Chapter 32
KLINE
“Will you finally tell me where we’re going?” Lola wouldn’t stop asking, and throughout drive, I had to make sure Watson wouldn’t spoil the surprise. It had been a mistake letting Watson drive with us. Ben and Leo would’ve been better at keeping the surprise secret.
“You’ll see once we’re there. Just a few more minutes,” I assured her.
She sighed and turned to face me. I made Watson sit in the back, wanting Lola to have a nice view once we got there.
“You made me get up at six-thirty. We’ve been driving for over an hour, and I don’t like surprises.”
“Too damn bad,” I murmured, smirking as she rolled her eyes at me. “You’ll start smiling again once you see what we’ll do today.”
“Just let me tell her,” Watson argued.
I glared at him through the rearview mirror. “No.”
“You can tell me,” Lola told him, turning even more in her seat to look at him.
“Look ahead. We’re here.” I reached over to make her look out front. She fought me at first, but once she was seated normally again, she gasped at the view in front of us.
“Holy shit.”
“Told you it would be worth it.”
We drove out of the woods and were welcomed by a beautiful view over the lake which was surrounded by large mountains and small towns all around the lakeside.
I slowed down so she could take it all in, and I kept looking at her, pleased with her surprised expression. I placed my hand on her thigh and squeezed gently. “ This is where we’re going.”
“We’re spending the weekend here?”
“We sure are. In that village down there,” I told her, pointing to the colorful houses down by the lake.
“And that’s not even the best part,” Watson added.
“Oh wow…this is amazing! I’m sorry for being a pain in the ass but this is perfect. It’s so pretty. Thank you!” Lola leaned over to kiss my jaw, and I patted her thigh gently, letting her know that I wasn’t upset with her.
“It will be even prettier once we’re down there.” I continued to drive down the mountain until we got to the house we would stay in, and as we parked, Leo and Bennett stopped next to us.
We got out, and we watched Lola take in everything around her. She couldn’t stop smiling. “I didn’t even know this place existed. God, it’s so pretty. Have you guys been here before?”
“We have. That’s ours,” Leo told her, pointing at the light-blue house.
“Really?”
“Yes, we’ve bought it a couple of years ago. Back then it was nothing but a construction site, so we got it and turned it into this,” Watson explained.
Lola was fascinated by this place. “So you have a little getaway, and I only now find out about this?”
“We didn’t really think about coming here until Morris told us about him taking Willa up to his cabin. We’re not here very often,” Leo told her. “Which is stupid because this is a nice place to relax.”
“And it’s not even that far from home. Now that I know this place exists, I will definitely have you guys take me here more often.”
“We definitely will,” I assured her. “Come on, let’s get our bags inside and then get some breakfast. I’m starving.”
It was still early, but the cafés and bakeries were already open, and we’d take Lola to our favorite place to have a big breakfast.
LOLA
Normally, when you did things you enjoyed, time went by extremely fast. Today though, every minute felt longer than usually. The guys took me to breakfast at a sweet little café where I ate the most delicious croissants, and afterwards, they showed me around the village.
All the little stores were adorable, and they encouraged me to head inside to look around every time we stood in front of one. It was a little after lunch time, and they took me to the small harbor where there was a pier with a restaurant on.
It was adorable, and the view was spectacular.
“You like sea food, right?” Bennett asked as he placed his hand on my lower back.
“I love it.”
“Good. Because they only make fish here. They have the best freshwater fish right out of this lake, but they also have saltwater fish,” he explained.
“That’s perfect.” I smiled up at him and placed a hand on his chest. “I love it here. Promise we’ll come back soon?”
He chuckled. “We promise.”
He placed a kiss to my forehead before guiding me inside the restaurant, and I stopped next to the other guys as they waited on the waitress to stop them.
She turned around behind the bar area and grinned when she saw them. She was a stunning woman, with a perfect, natural face, doe eyes, and full lips. I couldn’t tell how old she was, and while she looked young, she must’ve been in her early forties.
“What a wonderful surprise!” she called out, happy to see the guys. She walked around the bar and stopped just a couple of feet away as she took in the sight in front of her. “The Four of Hearts. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
The guys chuckled, and Kline was the first to step forward. He gave the woman a kiss on the cheek and hugged her before pulling back again.
“We thought we’d come by to say hello. It’s good to see you again, Mads. How have you been?” Kline asked.
Ben was rubbing my back while they all waited their turn to greet the woman, and I just stood there and watched, taking in her beauty.
“Oh you know, I’ve been busy with the restaurant. Lots of tourists have been swarming in lately. It’s a slower weekend this time, and I’m glad to see some familiar faces.” She patted Kline’s cheek before saying hello to Leo and Watson with a kiss on their cheeks, and when she turned to Bennett, her eyes immediately found mine. “And who’s this wonderful person?”
“Mads, this is our girl, Lola. Lola, this is Madison. An old friend.” Bennett introduced us, and I smiled at her.
“It’s nice to meet you, Madison.”
“Likewise! Gosh, you’re a beauty.” She cupped my head with both hands and pressed a big kiss to my cheek. “Did I hear correctly? Our girl?”
“Damn right.” Leo grinned.
Madison dropped her hands to my shoulders and smiled at me. “Well, I’ll be damned. You’re lucky. I wouldn’t be able to handle even one of these four handsome guys.”
“We’re the lucky ones,” Ben admitted, keeping his hand on my back. “Besides, you’ve been with your man for almost twenty years. How’s he doing, by the way?”
Madison finally let go of me and waved her hands at Ben’s questions. “Oh you know, Colt’s being Colt. Always working. Always busy. He’ll be back from another work trip next weekend.” She didn’t look too sad about her man not being around, and I smiled at her when she looked at me again. “Do you like salmon? I make the best salmon burger.”
“That sounds delicious,” I told her.
“Great. Take any table you want.”
“Thanks, Mads.” Kline turned to us and pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “Let’s go sit outside.”
We found a good table in the shade, with a perfect view of the lake, and Leo started to tell me all about his favorite dishes that were on the menu. I learned that Kline and Madison’s husband, Colton, grew up together, and it was him who convinced the guys to buy a house here.
I also learned that Leo looked up to Mads’ way of cooking. He also worked here for a few weeks one winter break, helping her out when things got a bit too busy.
Everything sounded good on the menu, and while I did want to try the salmon burger, I really wanted to try the lobster too. We’d be here tomorrow as well, so I decided to get the lobster tomorrow, and the burger now with a side of sweet potato fries and a small shrimp salad.
“You see that town over there?” Leo asked, leaning in closer to me whilst pointing across the lake.
I tried to figure out which town he meant. “The one with the lighthouse on the right?”
“Yes, that one. We once performed over there. It was a bachelorette party for Madison’s friend. We’re royalty over there,” he said with a grin.
“You make yourself more important than you actually are, son,” Kline told him with a shake of his head. “Only the locals know us.”
“Come on, man, that’s not true. They have a huge poster of us plastered on a wall in the middle of the village,” Leo argued.
I chuckled and placed my hand on his arm, rubbing it gently. “I believe you. Besides, you’re royalty in my eyes. You should dress up as kings for one of your performances.”
Watson grinned. “Yeah, we’ll be dressed as kings, and Leo will be the damn jester.”
“At least I’d be capable of making people laugh, you asshole.”
“I see nothing has changed here. They’re still fighting like little boys.” Madison came to the table to bring us our food. “Do they at least treat you right?” she then asked me.
I smiled at her and nodded. “They treat me like a queen.”
“Good. Now, eat up. I’m already preparing your dessert.”
We thanked her for the food, and started to eat once she left the table.
It was delicious, and the guys made me try their food as well. Everything tasted so fresh and homemade.
“You know, yesterday I went to this new taco place with Willa, and we kept on saying how it was the best restaurant we’ve ever been to. But I have an all-new favorite now, and I don’t like that it’s so far away from home.”
Bennett smiled at me. “It’s just a little over an hour drive. We can come here more often.”
“That would be amazing. We have to take Willa too. She’ll love this place.”
After finishing our food, Madison brought us homemade lemon tiramisu, and she sat with us for a moment to ask what we had planned for the rest of the day.
“I think we’re going back to the house for an hour or so, and after that we’ll head out with the boat,” Kline said.
I frowned. “You own a boat, too?”
“It’s our neighbors’ boat, but we can use it when they’re not here,” Kline explained. “We thought of taking you out 0n the lake to have a small dinner and watch the sun go down.”
“Oh that sounds very romantic!” Mads said with a grin. She was excited for me.
“Would you like that?” Bennett asked. “We can also stay here if you don’t feel comfortable on a boat.”
“No, it’s not that. I just…” I pressed my lips together tightly. “Is it a big boat?”
“It’s mid-sized. It has space for seven people,” Leo explained, then he pointed to the harbor where all the boats were. “It’s about the size of this boat right here.”
I looked to the boats, trying my hardest not to let this stupid fear of deep waters get to me. I hadn’t told them about it, but I didn’t think we’d one day be going on a boat.
“Lola?” Leo squeezed my thigh. “What’s wrong?”
I swallowed and turned to look at him. I hated how vulnerable I was, and I wasn’t even on the damn lake. “I don’t really like being on large bodies of water.”
“Shit,” Watson muttered. “We don’t have to go on the boat, sweetheart. We can stay here on land.”
“I don’t want to ruin the weekend for you. You already had this planned.”
“Doesn’t matter. We’ll stay here,” Bennett decided.
“Okay. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize, Lola,” Kline told me, his voice stern. “There’s plenty of other things to do around here that are just as nice. We’ll find something.”
The last time I told a guy about my fear of deep waters, I had to go into detail as to why I was so afraid. It was an uncomfortable conversation, and the worst part of it all was that I didn’t even have actual reasons. I had no idea where this fear came from, and I never talked to a therapist about it.
The guys didn’t ask more questions though. They simply accepted it and found other solutions instead of pressuring me into telling them why I didn’t want to go on that boat.
It was then when I once again realized that those four men were something special, and that I didn’t want to lose them.