Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Layla
T he whole house smelled like a movie theater. I’d returned from the beach starving for lunch, but the refrigerator was pitifully bare. And the cupboards weren’t much better. Microwave popcorn had seemed like my best option, but now as I nibbled it from the bowl I wasn’t so sure it was a great choice after all. I’d allowed it to go just those few crucial seconds too long, resulting in a slightly singed flavor. Unfortunately, my choices had been limited.
Technically, four of us lived in the cottage, and we traded off grocery duties. It was Isla’s week, but she’d been so busy with the bakery and with planning a wedding, she never got around to shopping. The small cottage, slightly leaning and drafty in the winter, was usually filled with food and people, but Ava was rarely home anymore now that she’d found Jack. Ella was home often, but today she’d gone up to Grimstone Manor to help Rhett pick paint colors. Aria lived in town, closer to the café, so I had the place mostly to myself these days. Sometimes that was nice, but most of the time I hated it. I’d grown up with so many sisters and all of us close in age, I’d rarely been alone. With all of them in solid relationships, I was feeling abandoned. That was the reason I’d stuck it out with Dustin longer than I should have. I wanted a significant other to fill in the void my sisters had left behind.
I nibbled the overly salty, super greasy popcorn with one hand and scrolled through my phone with the other. Moonstone was now in my Instagram feed. There were some gorgeous pictures of the lead singer. He really was something, and kind, too, and he had a super cool dog, always a bonus. I couldn’t believe that the man Emily had been talking about nonstop for months was now my neighbor.
I should have picked up my phone straightaway and called Emily to give her the big news, but I’d held off. I wasn’t entirely sure it was my place to step on Nash’s privacy by revealing where he was living. And when I mentioned the possibility of them meeting, he seemed less than enthusiastic. He probably had so many women after him, he had to always keep his guard up. If I told Emily, she would probably end up camping on my driveway just to “accidentally” bump into him. On the other hand, I was feeling somewhat traitorous about not telling her. She was absolutely bonkers about the man, which, in turn, reminded me why it was probably best not to let her know he was living next door. Of course, if she eventually found out, she’d be really mad at me for not telling her. It was quite the conundrum.
Normally, this would have been one of those topics I’d talk out with a sister. Probably Ella because she was best about giving her opinion without a lot of judgment behind it. Aria always added in judgment, but her advice was usually solid. Isla used to be one of my favorite sisters for advice, but now she was my boss, and she was a starry-eyed bride-to-be, so the dynamics there had changed some. Ava always had a much more worldly view about problems, and this wasn’t a worldly problem. This was just me and my best friend since elementary school, and there was a boy involved. With Emily, there was always a boy involved. In ninth grade, she’d followed Scott Evans around like a puppy dog, badly wanting him to ask her out, so when he asked me out instead, I had no choice but to turn him down. I never told Emily, of course. But this was different. Nash hadn’t asked me out. He’d just moved into the cottage next door. And for now, I’d leave it at that. I didn’t want to intrude on his privacy. It seemed he had a lot going on in his life, and the last thing he needed was for my best friend to camp out on his doorstep.
The front door opened. I heard Rhett’s deep voice before he and Ella stepped inside. She was holding several bags of groceries. Rhett came in from behind with a few more. My sister stopped a few feet in the door and wiggled her nose in the air like a dog at a barbecue. “You burned the popcorn. Now we’ll be smelling it for weeks.”
“I opened the patio door, and it’s not really burnt. I’m eating it, but now I see that a wondrous amount of groceries have walked in the door, so I’ve been saved from eating the rest.”
I hurried over to help Ella with the bags. “I thought it was Isla’s week,” I said.
Ella scoffed. “Isla is so bogged down with her bakery and the wedding; she hardly remembers her name right now.”
I nodded in agreement. “It’s really disconcerting, isn’t it? Isla is usually the steadiest and most grounded of us all.”
Ella put her hands on her hips. “I thought I was the down-to-earth sister.”
Rhett kissed the top of her head as he sidled past with his bags. “You just spent an hour in the attic because you were sure you’d heard a ghost up there.”
I laughed. “Well, was there a ghost?”
Ella huffed. “No sign of one, but seriously, how on earth does that massive mausoleum of a house—a house, may I remind both of you, that is considered cursed due to a parade of untimely deaths—how does a house like that not have a ghost? I mean the two go hand-in-hand. Big, creepy old house and restless spirits.”
“Not loving your description of my house as creepy and old.” Rhett leaned into the refrigerator with two cartons of milk.
Ella tilted her head at him as he emerged from the fridge. “Do you have a better description?”
Rhett’s eyes rolled up to give it some thought. “Nope. Guess that’s why they pay you for your words.” He held up a package of sliced turkey. “Should I bother to put this away, or are we making sandwiches?”
“Hmm, yes, sandwich, please,” I said. “I’m starved. Had a very exhausting morning sunbathing on the beach.”
Rhett pulled a loaf of Isla’s bread out of the bread box. “You two, go relax and prepare to be amazed by my sandwich-making ability.”
Ella shook her head slightly at me to warn me it wasn’t all that amazing.
Rhett cleared his throat. “I saw that.”
Ella swung around and blew him a kiss. “Can’t wait for your sandwiches.”
“Yeah, well, they might not be great now because my confidence has been shaken.”
I grabbed Ella’s hand and dragged her to the couch. “Need your advice. I’m caught in the middle of something, and I think I’ve made the right decision, but I want your opinion.”
We sat on the couch, and seconds later, wonderful Rhett carried out two glasses of iced tea. “Ladies.” He set the glasses on the table. “Your lunch will be right up.”
Ella looked at me. She was wearing a huge grin. “Doesn’t he make an adorable butler, a Rhett butler ?”
Rhett played along with the Gone with the Wind comparison and bowed. He was one of those ever-elegant men, even dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, like today. His beard stubble was pretty heavy, too, but that only made him more appealing.
Rhett returned to the kitchen to fix the sandwiches. Ella leaned forward and grabbed the teas and handed me mine. I took a few good gulps to wash away the salty grease from the popcorn.
“So, what calamity am I solving this afternoon?” Ella asked.
“Not sure I’d label it a calamity, and I’m not entirely sure it can be solved. Emily has this massive crush on the lead singer of a band.”
Ella nodded. “Sounds about right. Your friend can be a little over the top with her obsessions.”
“I know. I love that Emily is passionate about things, but sometimes I wish she’d tone it down, especially when it comes to falling in love. We went to see the band last night, and I thought after standing in a hot, crowded bar, some of the shine would wear off. She almost had one of her infamous panic attacks. I talked her down before it gripped her. Then we went out for pancakes, and all she could talk about was Nash Ledger, the lead singer. She’s determined to meet him and win him over.”
“Well, let her go on thinking that. You know Emily, some other shiny object will be dangled in front of her in a few months, and she’ll shift her obsession.” Ella sat up straighter. “Wait. Nash Ledger of Moonstone? Oh, he’s gorgeous. Rhett, remember I told you there was a band I wanted to see in town? We should go.”
Rhett walked out and crossed his arms. “Let me tell you a little story that will let you know how I feel about that prospect. I once took a girl to a Green Day concert. Spent a week’s pay to buy tickets right up front. She was madly in love with the singer, and she spent the entire concert screaming his name and blowing him kisses up on stage, while her date”—he pointed to himself—“Mr. Chump, stood next to her holding her coat and purse. I spent a week’s pay to act as a hat stand, and to top off the evening, we had to listen to their music the whole way home. She talked about him the entire drive and insisted more than once that he winked and blew kisses back to her. It was all in her imagination. Needless to say, I learned my lesson on taking a girl to see her rock star crush in concert.”
Ella blinked up at him for a second. “You could have just said no. And I’m a little past the screaming and blowing kisses stage. Unless he’s really worth it.” She blew Rhett a kiss. He returned to the kitchen, and she turned back to me. “I’m still trying to find the calamity in all this.”
“Again, calamity was your word,” I said. “Here’s where it gets tricky. This morning, while I was on the beach, I met our new neighbor.”
“Did you? Who is it? A family?” Ella was usually more astute than this.
“It’s him,” I said.
Ella smiled weakly. “Okay, it’s a him .” She looked puzzled.
I grunted in frustration.
“It’s the gorgeous lead singer,” Rhett called from the kitchen.
I tapped Ella on the arm. “See, Rhett got it, and he didn’t even see this arched brow.” I pointed to my eyebrow. “An eyebrow that was obviously trying to convey a big ta-da moment.”
Ella waved off my sarcasm. “You’re telling me that Nash Ledger is living next door in Audrey’s little beach cottage?”
I nodded emphatically. “That is exactly what I’m telling you. So, do I tell Emily or not? I don’t want to intrude on his privacy, but at the same time, if Emily finds out, she’ll think I’m a traitor.”
“How does he look in person?” Ella asked.
“Really? And they call me the flighty one? Focus, woman, focus, and may I remind you that your extremely attractive boyfriend is slaving over the stove—well, over the kitchen counter—for us at this very moment? But since I know you’re going to ask again—he’s head-to-toe dreamy, and he seems to be a good guy, too. And he has a cool dog.”
Ella sat back with a serious furrowing of her brow. “So, your dilemma is—tell Emily or don’t tell her. Gosh, Layla, I don’t know which way to go here. Which way are you leaning?”
“I thought it best not to tell her because she would probably camp out on the driveway to see him. Not good for any of us, especially Nash. I’m sure he already has plenty of problems fighting off fans.”
Ella’s eyes rounded. “He’s that hot, eh?”
Rhett cleared his throat. “Still here, just a few feet away in the kitchen.”
“And you know I adore you,” Ella called back. She turned to me for confirmation.
I nodded. “He’s pretty spectacular.”
“But what if Emily finds out that he’s been living right next door to you and you didn’t tell her?”
I sighed. “And that is where the problem lies. She’ll be so angry and hurt and betrayed and all the bad stuff that goes along with something like this.”
Ella sat up with an idea. “Just play dumb. If she finds out, pretend you didn’t know.”
“I thought of that, but it seems like lying.”
“It’s definitely lying,” Rhett added as he carried the plates out to the front room.
“See, I’m not sure I can pull off a whopper of a lie like that. It’s bound to slip out.” I sat back with a growl of frustration. “For now, I’m not going to say anything. I actually hoped I could introduce them at some point, but Nash didn’t exactly jump at my suggestion. I’m sure he’s really busy. Oh, well, I’m starved, and your incredibly hot boyfriend has fixed us sandwiches that look so good they’re practically dancing on the plate.”
Rhett smiled as he settled into the big armchair with his plate. “Have I mentioned that Layla is my favorite Lovely sister?”
Ella looked at him incredulously.
“Well, after Ella, the ghost hunter, of course.”
I laughed as I picked up my sandwich. “What are you planning to do if you do find a ghost in the house?” I asked.
Ella shrugged. “Haven’t gotten that far yet on my plan, but it sure would make a great story.”