Forever Summer - Melody Grace Page 0,36

There was that creek near the campgrounds, do you remember? We went swimming that day, and everyone was jumping off the top of the waterfall.”

“That was so much fun!” Jules exclaimed. “Except you stayed up there for like a full half hour, working up the nerve to jump.”

“Exactly.” Evie nodded. “It feels like that when I’m with Noah,” she said, trying to explain. “Like I’m standing on the edge of a cliff, trying to decide if I should leap into the water. And I know it could be amazing, and a part of me wants to do it, but … I’m scared.”

Jules propped herself up on one elbow, looking at Evie. “Scared of what?

Evie bit her lip, still not able to confess what she was really feeling. “What if I’m not ready?” she asked instead.

“You don’t have to dive into the deep end,” Jules pointed out. “You could just take a paddle in the shallows, to use your cliff-diving metaphor. Splash around a little.”

“Maybe.” But Evie already knew she wouldn’t be content with that. Not when Noah was already occupying her mind. Her dreams.

Her fantasies.

Jules reached over and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “It’ll be OK,” she said. “There’s no rush. When you’re ready to explore this thing with Noah, you’ll know. And until then … well, it’s not like you don’t have a few other things to keep you busy.”

Evie looked around at the bare plaster walls and creaky floorboards and smiled. “Just a few,” she agreed.

“But first things first,” Jules said. “You and I are going to put on our dorkiest, most comfortable pajamas—the flannel ones we’d never let a man see us in—and we’re going to eat too much candy and watch Grey’s Anatomy.”

“Again?”

“Yes!” Jules grinned. “The episode with the pole going through those two people.”

“No,” Evie protested, laughing. “You know it makes me cry every time.”

“Exactly. A nice cathartic cry,” Jules said.

“OK,” Evie relented. “But not the plane crash episode.”

“Never,” Jules agreed, cueing up her laptop to play. “We’ll just get a couple with the hot guy with the bad heart, he’s all grizzled and manly, just my type.”

Evie settled back, smiling. “Do you ever wonder how we managed to graduate when all we did was watch TV?” she asked as she passed Jules some candy.

“All the time, babe. All the time.”

They stayed up late watching Netflix and eating way too much candy, and when the construction crew arrived early the next morning, Evie dragged Jules out of the house for breakfast.

“But I’ve got a sugar hangover,” Jules complained from behind dark sunglasses.

Evie laughed at her whining. “How about some hair of the dog then?” she said, leading her friend into the bakery and over to the counter full of delicious pastries and cake.

Jules brightened immediately. “I knew there was a reason you’re my best friend,” she said, hugging Evie.”

“Because we both have freakishly large feet and you’re always borrowing my shoes?” Evie asked, smiling.

“That too. Ooh, is that a chocolate croissant?”

As Jules drooled over the baked goods, Evie took a quick glance around the cafe. She wasn’t looking for Noah, not exactly, she told herself. And she definitely wasn’t disappointed, when she saw he wasn’t there. But Poppy waved at her from the corner, where she was sitting with a group of familiar faces, so after they’d claimed their morning croissants and coffee, Evie steered Jules over to introduce her.

“Wait—Poppy Sommerville?” Jules asked, her eyes widening. “I love your books!”

Poppy grinned. “Pull up a chair, sit down, I like you already.”

Jules shook her head. “Seriously, I’ve read everything you’ve written. Remember?” she asked, nudging Evie. “I told you to read the last one because of the dirty bits. You write amazing dirty bits,” she told Poppy, who laughed.

“The highest compliment for a romance author.”

They grabbed a pair of extra chairs and joined the breakfast chat, Jules immediately launching into a discussion about Poppy’s new book. Mackenzie was cooing over another woman, Paige’s newborn, while a brunette woman named Cassie lit up when Evie squeezed in next to her. “You!” she said, looking excited. “I was going to call you. I heard all about your renovation, and I want in.”

Evie blinked, confused. “In on …?”

“She’s an interior designer,” Mackenzie explained.

“And the Beachcomber Inn is going to be my next project,” Cassie declared.

“A pushy interior designer,” Paige added with a smirk.

“Oh,” Evie said, as they all laughed. “That’s a great offer, and I’d love to take you up on it, but I don’t really have a