Chapter Three
WHAT WERE THE ODDS EDEN Russo’s brother was Dr. Summers—or Logan? Logan Summers was a very sexy name. But as sexy as he and his name were, I’d planned on never seeing him again. Being his neighbor for the entire summer was going to make that a tad difficult. I was going to be word vomiting everywhere. Why did I have to apologize in front of his sister and niece for the summer fling thing? Or maybe he’d already told his family about his lunatic patient. Regardless, I had just let that unhinged cat out of the bag.
He’d probably run off just now so he could call 911 and report that an insane woman was in his house. He wouldn’t be wrong. I was crazy for coming to Aspen Lake this summer.
“Um ... I should probably go home.” I turned and stared at the door Dr. Summers had just slammed.
“Nonsense.” Eden got her laughter under control.
“Really. I should,” I stammered. “Every time I’m around your brother, he runs out and slams a door. I don’t think he likes me very much.”
“Hmm, I don’t think that’s the case,” Eden responded mysteriously while she strung her arm through mine and led me into the state-of-the-art kitchen with top-of-the-line everything, including a commercial-size refrigerator with a smart screen, a massive cooktop, and what looked like a built-in barista-grade coffee machine. “Tell me about meeting my brother today.”
“It’s pretty embarrassing.” I pointed at the bandages on my arms and legs. “Remember when we met on the beach, and I told you I fell off my bike today? I didn’t mention that the bike shop owner insisted I go to the ER. Your brother was the one to treat me. Well, sort of. Like I said, he has a habit of running away from me. Which I completely understand. I basically told him my life story and then said the embarrassing thing you just heard me apologize for. I’m really not that forward. It’s that summer bucket list thing I mentioned to you earlier. And ... your brother is insanely good looking, and gorgeous doctors and hospitals make me so, so nervous. Oh, my gosh, I’m talking too much again.” I covered my mouth.
Eden and her daughter Sophie both wore the widest grins.
I dropped my hands and wrung them together. “You saw I was mostly sane when we met earlier today, right?”
Eden gave me a squeeze. “I’m not worried about your mental stability in the least.”
I’m glad someone wasn’t, because I sure was.
“Let’s bake some cookies.” Eden sounded just as excited as she did in her social media posts. “I have an apron for you, right there.” She pointed at a cute white apron with her logo on it. It was simple but beautiful—the silhouette of a woman dancing in a pink circle. The script below it read “A Dance in the Kitchen.” The logo used to be of a man and woman, but she’d changed it after her divorce.
Claire and I were absolutely shocked when Eden had announced she and Luca were separating. On-screen, they always looked so in love. It was so romantic how they would dance together. Then she would feed him a bite of whatever she’d made, and he would look like he’d died and gone to heaven as he chewed. Then he would kiss her, and I would wonder where I could find my own Luca.
Of course, I felt differently now, knowing he’d cheated on her. Not that Eden had ever publicly announced that tidbit. But it wasn’t hard to guess, seeing as Eden’s best friend, Susan, who used to be her social media director, had started posting pictures of her and Luca. I’d unfollowed Susan and Luca. Just goes to show that what’s portrayed on social media isn’t the complete picture. Not to say Eden was trying to deceive anyone. But I couldn’t imagine the heartache she was keeping to herself.
“Are you sure?” I looked over at the door Logan had disappeared behind. This was his house, after all, and I didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable in it.
“One hundred percent sure. You have to learn how to bake cookies so you can complete your summer bucket list,” Eden chirped. I’d explained the bucket list less creepily to Eden and Sophie than when I’d blabbed it all to Dr. Summers. Eden thought it was awesome and had volunteered to help me with the cookie part.
One item on the list was to take homemade cookies to all my neighbors this summer, specifically triple-chocolate cookies. It was a weird one. Okay, maybe not as weird as Mom’s charge to go skinny-dipping at least once. Or as weird as her specifying that I had to rent a house in Sapphire Bay. But it was still weird and way out of my comfort zone. Especially considering I’d never learned the art of baking. Now, the art of takeout and making smoothies, I’d mastered. I could even bake a mean frozen pizza now and then.
“I really appreciate it. Mom taught me a lot of things, like not to be afraid to follow friends who jump off cliffs, because those people know how to embrace life—but baking ... no.”
Eden laughed. “Your mom sounds amazing.”
“She really was,” I sighed while putting on the cute apron and tying it in the back.
Sophie pulled a stool up next to her mom, who now stood in front of her signature pink stand mixer. She looked like her mom’s mini-me. They were striking, with luxurious hair that fell in soft waves. Sophie’s was a shade darker than her mom’s. They shared Dr. Summers’s stunning blue eyes. It must have been a family trait. Lucky them.
“Come close.” Eden waved me over. “I don’t bite. Well, sometimes.” She snickered.
I liked her. I knew I would just from watching her over the years. Something about her screamed she was genuine.
I tiptoed over to her.
“Don’t be shy,” Eden coaxed .
I wouldn’t call myself shy. I just liked my comfort zones. But considering I’d made the biggest fool out of myself that day, I was feeling more than shy. I didn’t want to scare anyone more than I already had. However, I found the courage to land right next to Eden. I’d never realized she was tall—she had a few inches on my five-foot-six frame.
Eden playfully nudged me with her hip. “All right, the secret to almost any cookie recipe is to use Irish butter. It has higher butterfat content and will always make your cookies soft and moist.” She handed me a small plate with softened butter and a spatula. “Throw that in the mixing bowl. We’re going to start with our wet ingredients first.”
I did as she instructed, inelegantly using the spatula to get all the butter in the bowl.
“Very good. Next, our eggs.”
I took one and cracked it in the bowl. Of course a piece of the shell went in. Ugh.
“Honey, that happens all the time,” Eden assured me while she easily fished it out. “Just relax. You’re among friends. Tell me what you do for a living.” She was obviously trying to put me at ease.
“I’m a DJ. Well, I was. I had to quit my job so I could come here. But it’s good because it will give me time to apply for a position in a bigger market and focus on my podcast called The Babbling Brooke Show . That was the name of my radio show too. Fitting, right?” I teased.
“I think it’s perfect. It has a great ring to it.” Eden handed me another egg. “What do you talk about on your podcast?”
“Mostly classic rock and the stories behind the artists and their songs.” It was basically what I had done on my radio show, but I went more in depth and got more personal.
“I’ll have to check it out. I love music. Although not as much as my brother.”
“Oh, uh, your brother likes music?” I cracked the egg more carefully this time and thankfully didn’t leave any of the shell behind.
“In high school, he had a garage band. He was the lead singer and played the guitar. He and his friends thought they were going to be the next Nickelback ... You know, when people still liked Nickelback.”
“Really?” I had a hard time picturing it. I mean, he did have an alluring speaking voice, so maybe it shouldn’t have surprised me. But he seemed too uptight to be in a rock band. Or maybe he just hated me. It was probably the latter.
“Oh, yeah, he thought he was the height of cool. Of course, all my friends thought so too. He was so full of himself.” She rolled her eyes, but her playful tone said they were good memories for her too.
“Did he ever play any gigs?”
“Only if you count my friend Brynn’s sweet sixteen party.”
“That’s kind of fun. Does he still sing and play the guitar?”
Eden shook her head. “I don’t think so. It’s a shame. He’s talented, but you didn’t hear that from me. Okay, next is the brown sugar.” She slid over a ceramic container.
“What else is on your bucket list?” Sophie asked.
I grabbed a measuring cup. “Oh, uh, well, lots of things. Have a bonfire on the beach, stargaze, go camping, paddleboard, zip-line, make a lifelong friend, dance in the rain, play beach volleyball—which I’m terrible at, by the way.”
Eden and Sophie laughed.
“I’m also supposed to get a tattoo, discover something about myself I don’t already know, eat dessert for dinner for an entire week. That’s one I’m really looking forward to.” I grinned. “Then there’s paint a painting and help someone every day.”
I purposely skipped skinny-dipping. I wasn’t sure if Sophie knew what that was, and even if she did, I wasn’t sure Eden would appreciate me mentioning it. No need to frighten them further by alluding to the fact that one of these nights, hopefully when no one was awake, I was going to venture into the lake naked. That sounded real neighborly.
“And of course, have a summer fling.” My cheeks burned bright.
“What’s a summer fling?” Sophie asked.
Oh, jeez. I was an idiot.
Thankfully, Eden didn’t seem bothered that I’d mentioned it, or by Sophie’s question. “A summer fling is when you only date someone for the summer,” she answered.
“My mom always said that a summer romance is magical, and the best things come from it,” I added. She wouldn’t tell me what she meant by that. I assume Mom had a summer fling at some point and something amazing came from it. Whatever it was, it must have left a lasting impression on her. I hoped for something just as wonderful, but at this rate, I wasn’t holding my breath.
“You want to date my uncle Logan for the summer?” Sophie tittered.
I dropped the measuring cup, but thankfully Eden had quick reflexes and caught it.
“Uh ... no ... I didn’t mean for him to think that.” Although I could admit I found him extremely attractive. But it was obvious he was the last man in Aspen Lake meant to be my summer fling. I honestly wasn’t even sure I would be able to cross that item off the list. It seemed like something that needed to happen naturally, and I definitely wouldn’t be blurting it out to anyone again. It mortified me that I had—I’d just gotten so flustered in the ER.
“Oh.” Sophie sounded bummed. “I thought maybe you could help him not be so sad.”
“Why is he sad?” I couldn’t help but ask.
Eden stared thoughtfully at the door he was hiding behind. “My sister-in-law, Erica,” she whispered, “died last year in a freak parasailing accident while she was on a girls’ trip in Costa Rica.”
My stomach dropped, a wave of shame crashing over me. Poor Dr. Summers and his family—they had been through so much in the past year.
“I’m so sorry. I had no idea.” I covered my face with my hands, wondering if I should run away right then and do my best to avoid everyone who lived in this house. If only I hadn’t paid for the rental already, I would move or maybe just go back home.
This supposed “adventure” was off to a shaky start at best. First, I fell off my bike, and then I came on to a grieving doctor. Worse, I’d unknowingly become his neighbor. It all made me feel like vomiting, and not the word kind.
“Hey.” Eden patted my back. “You don’t need to apologize for anything. Honestly, it was probably good for Logan that you ended up his patient today. He keeps everything to himself and has been so closed off, even with those of us who are closest to him. I think maybe you reminded him today that he still has a life to live, and that’s hard for him. But he needs those reminders. Reminders of what it’s like to ...” She paused and pressed her lips together.
I lowered my hands. “What?” I asked, more than curious.
“Just that sometimes a doctor needs medicine too. Like woman medicine,” she rushed to say through her giggles.
I hoped she wasn’t thinking I could be that for her brother, because no doubt he would consider me the kind of woman medicine—whatever that was—that came with fifty different side effects, none of them good.