Chapter Four
Brandee
A fter spending the day familiarizing myself with the island, I ran to the market to grab a few groceries before heading back to the house.
Avie and Leia arrive home as I’m unloading the supplies from the back of my truck.
When the little girl spots me, she runs over and begins to tell me all about her day.
“I’m sorry,” Avie says as she hurries to wrangle her daughter. “She doesn’t meet a stranger.”
I smile down at the child. “That’s okay. I don’t either. Besides, we’re friends, aren’t we, kiddo?” I ask, ruffling her brown curls.
She beams up at me, and Avie gives me an appreciative nod.
“Sebastian is going to be late today, and we’re going to throw a couple of pizzas in the oven. Want to join us? We can have that glass of wine?”
“Pizza and wine? You’re speaking my love language! Let me put these bags away, and I’ll be right over,” I say, gesturing to the bags I still have to carry in.
“I’ll help,” Leia says as she peeks over the tailgate. “That’s a lot of food for one person.”
“I have a couple of friends coming to visit me this weekend, and we like to eat. A lot.”
“Cool. My mom and her friends like to eat a lot too,” she says.
“Hey,” Avie exclaims.
She cuts her eyes to Avie.
“Fine. We do. But you don’t have to go around, telling our business to everyone.”
“I don’t. I just told Brandee.”
Avie sighs. “Everyone told me it would happen one day. That my sweet little baby girl would start sassing me and call me Mom instead of Mommy.”
Leia rolls her eyes and looks back at me. “I’m almost eight years old now. I’m close to being a teenager.”
I cough to stifle a laugh and nod. “Yeah, eight is practically a grown-up.”
She leans in and whispers, “Let’s get these in before Mom gets hangry.”
“Okay, grab one and follow me,” I reply.
Avie shakes her head as she leaves to start dinner while Leia and I go inside. Together, we put everything away, and she fills me in on her school activities and her upcoming fall dance recital before we join her mother.
“So, you’ll be here until after the New Year?” Avie asks as we settle on her back porch.
After enjoying our slices of pizza while watching an overly dramatic preteen show on television, she sent Leia to take a bath and get ready for bed.
I nod. “Aunt Ida wants to stay with Ashlee until after the twins’ original due date.”
“That’s a good long time away from home,” she muses.
“Yeah, but my job is fairly flexible. At least, my boss is allowing it to be for a couple of months.”
“Good boss.”
“The best. She and I have been friends our whole lives, so she’s a little biased when it comes to me,” I tell her.
“I have one of those too.”
I raise an eyebrow as I take a sip of the wine.
“Amiya, my best friend, tends to be a bit biased when it comes to me,” she clarifies.
“We went to college together in Georgia, and she was my biggest supporter when I decided to move Leia and me to Sandcastle Cove for a job contract. She kept Interstate 95 hot for six months, traveling back and forth between here and Atlanta,” she explains.
“Looks like it was worth the sacrifice. You’re still here,” I point out.
She smiles. “Yep. Worked out for both of us. She lives here now too. With Sebastian’s brother, Lennon. They have a beach house on the west end.”
“Sweet. Wait, you said you packed yourself and Leia up to move. So, Leia isn’t your husband’s daughter?”
Avie reaches over and grabs the wine bottle from the coffee table. “We’re gonna need more wine for that story,” she says as she tops off both our glasses.
As we enjoy the cabernet, she tells me about her passionate encounter with Sebastian in Hawaii, which led to Leia’s conception.
Afterward, she reconciled with her ex. When she found out she was pregnant, she assumed the baby was her ex’s, and they ended up marrying.
Unfortunately, their marriage fell apart, and Leia’s true paternity was eventually discovered.
Five years later, fate brought the two of them to the doorstep of the hot Hawaiian fling.
They fell madly in love and got married, and the rest is history.
“Wow, that is quite a story,” I state.
“I know, right?”
“And your best friend ended up falling for your new brother-in-law and moved to the island too? That’s fascinating.”
She smiles thoughtfully. “Yeah, Sabel and Ida Mae call it the magic of Sandcastle Cove. I used to think they were losing their minds, but I’ve seen it work on more than one occasion. I think I’m starting to believe them.”
“I get that. Our mountains are magical as well. Although I think my friends may have used it all up,” I say.
“Hmm,” she hums. “Perhaps it wasn’t magic. Maybe all I needed was a change of scenery.” She grins at me. “And that could be all you need as well.”
“I’m not expecting any magic other than a nice, long, relaxing vacation,” I say.
“Keep telling the island your plans and see what happens,” she warns.
Then we both burst into laughter.
Leia returns, and I say my goodbyes.
“Thank you for dinner, the wine, and the conversation,” I say as Avie walks me to the door.
“We’ll do it again when your friends arrive if you want. I’ll even invite some of my crazy friends.”
“I’d like that.”
She turns the front porch light on to light my way. “I’m serious about the magic,” she calls after me. I glance back over my shoulder just as the Bronco pulls up to the curb. “Speaking of, there’s mine now.”
I watch as a beautiful man with long hair the color of Leia’s hops out of the driver’s door. He smiles broadly as he hurries up the walkway, wraps his arms around Avie, lifts her off her feet, and carries her through the door while their lips meet in a passionate kiss.
That’s some impressive magic.