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Chapter One
Emily
The adorable squirrel stared straight at me. His shoulders rose high as his dark eyes widened in fear. His little body shot straight up in the air, at least four feet up, as I worked the brakes on my scooter.
He hovered briefly in the air before landing squarely back on his feet, paralyzed by fear, when his instinct kicked in. The little guy skittered off the pavement to the sidewalk and up the maple tree as my pink scooter came to a screeching halt.
My heart raced with adrenaline, fear, and relief that I hadn’t just squashed my favorite squirrel outside our family’s antique store. Every morning, I always added food to the squirrel feeder as we shared a friendly, yet distant, greeting.
But this morning, it all could have been over.
One more little reminder about how fragile life could be. Ever since my grandma’s death, I'd become acutely aware of loss. It had been several years, but I missed her fiercely.
I parked across from my family’s antique store and took a deep breath, watching the little squirrel scamper along the limb above.
The town was waking up for the morning with shop doors opening, cafés bustling, and laughter echoing through the air as families wandered down the sidewalks to start their morning in town. Marigold Island was a magical place. The quirkiness of the island and the people had always been embraced, and our store was no different.
My sister, Amelia, whistled and shook her head as she stood on the sidewalk arranging a table of vintage pottery for sale. “Wow. That was a close call.”
“Tell me about it,” I called across the street as I pulled my matching pink helmet off and slid it into the seat compartment.
I glanced both ways and crossed the street to start my day working at Baubles and Curiosities. I’d grown up helping out at the antique store, and it was a natural transition once I actually needed to make a living.
It kind of turned out that way for all my siblings, and I wouldn’t say any of us minded it. Other than my brother Brad. I could never tell with him.
Right when I reached my sister, I noticed my newly-acquired BFF sitting on the green bench outside the antique store, taking everything in.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Lucas Edwards, wipe that smirk off your face.”
“I see your driving skills are as fantastic as ever.” His eyes nearly sparkled as his gaze fastened on mine.
I felt a singe of electricity pulse through me as I lifted my eyes from his.
“Chester isn’t a squirrel pancake, so that is a win for all parties involved.” I grinned and spun around, feeling his gaze still on me.
“Chester?” Lucas’s deep voice coated over me like a sticky candy I shouldn't want. “He has a name?”
I happily nodded. “They all do. There’s Chester, Cinderella, Custard, Calico, and Cutie.”
I glanced over my shoulder to see his smile only widen as he pulled his gaze away and shook his head.
A thrill shot through me, but I tamped it down as quickly as it came. Lucas was…
An amazing friend.
The best of friends, really.
I couldn’t imagine anyone more loyal or devoted…
But he was an awful boyfriend.
Or I imagined him to be if history had a habit of repeating itself.
Which, if anything about the antiques business had rubbed off on me, it was to notice patterns… cycles.
And Lucas was full of patterns and cycles.
And most of them had to do with dating apps and weekend nights.
