“Oh, it’s Jana and Grant Langford,” my mom said. “Apparently, they have a place here now, and they come up in the summer. Jana came by the spa when she was in Cottonwood Cove visiting her parents. She mentioned that they were going to be here this weekend, and I said we were going to be here as well.”
My mother and her best friend, Lola, owned the cutest day spa in the small town where I’d grown up, Cottonwood Cove.
“Yes, I think I met them once,” I said.
“That’s right. Their parents are close friends with my parents.” My mother turned her attention to Cutler and his family. “I don’t know them all that well, but they’ve always been nice.”
“I think I met them at one of Grandma and Grandpa’s holiday parties when they were in town,” I said. “And I think they had a daughter who was a little younger than me, but I only met her briefly.”
“Yes. I’ve only spoken to them a few times, but I’ve known them for years, and their daughter Britani is three years younger than you,” my mother said, and then she gave me that look.
You know the one.
The one that lets you know that something is going on.
And I immediately knew it was not something I would like.
“Sure, of course. The more the merrier,” Cutler said.
“Let’s go get the fire started out back.” Nash stood up, and my dad and Cutler followed him outside.
Mom, Emerson, and I moved to clean up the plates and put the leftover pizza in the refrigerator.
Once the guys were out back, my mom turned to me. “Okay, we’ve got a slight situation, but we don’t want to tell Cutler.”
“Definitely not. He’ll be against it. He hates setups.” Emerson chuckled.
“So when I ran into Jana, she was asking about you, and if you were still in Paris, as she’d obviously gotten updates from her parents, via Grandma and Grandpa.” Mom blew out a breath. “I said that you’d moved back to Blue Sky Bay for a few months and you were staying with your best friend, Cutler. And she immediately asked if he was single, because apparently Britani is considering living here full-time in the home they bought, and she’s single.”
“I mean, Cutler is pretty clear about not wanting to settle down, but it can’t hurt to introduce them,” Emerson said. “WhenI met Nash, he didn’t have any intention of settling down either.” She laughed. “And look at us now. I think men tend to have less of a plan than women do when they’re younger. It takes a good woman to kick a man’s ass in gear.”
My mother laughed as Emerson slipped the last few pieces of pepperoni pizza into a freezer bag and set it in the refrigerator.
Oh. My. Gosh.
They were setting him up with a family friend?
I kept my face completely relaxed as I forced a smile and listened.
“Listen, there are different stages of life, right?” Mom looked at me. Eyes always tender and understanding whenever they met mine. “You needed to go to Paris and give it a shot. I think that’s part of being young. And now you’ve come to a place where you want to focus on yourself and on your career. There is nothing wrong with that. I’m glad I was able to do it when I was young too. But sometimes you just meet the right person, and it turns your world upside down in the best way.”
“Well, I’ve had mine turned upside down in the worst way, so I’m not in any hurry to have my world even remotely shaken.” I chuckled, and Emerson came over to stand beside me and she squeezed my hand.
“I’m so proud of you. And I can’t wait for you to start this next adventure,” she said. “But I do think it’s going to be difficult for Cutler when you move across the country. Nash and I were actually worried about him when you were in Paris. He just wasn’t himself. Your friendship is so special, and we’re just really grateful that you have each other.”
Oh, we have each other.
“Yes. I think you struggled being that far away from him too. You two have just always had such a special connection,” Mom said, turning to look at me and tucking my hair behind my ear. “But, I think this is such a good opportunity for you. The fact thatthey wanted you back so badly, it speaks volumes about the faith they have in you. And what could be a better résumé builder?”
Owning my own business, which is what I was supposed to do in Paris.
“And who knows, when you’re ready, you just might find your Prince Charming in New York City.” Emerson grinned at me. “But I know Cutler’s going to have a hard time when you leave, so as much as I don’t think it’s a great idea to do a setup without him knowing, maybe they’ll hit it off and it’ll be a good distraction. At the very least, they can be friends, as she probably doesn’t know many people in town.”
“Exactly,” my mom said. “There’s no pressure. I told her that I wasn’t big on doing setups, but that I’d be happy to introduce them because it would be nice for her to know a few people here. But I am a little anxious about it,” she admitted, chewing on her thumbnail, something we both did when we were nervous.
“Why?” I asked.
“Well, Jana just ignored me when I said I wasn’t really comfortable doing a formal setup, but that I could definitely introduce them. She asked me multiple times if he was single, so I think she has her heart set on this being more of a romantic thing. I just hope I didn’t get us into an uncomfortable situation.” Mom rinsed her hands in the sink and reached for some paper towels.
