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Whether it was the final scene from Grease or the Christmas festival in Steel Magnolias she’d always romanticized the events.
All day, she’d been on the lookout for Seb, but there hadn’t been a single sighting of him. It had been eight weeks since she’d seen him. He’d left to film the next season of Tattoo Master and he hadn’t said goodbye. She’d tried not to take it personally. They hadn’t had an actual relationship.
Over the course of the two months, they’d emailed each other several times because they were unofficial hosts of Laura and Knox’s joint bachelor/bachelorette parties. The messages they’d exchanged had been friendly but not flirty. They’d felt impersonal, something she’d never thought she’d feel when it came to Seb.
From the moment they’d met, things had felt personal. Intimate. Connected. At least they had on her side. She couldn’t speak to his. All she could go off of were his actions. And they’d made a very clear statement that he wasn’t interested in her, with the exception of the two nights they’d spent together.
Kennedy had done her best not to be upset that they hadn’t continued their hot love affair through the summer. She knew it was for the best, especially since she’d made the promise not to date while being considered for the show. And it turned out that the sacrifice she’d made of putting her personal life on hold had been worth it because she’d found out yesterday that she’d been officially cast.
The show was going to be starting soon. Production had been pushed because of an issue with the streaming service that it was going to be aired on, so she’d been in a holding pattern. Maura had kept in contact, and it looked like they’d be ready to film in a few weeks. Between now and then she’d have to have a physical and psych evaluation, which she assumed she’d pass with flying colors. She’d always excelled at tests.
Kennedy wished that she was more excited about the prospect of being on the show. She wished that she didn’t still feel like she’d been trying to get over a broken heart. Even though they’d only spent two nights together, which in the grand scheme was only a tiny pebble in the lake of her life. Still that little rock had caused a significant ripple. She’d spent so many sleepless, lonely nights in her bed missing him. Tossing and turning, wishing he would show up on her doorstep.
Everywhere she looked, something reminded her of him. It didn’t help that her best friend was married to his brother. His name came up almost every time she visited the twins, who were already getting so big.
And, yesterday, she’d found out he was coming back to Whisper Lake. Tattoo Master had wrapped and, from what she’d heard, he’d be staying in town until after the wedding, which was in two weeks. She had mixed emotions about his return. She was nervous, anxious, excited, scared, worried, happy, confused all of which combined to make her nauseous.
All day, she’d felt like she was going to throw up. Getting physically ill over someone was definitely not a green flag. He’d racked up more red flags than a matador convention in Spain. Yet, she still couldn’t seem to get over him.
When she saw him, her plan was to keep the tone exactly the same as the emails they’d exchanged. Friendly, not flirty, and impersonal.
A couple approached the booth and Kennedy greeted them as she handed them a goodie bag. It had brochures for activities to do in Whisper Lake, an interactive map, several coupons for establishments around town, some candy, and her card.
The woman pulled out the brochure and scanned it before asking, “Is Stone Castle really where they shot Fairytale Love?”
“Yes, it is.”
“I heard they’re going to have a new season.”
Kennedy had told Laura and a handful of other people that she’d been cast on the show, but it hadn’t been made public yet. They were going to announce the cast in a few weeks, right before filming began.
“Yeah, I think they are.”
“I heard the castle is haunted,” the man said.
“It is,” Kennedy confirmed.
“Do you know the story?” the woman asked.
Kennedy couldn’t count the number of times she’d relayed the story to tourists and people moving to town. It had to be in the thousands. Usually, she got bored telling it, but tonight she was happy that she could recite it without thinking about it because her mind was too busy being occupied with her inevitable Sebastian Savage sighting. What would she say? How would she feel? What would he say? It was all consuming.
“The story is that in the late 1800s an English Duke named William Stone was set to marry a woman his family had chosen for him, but he refused. William had fallen in love with a chambermaid named Emilia who was beneath his station.
“His family wouldn’t accept the union so he left for America. He smuggled Emilia, in a crate on the cargo ship he sailed over in. Once they got here, they spent months traveling to find a suitable place to settle. Legend has it that they arrived here and stood on the cliff overlooking the lake when William asked Emilia to marry him and they shared their first kiss.
“She accepted the proposal, and they were betrothed on the cliff. William decided to stay on the lake and build his castle where they wed and shared their first kiss. For years, they lived happily there, until one day, a day like any other, he was out hunting and returned home to find the gruesome discovery that his wife, Emilia, his one true love, had been brutally murdered.
“William Stone, mad with grief, searched the woods, the town, and the lake surrounding the castle day and night, looking for her killer, until he finally dropped dead from malnutrition and exposure.
“When news made it back to his mother in England, she felt guilty for having sent William into exile. So she bought the land and the castle in order to keep the last piece of her only son. For over a hundred years the castle was empty, except for the ghosts of William and Emilia, who are reported to roam the halls searching for each other in the afterlife, until his distant cousin Avery Stone inherited the property and decided to renovate it and bring it back to life.”
“Wow, and I heard you can have weddings there, too.”
“Yes, my friend is actually getting married there in a couple of weeks.” Laura and Knox randomly met at Stone Castle at Liv and Grady’s wedding. It was random because neither of them knew the bride and groom. They’d both gone as plus ones. Knox had gone with Keaton, it was the first day he’d arrived in town, and Laura had gone with Kennedy, whose date had bailed on her at the last minute.
The woman lifted up her hand revealing a large diamond ring on her fourth finger. “We’re engaged and looking at venues.”
Kennedy smiled, ignoring the pang of envy that she felt wishing it was her who was showing off her engagement ring and looking at venues. “You should definitely check it out.”
