Page 13 of A Love Like Candle Light

“Nice of you to finally show up,” the smaller of the two blonde women approaching repeats mockingly and rolls her eyes. “Hello to you too, Kieran.”

“Wait.” My eyes dart between the two women. I know them. I’ve seen them before. “Aren’t you—”

“Yes,” Lauren says before I can finish the thought and extends her hand. “I’m Lauren. I used to be an actress and am arrogant enough to think you saw me in a movie or two.” She winks at me. “Good to meet you.”

My jaw drops. She’s right. I watched a movie she starred in last week! Her bright blonde hair is longer now and she’s not wearing make-up. Honestly, she can totally pull it off. Dare I say she looks even better without it.

Seriously, how can someone even have skin this glowing and perfect? It’s magic. Witchery!

“Hi,” I mutter and take her hand, a little star-struck.

“Nic. Also used to be an actress. And also great to meet you.”

I know her too. One of her earlier movies is one of my all-time favorites. A cute murder mystery in which she turned out to be the killer. The movie was so well made, I never even saw it coming. I even watched a bunch of interviews she did during the press tour following the release and already found her surprisingly down to earth in them.

Her golden blonde hair is in a low bun, and she’s a fellow bang girlie. How fun! But what’s most striking is how relaxed she is.

The smiles the two of them shoot me are either incredibly well-practiced or they’re actually that welcoming. I’m not sure which sounds more realistic at this point.

“I’m Kylie.” I clear my throat. “And I didn’t used to be an actress.”

“Well, you’re not missing out on anything,” Lauren declares with a giggle and links her arm with mine. “Now, how about you tell me what’s going on? And by that I mean, I want to know every detail, don’t you even dare skip a single one.” She glances past me and within the fraction of a second, her face lights up with the biggest smile. “Oh my God, is that your dog?” Immediately, she lets go of me again to lean down and greet her. “Hi, you beautiful little baby. Wait...” She slowly turns to me. “Can I pet your dog? Is it okay?”

“Go for it,” I mumble, still trying to make sense of the past few minutes. “Her name is Abby.” She immediately breaks into a high-pitched baby voice and showers Abby with love and compliments. Nic joins her, meanwhile I turn back to Kieran.

Only my eyes immediately wander past him to Erik.

Damn, from what I’m seeing so far, only hot guys live in this little town. Who would have thought? And while I’m far from mad about it, it’s kind of intimidating.

But also, a man with serious expression, dressed in a brown leather jacket over broad shoulders taking charge?

So fucking hot. Seriously, stuff of my dreams ever since Zach and I were officially over and I allowed myself to daydream of hot guys.

“Wait, what are those machines they’re bringing here? Oh my God, what if my house was built on a fucking graveyard?” I let out another deep sigh and bury my face in my hands.

Breathe, Kylie. Maybe Svetty the skeleton turns out to be a too-real Halloween decoration.

Or my property is a serial killer graveyard.

“So, speaking of first impressions,” Kieran chuckles and distracts me before I hyperventilate. “Come on, Nic, do you want to tell her yours?”

What a sweetheart, trying to keep my brain occupied.

“It can’t have been worse than this.” I point at my house, shaking my head.

“I mean, judge for yourself.” Nic scoffs and gets off the ground. Dick, however, seems to starve for attention, because he jumps up her side, muddy paws on her jeans. Absentmindedly, with all her attention on us, she pets him.

“When I first moved here, literally on my way to see my new home for the first time, I found a badly injured cat in the street. So, I gathered her up, put her in my car, broke the speed limit as I rushed to the vet, ran in there with blood all over my clothes and mascara running down my face, then had a little mental breakdown. My first impression on this town was raccoon eyes, babbling about the universe forsaking me and crying over the death of a cat I knew for all of fifteen minutes.”

My jaw drops. Then I softly shake my head. “Okay, I feel a little better now.” She gives my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“Really, don’t worry about it. Trust me, people here are nicer and much less judgmental than you might think.”

A weight falls off my shoulders. It’s so reassuring to hear. Considering the way my mom freaked out when I told her about my divorce, a part of me prepared itself for living in midst of people who are too curious for their own good and would whisper about it behind my back.

“Thank you.” I shoot her a grateful glance.

“You are so welcome. And it all turned out well for me, so there’s still hope for you.” Her lips curls into a smile as her eyes dart somewhere behind me. “Ah, speaking of, there’s Henry. Over here, hot stuff!” She waves at another guy who just appeared next to my house.