Page 108 of Whisper Sweet Nothings
“And you even had them riding horses in this one.” Wren wiggled her brows.
“That horse wasn’t the only thing she was riding,” Lulu said as the table erupted in laughter.
“Seriously, how lucky are we that we get to hang out with our favorite author all the time?” Henley leaned her head on my shoulder.
“Thank you. I feel like the lucky one. I appreciate you all reading this new one early for me.” I tried not to get emotional, because finishing a book and handing it over was a very vulnerable feeling.
“We love you,” Lulu said, “but are we all going to ignore the elephant in the room?”
“Are we talking about Josh Black, who keeps staring over here?” Henley asked before taking another sip of her mimosa.
“Nooooo. He’s a whole other issue. I’m talking about ‘The Taylor Tea.’ Has no one read it this morning?”
Everyone shook their heads no.
“It just came out this morning. I don’t usually even hear about it until Sunday dinner,” Emilia said.
“Same,” Wren and Eloise said at the same time.
“Seriously? I wake up on Saturday mornings and I pull it right up. It’s brilliant.” Lulu turned her attention to me. “And this morning’s article was very captivating.”
“Did my pen name get exposed?” I whispered, because the way she was looking at me made it clear that it was about me.
“Ummm… no. But you’ve been holding out on us, you dirty little bird.” She wagged her finger at me.
“Ahh… I do have something to share, but now I want to know what the article said before I come clean.”
“Let’s hear it, Lu,” Henley said as I reached for my mimosa.
Lulu read in her most dramatic voice, per usual, as we all listened with rapt attention. She went through the usual tidbits about local things that were going on, and then her voice grew more playful.
“‘Our favorite single daddy seems to be swooning over his lovely nanny. Word on Main Street is that there’s a lot more going on here than the usual childcare duties. Many have noticed the time they spend together, and heads up, Roses, these two lovebirds have been caught out alone… Can’t imagine the jobrequirements include a romantic dinner for two at our favorite steakhouse, where they left hand in hand. Seems like they’re awfully cozy these days, and our favorite bachelor might be off the market.’”
All five of them turned to look at me, all gaping aside from Lulu, who just had a wicked grin on her face.
“So, there’s been some changes on the home front,” I said with a laugh.
“I knew it,” Emilia and Wren said at the same time.
“I suspected it, too.” Henley pulled me in for a hug.
“Really? Of course you did. We all did!” Lulu tossed her hands in the air. “You’ve clearly been picturing one another naked for weeks at Sunday dinner. I know that look, and you’ve both had it bad.”
I had to laugh. “I do have it bad for that man.”
“Awww… I love this so much,” Eloise said as she squeezed my hand. “You both deserve to be happy. You’ve been through it, and so has he.”
“Yeah. I love when good things happen to good people.” Emilia raised her mimosa and motioned for us to all do the same.
“Cheers to finding your own real-life book boyfriend,” Henley said as we all clinked glasses.
“I’m so happy for you both,” Wren gushed. “Axel and I were saying how much happier Archer has seemed these last few months, and that’s all because of you. I think you really complete both him and Melody in a way.”
“She was the missing piece.” Emilia smiled, her eyes wet with emotion.
“Well, they complete me, too. It sounds so corny, but it’s true. I didn’t know what I was missing in my life before coming here. I just wanted a fresh start, you know? I’d been unhappy for a long time. In my job, in my relationship—and it’s easy to settle andjust try your best not to rock the boat, and I’m embarrassed to admit that I did that for a long time.”
“I relate to this so much,” Wren said, a genuine smile spread across her face and her eyes crinkled in the corners. “I think we can stay stuck for a long time because change is… uncomfortable. But when you take that leap, it’s so freeing.”
