Page 64 of Paging Dr. Summers

“I hope you don’t mind the intrusion,” Mom said. “We just thought it would be fun to surprise you. Right, Victor?”

“Yes, dear.” Victor didn’t skip a beat.

“And of course, we wanted to meet you.” Mom patted Brooke’s cheeks. “I had to come see for myself why my son is so happy.”

I cringed, and Eden laughed.

Brooke blushed and smiled, her eyes dancing with a mix of embarrassment and amusement. “I’m glad he’s happy. He deserves it. But I don’t know if I can take credit for that.”

I wanted to tell her she could take all of it, but that thought scared the hell out of me, considering in a month I would say goodbye to her.

“Oh, I like this girl,” Mom trilled with too much delight.

“I do too,” I admitted out loud, the truthfulness of the words hitting me like a tidal wave—overwhelming and undeniable.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK OF this outfit?” Lola held up a blush jacket with a matching blouse and some cute ankle pants. An executive from SoundWave had finally reached out to me, and they wanted to have a Zoom call on Monday—more of a formal interview than the one I’d had with Sidney.

Lola had eagerly volunteered to style me. I think she just liked playing dress-up. The girl had clothes for days, everything from professional attire to formal wear. I’d never seen such a huge walk-in closet, including an area for seating and a fancy, standing, three-sided mirror on a raised platform.

“It’s super cute,” I said from the chaise lounge. You heard me right—a chaise lounge in a closet. I didn’t know how I was ever going to recover from living a life with the rich and famous all summer.

“We’ll add it to the pile for you to try on.” She hung it up on a standing rack already filled with all the outfits she thought would look good on me. As luck would have it, we were almost identically shaped and wore the same size.

“I really appreciate you doing this.” I’d already spent a fortune on clothes, and since I didn’t have a need for a big professional wardrobe, I didn’t want to spend more money if I didn’t have to.

Living in Aspen Lake felt a lot like being Cinderella at the ball—perfect and dreamy with Prince Charming himself. But I knew in a month the magic would end, and I would have to go back to real life.Even though I wasn’t sure where real life would lead me. Would it be Nebraska or Florida? Or who knew where else? All I knew was that it was going to be away from all the people I was coming to love in Aspen Lake.

Yes, I saidlove. Believe me, I was trying my best not to have those feelings where Logan was concerned. But seriously, I dared anyone not to fall in love with the man. It was harder than one might think. I was preparing myself for major heartbreak. But I wouldn’t trade it. Mom used to say that mended hearts were the strongest ones, and I knew my heart was going to need some extensive repair soon.

“Of course. I’m so excited for you. I can’t wait to plan a trip to wherever you land.”

“Promise?” At least I would keep Lola out of the deal—that I knew.

“Yes.” She plopped down next to me on the chaise. “We are friends forever.”

I smiled in agreement. I still couldn’t get over the feeling that I knew her from somewhere in my past. Maybe it was just one of those kismet things where we were meant to be friends. Perhaps that’s what I always felt around her.

“I’m so glad.” I gave her a quick hug.

“So, tell me more about Logan’s mom and stepdad.”

“His mom is a riot. She reminds me a lot of my own mom. She likes to be the life of the party and make people laugh. Victor, his stepdad, is a thoughtful guy—so kind. He obviously adores his wife and agrees with anything she says or wants to do. He’d probably put on a tutu and do a ballet performance if she asked him to. It’s really cute.”

“If that happens, call me. That, I need to see,” Lola laughed. “Was it weird meeting his parents? Do they know about your arrangement?”

“Oh, yeah,” I exaggerated. “And his mom has thoughts.” I bit my lip, thinking of the conversation we’d had during dinner the night before.

“Spill, chica,” Lola said impatiently.

I was still trying to process it all. “Well, let’s just say she thinks it’s silly we’ve already decided how it ends.”

“She’s not exactly wrong,” Lola said carefully.

“Says the woman who keeps telling the love of her life that she’s just not sure, even though it’s obvious you are,” I teased her.

Lola pursed her lips. “Guilty as charged, but it’s complicated.”

“How so?”

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