“Looking hot tonight, nature girl.” Maya held a shaker in one hand as she spoke to Nat, who wore a summer dress with a heart-shaped neckline. I’d definitely noticed.
“Not as hot as you shaking that thing.” Nat’s smile lit up the room, and I found myself getting a little jealous, which was stupid. Maya was completely straight. And I wasn’t into Nat. I repeated that in my head like a mantra.
“No way, twice in one week?” Kai sidled up to her. “How are those nails holding up?”
Nat extended her hand and chuckled. “We got our nails done at Wild Beauty the other day,” she explained to Maya. “And they made it two days. I know better than to get pretty when I’m down and dirty all the time, but I can’t help myself.”
That phrasing had me thinking of her down and dirty in another way, and I mentally slapped myself.
He laughed. “But they’re still glittery at least.”
She took her hand back and looked. “The benefits of working with crafts.”
Kai nodded. “Don’t I know it. Speaking of which, your restock order came in today. Want me to drop it off?”
Nat’s partially polished hand went to her chest. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I love stopping by Camp Starlight. Simon was just telling me about…”
I zoned out of the conversation and focused on ordering my beer from Lola. She poured a pint, and I took a long swig. Nat really was getting along in Wildwood. It was nice to see our town accept the new counselors each summer. Welcoming Nat had been no different. Except that they didn’t just welcome her, everyone loved her, and when she wasn’t driving me up the wall, I could almost see why.
A voice behind me got my attention. “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage Hazel Matthews and Leo Lovejoy.”
We all whooped and clapped as Maya introduced them on the tiny stage in the back of the bar. Someone handed Leo a guitar.
This was a special treat for the people of Wildwood. It wasn’t often that we got a moment like this outside of the campfire. People loved our camp mom and dad and put pressure on them to perform, but that rarely worked.
“This one goes out to Autumn and Jamie, our favorite lovebirds,” Hazel said as she stood at the mic. Someone lowered the lighting as Leo strummed the first chords of Maren Morris and Hozier’s “The Bones.”
I’d seen it dozens of times around the campfire, but it never failed to take my breath away. The two of them were like magic, their sounds melding together perfectly. Hazel wasn’t a big fan of attention, so this was Leo bringing her out of her shell, just like he’d done when they’d performed for their first camp talent show together as kids. Or so I’d been told.
Autumn and Jamie came out to the center of the dance floor and looked at each other with heart eyes, and several others followed suit. It was hard not to feel the romance in the air, no matter how much I wanted to avoid it.
I glanced at Nat, who had her arms wrapped around herself as she swayed to our friends’ song. She had a look about her, a wistfulness that saidI want to be them.
Or maybe I was drawing conclusions I didn’t know anything about.
Hazel smiled at Leo, who looked at his fingers for a moment before meeting her gaze.
I’d seen them deny it out of their teeth, and I’d known not to say anything, but it did look like there was something there. I carefully reminded myself that they were just friends. Bestfriends. And that didn’t have to mean a romantic relationship. Not everything ended that way.
The bar erupted into cheers and applause as they finished their song. I noticed Nat looking at her drink, as if she were searching for her answer at the bottom of her glass. She threw it back and finished it, right as Lola came back with a tray of cocktails.
“Hey, there,” a sweet voice said behind me.
I turned to find a pretty redhead with her hand in a little wave, standing beside a blonde with wavy hair.
I wasn’t in the mood for this kind of interaction, but I was polite, nonetheless. “How’s it going?”
“Pretty good. I’m Stephanie. And this is Lily.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Jack. Are y’all from around here?”
Stephanie pushed her hair behind one ear and shook her head. “We’re visiting from Arizona.”
“And what brought you to our small town?” I took a gulp of my beer and found the bottom of my glass. I wondered how soon I could extricate myself from this situation and get another.
Lily jumped in. “Just trying to find ourselves some mountain men. You sure fit that bill.” She was clearly tipsy. And loud.
