Page 21 of Falling for the Wrong Guy

Ella pouted down at her plate for a second, then lifted her water glass. “Here’s to Whisper Cove’s future bakery. Sorry I ruined the moment, Isla.”

“You’re forgiven.”

We all clinked our glasses.

Ava closed her eyes as she savored her bite. “I was dreaming about this mac and cheese the whole plane ride. So, it seems Isla’s romance with the stunning and rich Luke Greyson is still in full bloom. How about you, Aria? Still going strong with Kellan?”

“Uh, yeah, still strong,” I said and took another bite of food. I glanced up with a mouthful, and all eyes were on me. I swallowed. “What?”

“Let’s just say, your tone didn’t exactly match the words,” Ella said. “Oh, wow, wait a minute—you guys didn’t hear what happened today at the café.”

“We don’t need to rehash that,” I said.

“And now we really need to rehash it,” Isla said. I gave Ella a “gee, thanks” look.

“These two scary-looking men came into the café, and one was leering at Aria.” She looked at Isla. “Remember that amazing looking man standing at the bus stop?”

Isla nodded. “He was hard to forget.”

“I want to see him,” Layla complained.

Ella waved to shush her. “Well, the leering jerk grabbed Aria’s wrist as she put down his food.”

“How dare he?” Ava said. “Did you call the police?”

“I did,” Ella said. She smiled. “Well, Officer Tuttle is not exactly Wyatt Earp. Besides, he wasn’t necessary. Dreamy bus stop guy stepped in, and those two creeps practically ran from the restaurant.”

“Well, not sure if that’s accurate,” I said.

“What was that?” Layla said suddenly. She stood from her chair. “There, down in the cove.”

We all got up. A beam of light, muted by the fog, was moving around the rocky edge of the beach. “Who’d be down there at this time of night and in this fog?” Isla asked.

The stretch of sand beneath the cottage was the nicest beach in Whisper Cove. It was our playground as little girls. Our path down to the beach was private, but the beach was not. Anyone could use it, but you had to climb down a steep, rocky path to get to the sand. In the dark and with the thick layer of fog, it was a risky endeavor, which was why we were all on our feet, stunned to see someone down on the shore.

“Do you think it’s one of those men from the café?” Ella asked. “They looked like they were trouble.”

“Yes, there seems to be a lot of that going around,” I said. I buttoned my coat and went inside for a flashlight.

Ava was right behind me. “You’re not going down there alone.” She plucked the second flashlight from the kitchen drawer.

Ava and I stepped off the patio and used the flashlights to lead us to the top of the trail—our trail, a mostly sandy path we’d carved out naturally with our constant hikes down to the beach. I led the way but stopped when I heard more voices behind us. The other three had followed.

“Safety in numbers,” Isla said.

“That’s right.” Layla crept closer to me. “I’m staying with Aria.”

I sighed. “I’m sure there’s no point in arguing.” I aimed the beam down the trail. It was steep and looked especially so with the puffs of fog covering the landscape.

“Nothing like a flashlight beam to make the fog look ghostly,” Ella noted. “I’m waiting for a cold, clammy hand to reach out of the?—”

“El!” we shouted together.

“Not sure if this is the time for one of your ghost stories, El.” I continued down the path, and my sisters followed in a tight clump. If I tripped and fell, we’d all roll down the trail like a giant snowball.

I felt relieved to reach the flat sand. The bank of fog was thicker and colder on the beach. I looked left and right.

“There,” Isla said. “Over by mermaid rock.” My sisters and I had named a big, flat-topped boulder “mermaid rock,” and we used to take turns sitting on it and throwing back our wet hair like Ariel, the Disney mermaid.

---