Ember
York Harbor is like something out of an interior design magazine, with its all-white clapboard houses with black shutters, hydrangeas fat and blue against every fence, and ocean views everywhere you look. I have my face pressed to the car window the whole drive from the airstrip.
“I know.” Cassidy grins.
“It’s so beautiful.” I take photos with my phone of all the homes I see.
The flight up was chaos in the best way.
Harper's jet was packed to capacity with our whole crew, two dogs, and enough garment bags to stock a boutique.
Puck spent the flight with his head on Harper's belly like he's guarding it, and Frankston sat upright in a seat next to Pierre with a seatbelt on because, according to Pierre, he prefers it.
The wedding party is staying spread across town.
Fish's family has the York Harbor house with Evan, the St. Pierres have a rental down the street, and the rest of us, me, Cassidy, Sully, Bouch, and Nelly are at a little hotel in town with window boxes and a lobby that smells like coffee and sea salt.
The woman at the front desk hands over our keys and tells us the whole town knows about the wedding.
"We watched that boy grow up. We want nothing but happiness for him,” she tells us.
"He's still growing up," Bouch tells her. "But we love him anyway."
This makes her laugh. “Enjoy your stay, and if you need anything, don’t hesitate to contact us.”
Cassidy and I are sharing a room on this trip.
We dump our bags in our room and head back down to the lobby to go exploring.
The five of us start walking down the postcard-worthy main street.
The guys get stopped for autographs, and there is even some paparazzi around for the wedding.
We duck into an art gallery to get away from them.
Cassidy and I lose our minds in an antique store the size of a shoebox while the boys wait outside eating ice cream like three enormous children.
I come out with a brass ship's lamp for the apartment and no regrets.
"What is that?" Sully asks.
"It's a ship's lamp."
"But we don't have a ship."
"It's going on the bookshelf, and you're going to love it," I tell him.
"I love it," Nelly says, and Sully throws his hands up knowing he’s lost the argument.
Every second person in town seems to know Fish.
The guy at the ice cream window tells us about the time Justin Crawford drove a snowmobile into the harbor.
The woman in the antique store went to school with his mother.
By the time we've walked the length of the main street, we've collected enough embarrassing Fish stories to fill the reception speeches twice over, and Bouch is writing them down in his phone.
"For the toast?" Cassidy asks.
"No, for leverage." Bouch grins widely.
The next morning, Fish is waiting for us at the marina wearing sunglasses and a backward cap, standing at the wheel of a boat like he was born on it, which honestly, he might have been, judging where he grew up.
"Welcome," he calls out, arms wide, "to the good ship Crawford. Everybody on, wife's orders. Collette says I have one job today and it's making sure you all fall in love with Maine."
The boat fills fast. Pierre and Issy claim the bow.
Emmett and Jo take the bench seats. Felix settles Harper in the shadiest, most cushioned corner, and produces a cooler bag of her specific snacks.
She lets him fuss for exactly one minute before banishing him to the other end of the boat.
Puck patrols the deck like crew. Frankston finds the one patch of sun and files himself into it.
I'm last on, both hands full of towels and sunscreen, and the boat shifts just as I step across the gap.
A hand closes around my arm and steadies me before I've even properly wobbled.
"Careful," Sully says, taking the towels off me with his other hand like it's nothing.
"Thank you," I say because I wasn’t looking forward to toppling over.
"Anytime." He stacks the towels and moves off down the boat.
Fish takes us out of the harbor slowly, narrating the whole way, and it turns out Fish in Maine is a different animal than Fish in New York.
He knows every house on the shoreline and who lives in it.
He points out the rock he broke his arm jumping off when he was nine, the cove where he learned to drive a boat, and the buoy colors that mark his uncle's lobster traps.
Everyone is relaxing, enjoying the sun and the salt air. I’ve found a little spot where I lay back, close my eyes, and just feel the gentle bobbing of the water.
"You're different here," I hear Sully say to someone. When I open my eyes, I realize he’s talking to Fish.
"Yeah?” Fish seems surprised by Sully’s comment.
"You’re calmer."
He considers that remark as one hand stills on the wheel. "It’s probably because New York is where I live and work, but Maine is my home.”
“Aw.” Sully chuckles, elbowing him.
“Fuck you,” Fish throws back.
“I get it, it’s the same when I go home,” Sully tells him.
Does Sully not like New York? I always assumed he did.
“How was it going back this time?” Fish asks quietly.
“It was fucked up.”
“I’m sorry,” Fish tells him.
“Don’t need to feel sorry for me,” he says as he sips on his beer.
“Yeah, I do. You lost something too. Yes, Trevor wasn’t your partner, but he was your brother-in-law, and from memory, you guys were all friends in high school, weren’t you?” Fish asks him.
“I wasn’t really friends with Trevor and Kevin, the girls kind of introduced them to us. Emmett and I were too busy with hockey,” he explains.
Justin nods. “Hockey was life back then.”
“Sure was.”
“Still sucks. Did you have any idea that they were gay?” he asks him.
Sully shakes his head. “Never, that’s the shocking thing. But they told the girls that they have been hooking up on and off since high school.”
“That’s a long fucking time. It wasn’t an I’m curious, or oops, I fell on your dick kind of thing. It was a full-blown relationship.”
“Right? It sucks because they wasted the girls’ time. Like, Cass was upset when we were packing up the house because she has always wanted to have kids, and now at thirty-two, she is having to start over and feels the pressure,” he explains.
I had no idea Cassidy felt like that.
“That’s rough. But I mean, she could have a baby by herself if she wants, heaps of women do. At least then she wouldn’t have baby daddy problems,” he suggests.
By herself?
“She wouldn’t be by herself, she has family. Plus, the group is starting to have babies, Harper is ready to pop.”
“That she is. Are you and Collette thinking about having kids?”
“Yeah, we said we would wait till after our first wedding anniversary,” Fish explains.
“Your first one or the second one?” Sully teases.
Emmett told me that Fish and Collette secretly got married at Christmas during the team’s Christmas party and never told anyone. Kind of romantic.
“You guys are young, you’ve got time,” Sully adds.
“Yeah, but I want to be a young dad,” Fish tells him. “What about you? Do you want to be a dad? Are you ready to hang up your single boots?”
I am curious about what Sully is going to answer.
“I will deny it if you tell anyone …” Sully says, his voice lowering, “but yeah, I’m getting over the single life.”
“Wow, never thought I would hear you admit that.” Fish chuckles. “Honestly, nothing is better than coming home to one woman.”
“Coming from Fish, that is huge.”
“When you meet the right person, everything clicks and giving up the single life isn’t a sacrifice.”
“You seem really happy, man,” Sully tells him.
“I am. I’m living my best life. And one day you will meet the right person,” Fish tells him.
“Maybe,” Sully says, not sounding convinced.
Why does he think he won’t meet anyone? Sully’s a catch. He’s handsome, smart, athletic, rich, funny, sweet … the list goes on.
“There’s going to be single women at the wedding. Maybe you might meet someone this weekend,” Fish tells him.
Oh.
“Yeah, I’m not a wedding hookup kind of guy,” Sully tells him.
“Maybe you should be. Your woman could be out there waiting for you,” Fish tells him.
“I’ll take your word for it.” Sully laughs.
Fish anchors us in a quiet bay, and the boys don't even discuss it, they just start stripping shirts and diving off the back of the boat. The water is freezing. I know this because every single one of them screams like a child when they hit it and then immediately claim it's refreshing.
"Get in," Sully calls up.
"You're all blue, no thanks," Cassidy calls back.
“Come on, girls, it can’t be that bad,” Jo says before launching off the back of the boat and then screaming blue murder as she enters the water.
Cassidy and I look at each other. Yeah, we’re not stupid.
Maine is basically the Arctic. Issy and Collette are the next to jump in, and they scream, too, followed by Evelina.
“I’m staying with you guys,” Violetta says.
“Good call,” Harper says, with Frankston beside her. Puck jumped in with Felix, but as a husky, he probably loves the cold water.
“How are you two going? Heard about your divorces, sorry about that,” Violetta says.
“Thanks,” I say, not sure how else to answer.
“Well, now that you ladies are single, you can come out with us for girls’ night,” she says.
“V’s a bad influence, FYI,” Harper says.
“In a good way.” Violetta giggles. She's Issy’s younger sister, and a damn supermodel with all her Italian curves, she is sexy.
“Sounds fun,” Cassidy says excitedly.
“You’re new to New York, so we need to show you the sights,” Violetta states.
“She knows the good spots to find the hot men,” Harper adds.
“Not sure if I’m ready for hot men,” I say quietly.
Violetta gasps. “But you’re finally single after all those years. You deserve some fun with a hot man.”
“Sign me up,” Cassidy says.
“They may not be ready yet, V,” Harper tells her.
“I’m ready,” Cassidy says.
“You are?” I question her.