‘Molly, it’s been too long! You’re lookinggorgeous. You both are.’ Keiko leaned in to give us each a hug and some air kisses, then flapped the ticket book at us. ‘Proceeds go towards town beautification, the animal shelter and the library. Plus, the faster I sell them, the faster I can get back to the bottle of bubbly that’s waiting for me on my blanket.’
‘I’ve got it, babe,’ said Lara, handing over her credit card. ‘Why not? I’m feeling lucky,’ she said, as Keiko peeled off a block of tickets for us.
‘Don’t forget to sign up for the pumpkin-carving contest at the Hammer and Thistle,’ added Soraya. ‘It’s a shame you missed last year’s – someone did Audrey II fromLittle Shop of Horrors, and I’m still living for it. Wait, where’d Ernie go?’
Ernie was Soraya’s extremely rambunctious six-year-old son, who could presently be seen spinning in circles in front of the stage. He was holding an enormous seal plushie that he was alternatively using as a dance partner and a cushion. A few other kids had joined him, and they were all shrieking and laughing as they bopped along.
I waved at Ernie, although mostly I was looking for an excuse to see what was going on over at our picnic blanket. What were the boys up to?
Following my gaze, Lara raised an eyebrow.
Busted in the act, I redirected instantly. But not before Finn blew a kiss in my direction.
‘Finn’s flirting with you,’ Lara said knowingly, handing me half the raffle tickets, which I shoved in my cross-body purse.
‘He’ll flirt with anyone with a pulse. That’s his whole thing.’
‘Yes, but he does have a history of flirting with you specifically,’ she pointed out.
All right, so perhaps during a movie marathon one Summerween a few years ago, Finn had overindulged on magically enhanced tequila and blurted out something about being in love with me. After a deer-in-the-headlights moment where I’d sat staring into his blue eyes as a sex scene played awkwardly on the TV in front of us, I’d laughed it off and slowly extricated myself from him. The next day, it was as though nothing had happened: Finn was his usual charming self, magicking up some pancakes and texting a solid half of the girls vacationing at the cove. And maybe nothinghadhappened. Perhaps I’d imagined the whole thing. Or misunderstood. It wouldn’t be the first time. I was excellent at misinterpreting things. Apparently, I still had the meaning of theSopranosfinale all wrong, even after all these years.
‘Speaking of flirting, you didn’t tell me that Noah has a new girl.’ Lara nudged me, then pointed to where Noah stood talking to a curly-haired woman I recognized from around town. She was a jogger and was always coming up behind me in head-to-toe Lululemon, like an athleisure-clad Predator.
‘I … didn’t know he did.’ But I shouldn’t be surprised. Noah always had a girl. He might not be outwardly fun and flirty the way Finn was, but he was just as painfully handsome, and had a quiet depth to him that made you want to sit and chat to him all night. Where Finn was the performer, always working overtime to make you laugh and ensure you were having fun, Noah was an observer.
And he’d turned me into one as well, I realized, as he glanced up to catch me staring. Frowning, he took a step to one side. The jogger, who’d dressed more to the summery side of the Summerween spectrum in a fringed dress made from grass, waved cheerfully. The pineapple on her head waggled.
I waved back, feeling awkward.
‘Wow, Molly,’ said Lara, pulling me over to the apple-bobbing station, where a teenager in a pumpkin mask scrolled his phone. ‘Just pick one already.’
‘An apple?’ I asked, prodding one of the few dozen heirloom apples floating around in the barrel, courtesy of Fitzgerald’s Orchard. All had fortunes written on them in waxy ink.
‘One of the Tucker boys,’ scolded Lara, exasperatedly. ‘They’re both hot. They’re both into you.’
I froze, wanting to argue the point.Werethey into me? Up until a few hours ago I would’ve said surely not. But allthe flirtatious comments and meaningful looks hadn’t been entirely lost on me. However, if the boys were into me, what did that mean for our friendships, and for our families?
Mindful of her hair, Lara bobbed for an apple, grabbing one on her first attempt. ‘Look, even the apple agrees.’
She waggled it at me, revealing a fortune that read:Pick your poison.
Chapter 5
LOVE IS IN THE AIR
‘No Lara?’ asked Noah, when I returned to our families’ designated picnic-blanket area.
The jogger girl had disappeared somewhere – perhaps for a quick lap around the block to get the blood moving – and I wasn’t about to press the issue. Noah sat alone, sipping a cider as he sketched the dancers in front of the stage with a swift, practised hand. His sketch was loose and suggestive, perfectly capturing the freedom of their movement.
‘She’s busy entertaining a stockbroker,’ I said as I sank down on the picnic blanket, arranging my dress so that it wouldn’t crease. ‘Apparently he’s a semi-professional polo player on the side.’
‘Busy guy,’ said Noah drily.
‘Overachievers are the worst,’ I agreed, with a nod towards Mom and Tiff’s empty spots. They’d disappeared at some point, perhaps to walk off some of the cheese platter. Although it wouldn’t surprise me if they’d both jumped on urgent Zoom calls.
I helped myself to the punch bowl that Rosie had been assiduously refilling throughout the evening. ‘Wow, is this approximately ninety per cent alcohol?’
‘I think it’s had some magical assistance. I switched to cider after I heard ten whisperwinds in a row and realized I was hallucinating.’
