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“Jess is perfectly happy here,” Sarah said, earning her a look from her friend. “I mean, I think she is… Aren’t you?”
Jessica nodded. “Of course. Yes. I just sometimes doubt that I’ll find someone to spend my life with here.”
Sarah sucked in her bottom lip. Jessica was obsessed with connecting with her true love; Sarah just never thought her friend would consider leaving their hometown to find him.
The idea that she didn’t seem to know her friends as well as she thought she did anymore was unsettling. Maybe friends did grow apart over time. Even being in L.A. she hadn’t felt that—hadn’t experienced the sensation of her best friends slipping away like grains of sand under her feet.
But maybe she just hadn’t realized it until being there to see things in a different light. Jessica and Whitney were much more connected, and she longed for that again. Staying in Blue Moon Bay would fulfill that missing element in her life as well.
“You know, I bet that wine is chilled to perfection by now,” Lia said, smiling as she used Sarah’s sore thigh to push herself up off the rocking chair.
The pain was nothing compared to the tightness in her chest.
“You know what, sit tight—catch up some more. I’ll get it,” Sarah said, standing. She needed a second. She hoped once she returned with the wine, the dark cloud that had appeared out of nowhere out on the bay would have passed.
…
The next morning, she found Lia doing what looked like an extreme form of yoga in the front room. The woman’s tiny body was twisted in some sort of pretzel shape that she looked stuck in. “Need some help?”
Lia glanced over her shoulder at her, a peaceful expression on her face, then gracefully maneuvered her body back into a cross-legged position on her yoga mat…that apparently she traveled with.
Because who didn’t travel with a yoga mat?
“Morning yoga is a great way to start the day,” she said, tapping the floor next to her for Sarah to join in the practice.
“Yeah, that’s a no.” She was still hurting from the last workout the woman had forced her to do.
“Aunt Lia!”
Sarah turned and dodged out of the way as the front door to the B&B closed and Marissa ran straight for Lia.
“Hi… Oh my God, you look like a teenager,” Lia said, getting up from the impossible pose with ease and hugging the little girl tight. “How old are you now? Fourteen?”
“Nine and three-quarters.”
“Nine and a half,” Wes corrected. “Hey, Sarah,” he said, sounding slightly awkward as he walked past her for his own hug with Lia.
Looking at him that morning in his jeans and paint-splattered old T-shirt, she wished she could wrap her arms around him. Was it her imagination or did he look even better that day? His hair was gelled and he was definitely wearing cologne.
Great, so he’d decided to torture her even more by looking and smelling amazing.
“You guys are here early,” Lia said.
Wes nodded. “This one woke up at six a.m. demanding to come see you. I was barely able to hold her off until a decent time.”
The little girl still had her arms around Lia. “It was actually five thirty.”
Lia laughed, and Sarah looked around. That genuine sound must have come from someone else. She hadn’t seen a relaxed, un-put-on version of the other woman until now.
“Well, I was up that early for a morning run and some follow-up emails with clients in New York, so next time, come as early as you want,” Lia said.
“You’re on vacation. You’re supposed to sleep in, take a break,” Wes said.
“Sleep in? Wouldn’t that be a treat?”
Watching the interaction, Sarah blinked. Where was the obnoxious Lia who was driving her wild? Holding Marissa’s hand and smiling at Wes, she was almost unrecognizable. The square of her shoulders had disappeared, and her face looked relaxed. Happy. Real happy.
“Well, Sarah’s been working hard, too,” Wes said. “She’s breathing new life into this place.” His gaze met Sarah’s, and the tension in the air had to be obvious to everyone. It was impossible to look at him and not remember the kiss. The way he’d tasted, the scent of his cologne, the way he’d backed her up against the wet wall…
