Page 93 of Summer Nights

"My mom keeps me apprised of everything going on. I think she secretly hopes I'll move home."

"Are you planning to move back?" Nora asked.

"I love Colorado, the cool weather, the snow. And it's Lincoln's hometown. He moved there to be closer to his family."

"I think that's so brave of you to go there when you didn't know anyone," Daria said.

"It was a little scary. In the first few weeks, I got sick and went to see Lincoln at his practice before a huge snowstorm was due to blow in. He was worried about me living alone, so he made a home visit, found me passed out on the floor, and took care of me."

Daria sighed. "I can't believe you got snowed in with a sexy doctor."

Hazel nodded. "It's like a romance book. You were forced to spend the night with him, and by the time the snow melted, you'd fallen in love with each other."

"Well, snow doesn't melt that fast in Colorado, but we knew it was the beginning of something amazing. And we were right." Penny smiled widely.

I felt a little uncomfortable with her story. It was too good to be true and so quick. How did she fall in love with a man she barely knew? How did she trust that it would last? "Weren't you a little worried that it was fast?"

Penny's gaze settled on me. "Of course I was. But then he took me to meet his family, and he vowed to show me that he was all in with me. He was very convincing."

Kinsley covered her heart with her hand. "That's so romantic."

"I wouldn't mind being stuck in a storm with a hot guy. Too bad those stories are made for movies and books and not real life," Daria said, sipping her wine.

"But it happened for Penny. Who's to say it can't happen for you?" Elena asked her.

"Nothing interesting ever happens to me. I lead the most boring life," Daria said flippantly.

"That can't be true. How many people can say they own a seashell shop?" Nora asked.

"That my grandmother opened, and I continue to run. I don't have any great overcoming story," Daria said.

"I don't think you need to overcome anything to feel good about your life," Elena said.

Did I have an overcoming story? I liked to think I'd done better than my mother. That I was stronger and more financially secure. But did that mean I'd made it? Or that I'd succeeded at something? I wasn't sure I wanted to be characterized that way. I wanted to be Ivy, the amazing realtor and hopefully loving mother.

"I feel like I'm going to grow old, pick up crocheting, and join the local knitting club," Daria said dryly.

Elena nodded. "There's nothing wrong with learning those things if you want to."

"I might spend too much time with my grandmother. I'm becoming just like her. Cautious and careful. I don't take any risks," Daria said.

"What risks do you want to take?" I asked her, genuinely curious about her innercrisis. I couldn't relate to her feeling boring. My life had been anything but lately.

She frowned. "I feel like I should get out of my comfort zone and do something new.”

"An adventure company just opened." Nora pulled up the website. "They offer zip-lining, biking, and kayak tours. You could look into that."

Daria chewed her lip. "Yeah, maybe."

I had a feeling it would be a while before she took that step. She was stuck in a rut, just like I was. I'd recently moved away from my old beliefs and ways of being. I had to trust that whatever Cooper was up to, he wasn't going to leave me and the baby. That he'd always put us first when it counted.

It was good to spend the evening with my friends. We talked about their lives and concerns. It was more relatable than usual. Probably because I was more open to listening to them. To relating their struggles to mine. We were similar, and we could help each other through these things. I just had to be willing to lean on them.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Cooper

I hated keeping anything from Ivy, but I didn't want her to know that I was looking for her father. She wouldn't be happy about that. But I had to know why he'd abandoned his daughter before she was born, and I wanted to impress upon him the damage he'd left in his wake.

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