Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
Ava
My sister and I pull up to Kendall’s house, which has a cute front porch. As I slide out of the driver's seat, another car pulls up. It looks like Faith. I’ve only met her a couple of times before.
Once she’s out of the car, my sister strolls over to her. “Another girls' night.”
Faith hugs my sister. “It is. How are you feeling?”
“Slept soundly the last couple of nights.”
Faith pats her back. “I’m happy you’re still able to come out for girls’ night. Ava, glad you came too!” She moves from my sister and hugs me.
“Yes, my first time doing the whole girls' night thing. You’ll need to pop my girl’s night cherry.” That came straight out of my mouth with no filter; laughter consumes us.
We walk to the front door. Faith knocks a couple of times and steps in. “We’re here,” she yells.
“In the kitchen.” It sounds like a few excited voices echoing through the house.
When we rush through the kitchen doorway, the other girls—Kendall, Addison, and Lane—come running over, and it’s a group hug. I thought I’d feel out of place, but now that I’m here, it’s like one big love fest.
“We’re all here…let’s show Ava how we start every girls’ night.” Kendall pulls out the tequila, and she finishes making the margaritas. Handing glasses to everyone, she gives my sister a glass and says, “And a virgin marg for my favorite sister-in-law.”
This group of ladies…It’s like I fit in so easily with them. I want to hang out all the time.
With margaritas in hand, Addison says the toast, “Thank you for such amazing friends, old and new. To this beautiful house we will have to say bye too soon. She’s treated us well. To Kendall’s beautiful love and special guy…Cheers.” Glasses clink, and we all sip on our drinks.
I don’t know why they are saying bye to the house; I'm just assuming she’s selling it to move in with Dane. I’ve only heard bits and pieces of their love story, and it sounds like they’re soulmates.
Although I’m not sure, I believe in the whole soulmate myth. My sister married Logan, and she said the same thing. I thought she was blowing smoke up my ass, but then I witnessed their love. From my perspective, it only happens to the select few.
When I shake out of my head, I notice the spread on the island. It’s like a six-foot charcuterie board with varieties of cheeses, meats, crackers, dried fruit, grapes, nuts—the works. “You ladies spare no expense.”
Kendall says, “Never. This is our time to relax and have girl time, so we go all out.”
“Well, I’m impressed,” I say, grabbing pieces of dried peaches. “Are you selling?”
“No, but we’re going to use it as an investment property.
Still deciding between short-term and long-term renting.
I convinced Dane to wait until after the summer, so we could have it available whenever we wanted for the pool.
The Lakehouse is a great option for girls’ night, but I’m having a hard time letting go of this.
” Kendall twists her hair and flings it over her shoulder.
Addison makes herself a plate of food and sips her drink. “We all are going to miss this place. It’s been part of our little family for so long.”
Everyone is shaking their heads. They’re close and met in college, friends for well over a decade. Saxville is Faith’s hometown, and when college was over, they all moved into the house she inherited. They’ve been here ever since.
I’m in awe of how close they are. My best friend, Lia, is the only constant in my life. I feel a little jealous of what these four—now five, with my sister—have; it’s endearing.
“Ava, so we saw you on Saturday with Kai…” Kendall drifts off. “Sooo…what’s going on?”
My sister warned me that Kendall is a bit pushy and needs to be in the know. Although she sounds exactly like my sister, so it’s nothing new to me.
Talking about Kai…am I ready for that?
When I finally saw him on Saturday, the butterflies in my belly took flight, and every nerve ending was firing on all cylinders. I wiggle in my seat, averting eye contact. How much do I share? What do I share?
“Come on, Ava. Spill,” she insists.
I sigh and relent. “Okay, it seems as though I'm not getting out of this.”
Everyone pipes in, “Nope.” They shake their heads.
I glance over at my sister and say, “Have you said anything?”
“Only that you had spent time together before leaving for Virginia Beach.” She shrugs and continues, “No details though.”
Faith leans over and says, “Want me to share first, and then you can warm up to the fact that Kendall needs to know everything about everyone. And we’re innocent bystanders.” She laughs.
I shake my head yes. It’s kind of her to share with me, making me feel like I belong here.
“Okay, last year I went on a date with Kai.” My jaw hits the floor, and I feel like my eyes might bug out of my sockets. I tamp it down…closing my mouth and trying like hell to bring my eyes back.
She must notice my reaction because she places her hand on my shoulder. “Hear me out…Kendall set me up with him, but the timing was way off. Have you heard this story yet?”
My stomach is in knots with nausea rolling up my throat. Is it because she went on a date with Kai? Why would she tell me this story? “No, I guess I haven’t.”
“I’ll keep it short. Well, I ran into my high school sweetheart while we were in Aruba for our girls’ week.
This was after Kendall set me up. Kai and I were texting while away.
He was such a nice guy, listened to every word I spoke, and we had a lot in common.
But after a week in Aruba, I was stuck on my ex, Jude, when I went on a date with him.
He was a perfect gentleman, and if I wasn’t madly in love with Jude, he seemed like a safe choice. ” She finally takes a breath.
“You can’t leave me on a cliffhanger. What happened with Jude?” I ask, anxiously awaiting her answer. My heart is pitter-pattering for the happily ever after. Who am I? They have to be living happily ever after.
She holds up her hand with a diamond that could blind you. “We were married a couple of months ago at our Lakehouse.”
I screech, “Oh, congratulations. Wow, that was quick.”
She nods her head. “Yeah, it was. I realized he was the love of my life, and I wasn’t going to let him go this time. Not after all we’ve been through. It was a whirlwind.”
“Now that’s a love story. Thank you for sharing.” I reach over the island and squeeze her hand.
Kendall moves closer to me. “It’s a beautiful love story.
” Her hands flew to her heart, making googly eyes at Faith.
It’s like hanging out with a bunch of sisters.
“So what she’s saying is Kai deserves a woman who loves him wholly and deeply.
That can appreciate his steadiness and love for another person. ”
Holy shit, Kendall described Kai perfectly, and it has me questioning why I have doubts or why I’m resisting the magnetic pull we both feel. Reeling about Kai and how I’ve been protecting my heart from hurting ever again.
Is it time to let him in fully…wholly?
You could hear a pin drop in the kitchen before Lane says, “She can’t help herself.” She side-eyes Kendall. “She means well. I don’t have a love story or anything, but Blake did renovate my kitchen last fall. If Kai is anything like him, then you’re probably in good hands.”
My posture lifts. “Oh, you worked with Blake?”
“Yes, he was the one who renovated the space for Kendall’s spa, and it was her raving recommendation that convinced me to hire him,” Lane finishes and smiles.
“I tried like hell to get those two together. Still not sure how my matchmaking skills didn’t work with them.” Shaking her head and putting an arm around Lane, she sighs.
“Some things just aren’t meant to be…” Lane drops her head. “Maybe in another lifetime.”
Addison stands up and moves over to Lane. “It just wasn’t the right time.”
“I know,” Lane whispers.
Kendall jumps in to change the subject as she rubs Lane’s shoulder. “He did top-notch quality work at the spa. You should stop by and check it out.”
I’m a little uncomfortable with how that conversation took a turn. I say, “It sounds like I need to make my rounds to see Blake’s projects. He renovated Kai’s kitchen, and it’s impressive.”
Addison says, “Oh…so you’ve been in his house, huh?” She raises a brow, grabbing a cracker and cheese.
Lane waves her hands. “Why don’t we give the girl a minute to settle into our craziness before we scare her away? Let’s head outside with our snacks, and then we can hop in the pool. This conversation can be continued then.”
“Good idea.” My sister picks up her glass and a plate of food and walks outside.
The minute I step out, my eyes jump between the well-decorated seating area and the pool.
It’s humid tonight, so a dip in the pool will be refreshing and cleansing.
After listening to Faith’s story, it has me re-evaluating everything—staying in Saxville and pursuing Kai.
The story filled me with a sense of awareness that I have to admit, he’s someone special.
We all gather around, and Kendall lights the citronella candles and the special mosquito things around the space.
She sits down next to me. “I hope you don’t feel overwhelmed. We do have a lot of fun. I saw how Kai looked at you and held you on the deck on Saturday. Well, I also observed you relishing in his attention and your eyes weren’t lying…you’re hooked, huh?”
The one-on-one with her doesn’t feel as intimidating. “I think I am. My heart grew fonder of him when I was away and seeing him on Saturday for the first time in a couple of months…I melted.”
She rubs my back and gives me a hug. These women love their hugs, but I don’t mind. It’s really nice that they comfort each other, and I’m now part of their friend group. I grin to myself, feeling accepted.
“When you share, sometimes things become clearer. It seems like you might be struggling a bit with all of this…Kai.”
“Yeah…so wait. You’re not a therapist, are you? I thought Faith was the therapist,” I say with a confused look on my face, glancing from her to Faith.
She shakes her head no. “You’re right, Faith is our resident therapist. I’m the owner of the Saxy Salon and Spa and play a therapist on a daily basis. If you didn’t get the memo.” She winks at me.
“Well, yes, I need to check out the spa, and I need to make an appointment. I need a good deep tissue massage.” I rub my shoulder.
By the time everyone is outside, Kendall whispers, “We’ll come back to this.”
The chatter among them puts a smile on my face. I wait for them to all sit around before saying, “When do we jump in the pool?”
“We can hop in now if you want. Anyone else ready?” Lane asks as she fans herself. “The humidity is killing me tonight.”
“Me too.” My sister agrees as she starts taking off her clothes, sporting her maternity bathing suit, with a bump that seems too big for her frame.
We all follow suit, and I strut over to the pile of floats, grabbing the unicorn one. “This suits me,” I say, posing with the unicorn.
My sister shakes her head, but everyone else laughs at my silliness.
Wading through the water with my unicorn in tow, I hop up and balance myself, finally settling in. They all follow suit. It’s a cluster in the pool. Kendall shows me how to tie up to each other. We are all connected.
They talked about everything, I mean everything, more than I ever wanted to know about their love lives, or lack thereof…sex toy recommendations. My thoughts play of Kai and how his touch makes me wither. Will I even be able to handle him when he touches my most sensitive spots?
Kendall splashes some water on me. “You okay?”
“Yes.” I splash her back aggressively.
“I asked you if you wanted to elaborate on you and Kai?” She wiggles her eyebrows at me.
I sigh and relent. “What do you want to know?”
“Does he make you feel things? You know…all the details, please and thank you.” She puts her hands together, begging me to share.
He's like no other guy I've ever encountered—which terrifies me as much as it thrills me.
My guard slides down when I'm around him, leaving me exposed in ways I swore I'd never be again.
There's this quiet tether between us, pulling us together even as I try to ignore it.
I've tried denying it, and now I might be ready to step into it.
“Yeah, things I…” I can’t even finish before they're all ohhing. I shake my head at them. “I haven’t even said more than three words.”
“Go on, go on and start at the beginning.” Kendall urges.
“Okay…” I tell them all the details of that first time we met, the hot tub, how we talked and texted while I was away, the baby shower interaction, and what happened when I went down to talk with Joan.
“Wait, you guys kept in touch when you left?” Faith asks, while her mouth drops open.
My sister turns and hops into the conversation. “They talked almost every night, and they have a date on Wednesday.”
I groan and splash water at her.
Everyone gives their opinion about the situation.
It’s Faith’s comment that sends a flutter straight to my belly, absorbing the truth in her words.
“Sometimes the scariest jumps land you exactly where you need to be.” The consensus was that sometimes we have to put ourselves out there to live a fulfilled life.
By the time we finish talking, adrenaline courses through my veins.
I'm not just confident; I'm electrified by the possibilities exploding in my mind.
This week won't just be life-changing…it will be the dividing line between everything I was before and everything I could become—the owner of the coffeehouse, a permanent resident of Saxville, and the woman who finally stopped running from what her heart and body desperately want with Kai.
As we are dragging floats out of the pool, I stop mid-step and say, “Thank you guys for having my back. I’ve never really had a close group of friends…I mean my sister.” I hug her. “It’s nice to talk to all of you, even though Kendall’s really pushy.” I turn and wink at her.
“You love me anyway.”
“Sure do…”
Kendall says to my sister, “Did you give her the invite?”
My eyes bounce between them. “What invite?”
“You’re invited to our wedding at the Lakehouse…well, we’ve already tied the knot in Aruba a couple of weeks ago, but not everyone could make it. So we are having a party to do it all over again.” She shrugs like it’s no big deal.
“I’d love to be there. Thank you for including me in your celebration.” My heart warms at the care and love these women show. It’s like we’ve been friends forever. We all mesh, and I’m silently thankful for them all right now.
Kendall twists to look at me with her brows knitted. “No girl, you’re one of us now…stuck with us.”
Gah, my eyes well up, and I clear the lump in my throat. All I can say is, “Okay.”
Throwing our floats in a pile, we all grab pool towels and dry off.
We finish the night with ice cream. “How do you stay so fit?” I ask the girls. It’s more of a rhetorical question.
And I realize I’m craving Kai, like I crave this ice cream.