Jasper takes a breath. “Okay, I’ll get you something hot to drink.”
“Ohh, yes. Hot apple cider sounds perfect.”
He hitches his head toward Camila. “She owes you one.”
“Don’t I know it.” I give a little wink before we go our separate ways.
“Camila?” I call out over the roar of the Atlantic as the whitewash beating the shoreline holds a luminescent glow.
She turns around and frowns once she sees it’s me.
Fish shudders against my chest. Boy, is she mean. I can see why Sherlock is so grateful that you married Jasper instead of this block of ice. And if you weren’t around, Sherlock wouldn’t know Georgie, and he and Sprinkles wouldn’t be eating bacon to their heart’s content at this very moment.
I give a slight nod, because it happens to be true.
“What it is, Bizzy?” She gives a slow blink as if she didn’t have room for any more drama tonight—and believe me, I’m right there with her on that.
“I just wanted to see how you were doing. Everything okay? I mean, Blair was your friend, and Sabrina was your friend. It must be very hard.”
She shrugs. “It’s not easy. Blair and I weren’t that close in the end, but I’ll never forget her, that’s for sure. And like I said earlier, I plan on being there for Sabrina.” She wraps her arms around her waist as she examines me with a stern expression. “So I want to thank you for helping me. Because of you, I don’t have a cloud of suspicion hovering over my head.” She nods. “I knew you’d come through. Not that I don’t have faith in Jasper, but he’s always been so bogged down with red tape. And he insists on following all the rules. But you’re a renegade, and I knew I needed someone who would buck the system and do what she wants to get the job done.” Her lips pull to the side. “I’m going to say this once. I like you, Bizzy Baker—Wilder.” She rolls her eyes. “And, if Jasper isn’t going to spend the rest of his life with me, over some stupid mistake I apologized for a million times, well—then I’m glad he’s spending it with you. I hope you give him hell.” She winks along with the saucy sentiment.
A warm laugh brews in my chest. “Well, thank you. I like you, too, Camila. We’ve had a rocky beginning, but I’d like to think we can be genuine friends. We seem to think alike, which is a bit surprising because on the surface we seem nothing alike. But you’re strong, confident, and you know what you want out of life—even if for a time that was my husband.” I give a circular nod. “Anyway, I think we’re past all of that. In fact, I’d like to see you find true love yourself.”
Her shoulders sag with her next breath. “Yeah, well, Jasper and Leo are taken. I guess I could see where things go with Jordy again, but that never amounted to much the first time around. Maybe I’ll play the singles scene for a bit and let the male pieces fall where they may. Who knows, maybe there’s a future for Jordy and me, after all?”
“Maybe,” I say. Jordy and Camila were loosely dating a few months back, but she’s right. Nothing ever came of it.
“But, then again, your brother is a hottie.” She lifts a finger in the air as if considering this.
“Yeah, but he’s with Mackenzie now.” I can hardly choke out those words.
“Oh dear, Bizzy.” A villainous laugh ejects from her throat. “I’ve never let a detail like that stop me before. I’ll see you later.” And that’s why I’ll never fully take my eyes off of Jasper. She scowls over at Fish before taking off into the night as the darkness fully envelops her.
So much for being good friends.
Fish gasps. She flew away on her broom, didn’t she?
“Honestly?” A laugh bucks from me. “On a night like tonight, anything is possible.” We turn toward the café just as our party heads out for the tables underneath the twinkle lights.
“It’s far too crowded in there,” Jasper says as each one of them carries a tray full of food and quickly gets settled under the heat lamps. I swipe a sweet treat off of Jasper’s tray without hesitation. My bestie may not be speaking to me, but that won’t stop me from noshing on one of her jack-o’-lantern hand pies.
Sherlock barks. Hey, Fish? Let’s show Sprinkles how fast we can run from one end of the cove to the other!
Without so much as a single mewl, Fish uses my body as a springboard and they’re off to the races.
“Waitress!” Georgie calls out as she struggles to get comfortable in her seat. “I need a highchair for this little cutie.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I say. “In fact, give me Annabeth so you can get started on your food before it turns to ice. And make sure you’re right under the heater. It’s freezing out here.”
Georgie tosses me the doll and gets right to that big plate of pancakes in front of her.
Juni sits across from her with an identical meal at the ready.
“Hey?” Juni barks. “No fair, Mama, you didn’t say mark, set, go. How am I supposed to win the battle of the pancake if you keep cheating?”
Georgie pauses with her fork in the air. “All is fair in love and pancakes.”
I giggle as I turn toward the entry to the café, and all laughter in me ceases once I spot Leo holding Emmie and whispering something into her ear.
Jasper wraps his arms around me from behind. “It looks like Emmie and Leo are back on track. You ready to get there, too?”
“Oh yes,” I say. “Hold onto this hand pie for me, would you?” I land the tasty treat back where I found it and head toward my bestie without hesitation.
I clear my throat as I come upon the two of them, and Emmie’s
