Bloom of Love (Long Valley #10) - Erin Wright Page 0,45
was a story her friend needed to hear. “I went through the same thing myself.”
Iris pulled back, looking at her quizzically. “You wanted to get pregnant?” she asked.
“No,” Carla said, laughing for a moment. “Heavens no. Not right now. But, I did watch Hannah meet and fall in love with Elijah. You know that for a couple of years, Hannah and Michelle and I have met together down at the bakery for the Early Spinster’s Club?”
Iris chuckled herself. “I’d heard that. We’re not that old yet, are we?”
“Late 30s?” Carla said skeptically, one eyebrow arched. “Not exactly young spring chickens. But anyway, Hannah had always been the one in the group who didn’t want to date anyone. I wasn’t even sure if she liked guys, honestly. Michelle and I would drool over Gage or some other hot guy coming into the bakery, and Hannah was over there in the corner, not saying a word. Whenever she was forced to be around a guy, she shut up completely and would do her best to hide behind me.”
“I’m laughing because it’s true,” Iris said with a chuckle. “Hannah was not boy crazy.”
“No, she wasn’t. And then, she found the love of her life and was so happy, and she wasn’t even trying. She hadn’t wanted it for decades like I had. I had to put on my happy face, and I was happy for her. I just wanted it myself, too. It wasn’t fair how easily it came for her.”
It was Iris’ turn to pull Carla into a one-armed hug. “But you’ve found your own guy now,” she said. “And he seems to adore you.”
“I have found my own Westley,” Carla said with a secret smile. “But all these years…I didn’t know how it’d work out. You never know until it happens, and then looking back, it seems destined to have worked out that way.” She patted her friend on the hand. “Speaking of, we should probably go back and find our men before they send out a search party for us.”
“How does my makeup look?” Iris asked anxiously, looking straight at Carla to give her a clear view. “Declan just hates it when I cry…”
Carla wiped a bit of stray black away and then tucked a piece of her thick red hair behind her ear. “You look beautiful,” she reassured her friend. “I’ve always wanted red hair, you know.”
“Really?” Iris asked in surprise as Carla helped her to her feet and they began walking slowly back towards where they’d last seen the guys. Carla took her friend’s elbow, not sure if her gait was steady enough on the uneven ground. “I’ve always loved your hair and complexion. Your skin is dark and doesn’t show every blush like mine does. It’d be lovely to have dark brown hair and skin that actually tans, not just turns a darker shade of pink.”
“We always want what we can’t have,” Carla agreed with a light laugh. “I was just thinking that earlier today, ironically enough. There they are. Hey Christian! Declan!”
The men turned as one and began hurrying towards them. “We couldn’t figure out where you went,” Declan said as they got closer. “I was thinking we were going to have to call out a search party for you two. Is everything okay?”
“Oh yeah,” Carla answered breezily, lest her friend not be able to lie convincingly. “We found a nice bench in the shade and sat for a bit. Figured we’d let you two talk out every bit of the harvest and get it out of your systems so we didn’t have to listen to it.”
Christian chuckled. “Very sweet of you,” he said dryly.
“I know!” Carla shot him a saucy grin.
They all paused for a moment, that awkward moment when no one was quite sure if they were going to stay together or split apart, and then Declan broke the silence.
“We were just about to go check out more food vendors. I heard there’s frozen huckleberry yogurt this year, and elephant ears with huckleberry syrup. Do you guys want to join us?”
Christian looked at Carla, who grinned happily. “I can always be persuaded to eat an elephant ear.” She slipped her arm into Christian’s and together, the four of them began heading towards the elephant ear booth, run by the local Boy Scout troop.
Carla squeezed Christian’s arm against her side and sighed happily. Iris was right.
She had found her Westley, and she was never going to let him go.