“Great!” I grabbed my tripod and a basket, which Felix promptlyjumped inside. I let out a grunt of surprise. Maybe James had a point—he was a bit of a chonk, but I didn’t mind. It would help me build up my arm muscles.
I slipped out the back of my shop, walking down the alley that ran parallel to Main Street. No one knew about my secret social media project, and I wanted to keep it that way.
I peered around the corner as we got to the mouth of the alley. The nosy people in this town liked to appear out of thin air at the most inopportune times, but the coast was clear for now. I adjusted the basket and scurried down the dirt path to the lighthouse. When it came into view, bright white in the sunshine, I veered to the right into the large, overgrown field.
Felix jumped out of the basket and strutted ahead, confidently leading me. I skipped after him, my mood lifting with every step. It was our first warm day after a pretty brutal winter, and I was reveling in the warm sun kissing my skin and in doing one of my favorite things in the world. My social media account was a space just for me—where I could be playful and creative.
I let out awhoopwhen we came upon a large patch of blue wildflowers.
“Good job!” I picked Felix up under his arms and spun him in a circle. “You did amazing. And they even match my middle name.”
My moms had been going through a bit of a hippie phase when they chose Bluebell for my middle name after the Swedish national flower. Two of my moms were Swedish—Isla, my biological mom who I called Lala, and Frida, my mamma. They insisted they wanted to give me a middle name that honored my heritage, but my other two moms—Jojo and my mom, Harper—admitted to me that alcoholmayhave influenced the selection of my middle name.
I spent a few minutes styling the basket with the props I brought—fresh strawberries, strawberry lemonade, and a pink quilt. I set my phone up on a tripod.
“Okay, I think we’re ready. Do you want to sit in the basket?” I asked Felix.
He sniffed the props, gently picked up a strawberry, and held it in his mouth as he hopped into the basket. I squealed with excitement and joined him on the quilt. “Thank you for embracing the theme.” I scratched his ears and he leaned into my touch.
I clicked my remote to take a series of pictures of the two of us. I’d never appeared in any of the photos I posted on Felix’s account, but my birthday felt like a good exception. My secret account had grown faster than I’d ever expected—we were closing in on half a million followers. People loved Felix and all his outfits, but I still couldn’t silence the voice in the back of my mind that said it was a frivolous, useless way to spend my time. Old voices echoed through my head—my school teachers, who told me I needed tobe more seriousandapply myself, and my exes, who had slowly cut me down until I didn’t know how to trust myself anymore.
It was easier to just not tell anyone, then I could avoid their judgment.
I flipped through my camera roll and took a few more pictures of just Felix with the setup—the strawberry still held in his mouth.
“Okay, I think that’s it!”
He released the strawberry and smacked his lips with a disgusted expression. I pulled a bag of cat treats from my tote—homemade by Summer because our little mayor had a refined palate—and gave him a handful.
While he munched happily, I lay on the blanket and looked through the photos, favoriting the ones I wanted to edit.
“People are going to be obsessed with these. See how good you look in red!”
Felix peered at my phone screen, but his expression remained unchanged.
“You know I’m right,” I huffed.
Felix flopped over my chest, his body acting like my own personal weighted blanket.
“The next big holiday is Easter. We still have time, but I haven’t had any sparks of inspiration yet for outfits.”
Stanley had spent the past few town meetings teasing his new Easter Eggstravaganza plans that would apparently blow us all away—and once and for all settle the rivalry between Starlight Grove and Briar’s Landing.
I closed my eyes, letting the sun warm my skin. “I’ll come up with something good, don’t you worry.” The gentle rustle of the wind and birdsong swirled around me as sleep clung to the edges of my consciousness.
My vibrating phone jolted me back to reality. Shit, I was going to be late.
Lars
Olive is having a hard time this afternoon. She’s going to stay home with Finn and Easton tonight
I sat up, squinting against the sun as I looked over at the lighthouse cottage. Olive had seemed totally fine when she dropped me off at home after the birthday breakfast, but she dealt with depression that could come on fast.
Olive
I think Lars just texted you but I’m soooo sorry. I really wanted to be at your birthday dinner but I had a meltdown this afternoon and my guys are making me stay home
Lucy
