
She says it quietly, but Mom and Aunt Lynn overhear.
Mom squeezes my arm, and Aunt Lynn says, “My thoughts exactly.”
I shush her, but my heart is filled with all sorts of feelings.
Fated.
That’s what I’ve been feeling, too.
But is such a thing truly possible?
Or are we all just hopeless romantics?
Michael
“This is weird,” Ayden mutters to me. “It’s like a blast to the past, even though we’re not in Maine.”
Lynn just showed us the group of Lucky Bay photos that Emery had told me about. She had some of the same photos I have, but there were a couple of our parents I don’t remember ever seeing.
“Tell me about it,” I say.
“And now Emery owns Lynn and Tony’s cottage?” Ayden asks me incredulously. “Can’t believe the connection between you two.”
Me neither.
Originally, the tie between us scared me, but now…it’s comforting in a way.
Ayden nods like he just read my mind. “Makes it easier, doesn’t it? Because she was affected by it too.”
“Yeah.” I look over at Emery, who catches me looking and gives me a sweet smile. “It does.”
Emery
We all sit down for a lovely brunch that Lynn made.
Between the fried eggs, bacon, and hash browns, I eat enough to satisfy me for hours. And then some.
And then Mom surprises Lynn with a birthday cake. After she blows out the candles, we all have a large piece for dessert.
“I think I over-ate,” I confess as we’re leaving. “Aunt Lynn, you make the best bacon. Just the right amount of crispy without being burned.”
She laughs and hugs me goodbye. “You’ve been a fan of my bacon ever since you were little.”
When she hugs Michael goodbye, I notice her whisper something to him.
I lean in closer, but I can’t hear a word.
She clearly meant for me not to hear it.
