Shocking Sapphires - Ann Omasta Page 0,50

through.

Meg glared at our clasped hands. “It feels like you three are in some special ‘power of 3’ club that the rest of us can’t be a part of.”

“Trust me, it’s a dreadful club that you don’t want to join,” Claire told her sister.

“I know,” Meg admitted, before adding, “But that doesn’t mean we don’t feel left out. Right?” She looked to the other girls for back-up.

“Yeah, kind of,” Avery admitted at the same time as Jo said, “Nope, I want absolutely no part of that club.”

We all chuckled at her blatant honesty.

Curious if Meg had the scoop on the sudden rise in local vandalism, I asked her, “Do the police have any leads on all the recent burglaries, broken windows, and other petty crimes happening around town?”

Meg shook her head. “It could just be kids up to no good, but it feels bigger than that. Luckily, no one’s been hurt––yet. I’ll be glad when the last of the fall tourists and fans of your fiancé finally leave town.”

I nodded my agreement, even though it seemed like most of the extra people in town, other than the filming crew, had already left.

The mood had turned heavy, so Avery lifted it by asking me, “Since Grant is famous, do you think he’s going to turn into a Groomzilla?”

“Is that even a thing?” I asked, grinning over the new-to-me word.

She shrugged her shoulders, “Maybe he’ll make it a thing.”

“I don’t think so,” I said confidently.

Remembering the perfect gift that had been delivered this morning, I revealed to the ladies, “He had white Converses customized with Swarovski crystals for me to wear in the wedding.”

Avery shook her head, “Wow, he truly gets you.”

I nodded, unable to wipe the goofy grin off my face. Now that Grant was on my mind, I couldn’t think of anything else. Stretching my arms dramatically, I yawned and said, “Thank you all so much for this wonderful surprise party, but it’s getting late. I should head home.”

“Oh, please,” Avery called me out on the fib. “We all know you just want to go try on some of those frilly unmentionables for Grant.”

As I slid out of the booth to gather my gifts and begin loading my Jeep, I gave my best friend a naughty smile before I said, “Perhaps.”

I’d been trying to get Grant and Avery to spend some quality time together, since they didn’t know each other very well. Today’s outing wasn’t ideal, but it was the only day this week that worked for all three of us.

Avery had already promised to take her nieces and nephew for their first ice skate of the season at a pond just outside of town to give Alex and Claire some alone-time. My guess was that Scout would love playing and sliding around on the ice with the other kids, but the snowy, icy terrain would severely limit Grant’s mobility.

As I had suspected, the path out to the pond hadn’t been cleared. Even though Grant tried to power through, he ended up stopping and saying, “I think I’ll hang out and watch the action from right here, while you guys go on. The next time we come out here, I’ll make sure I have some winter tires on this thing.”

I smiled at him as he patted his chair. He was a good sport about getting left behind and assured me that it would be just as fun for him to watch us from the sidelines––all warm and snuggly under a blanket. I knew he would much rather be out on the ice with us, but I appreciated his attempt to alleviate my guilt.

Hannah and Avery wore ice skates, but the littles and I just slid around on our boots and played with the snow. Avery had brought Alex and Claire’s dog, Pepper, with them. The older black lab mix was acting like a puppy again leaping in the air and sliding.

We were laughing as we watched her chomp her teeth, trying to catch the snowballs we tossed at her. Her face was normally sprinkled with white fur, but the snow made it look almost completely white.

The kids’ noses and cheeks were cherry red and my lips were numb, but we were having too much fun to call it a day already. We would all be ready for some hot cocoa when we finished playing, though.

Grant was a good distance away from us, but I could tell that his telephone conversation was growing heated. He flailed his arms around and shouted,