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“Well, I still live here, so you obviously haven’t been looking hard enough.”

“Oh.” My brows shoot up. “I didn’t know that.” I turn an accusing look on Sienna.

“Don’t look at me like that. Jalen might technically still live in Fairhope, but he’s barely here during the week. He’s too busy being some big-shot wealth manager up in Portland.” She looks at him pointedly. “He even bought one of those horrendous lake houses Misty’s been selling.”

“They’re not horrendous.”

“They’re an architectural crime.”

Jalen laughs. “Good to see you haven’t changed, Hartley.”

“Not even a little.”

“Well, I’m glad you did so well for yourself,” I tell him. “You always were good with numbers.”

“And it looks like you did pretty damn well for yourself too.” He gestures around us. “All these people came here just to hear you read a chapter from your book is pretty impressive.”

Heat rushes straight to my cheeks. “Thanks.”

“Okay, enough of that. People are starting to get rowdy.” Sienna catches me by the arm and starts pulling me away.

“Then I guess we’ll talk after?” Jalen calls. “Maybe go out for a drink later?”

“Maybe!” I call back, though by then I’m already too far away to know if he even heard me.

“He’s still single, you know,” Sienna says with a smirk.

I shoot her a look. “Since when did you become Cupid?”

“Since never.” She rolls her eyes. “But what would be the harm in going on a date or two with Jalen? He always had a thing for you anyway.”

“Can we please not talk about my love life right now?”

“Fine,” she groans, leading me into the dining room.

I make it exactly two steps inside and come to an abrupt halt.

“Holy shit,” I mutter.

“You can say that again.”

The dining room is almost unrecognizable. The tables that usually fill the space have been cleared away and replaced with row after row of chairs, every single one occupied. More people are packed behind them, standing two and three deep at the back of the room, while others line the walls or squeeze into whatever sliver of space they can find.

And it isn’t just guests from the B&B. It looks like half the damn town showed up.

Most of the faces are unfamiliar, which somehow makes this even more surreal, but scattered among them are a few people I recognize. The women who shared our table at brunch. A few old classmates. Even some familiar faces from around town that I haven’t seen since I was a teenager.

The only people noticeably absent are the Fairhope Reds. Not that I’m complaining.

Frankly, I’m relieved they decided to boycott the event. I’m nervous enough without having to stare at their faces all night.

“This has to be a fire hazard,” I whisper as Sienna points to the small makeshift stage set up at the front of the room.

“Don’t worry about any of that. Just do your thing,” she encourages, walking toward the stage only to stop when she realizes I’m no longer beside her.

I’m too busy staring at the sea of faces waiting for me.

“I don’t think I can do this,” I whisper when she comes back.