Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Ethan raps his fist on the table, and I jump. We all turn his way. “If I may point out, the men did dishes last weekend, so it’s the women’s turn now.”
He’s not wrong. We’ve taken to splitting kitchen cleaning duty between men and women on alternating Sundays and only because we had too many people in there at once and it was too hectic. So, with dinner officially over, the guys leave to the formal room to relax for a bit and us womenfolk get busy putting food away and cleaning up the dishes.
Kat, Marcie and I chat up a storm while we portion leftovers into containers, rinse and load the dishwasher, and wipe down the counters. It’s only when I’m drying my hands on a kitchen towel that I notice we’re the only three in the kitchen. I’m not sure at what point Fi and Sylvie slipped out.
“It seems awful quiet, doesn’t it?” Kat asks as she cocks her head.
“A little too quiet,” I agree and head out of the kitchen.
Marcie and Kat follow and we’re all three bewildered when we find the formal dining room empty.
“Where is everyone?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” Marcie murmurs, pointing a finger so Kat and I turn to follow her direction. “But look at that.”
On the mantel sits three white boxes wrapped with gold ribbon. They’re all the same size, no more than five-by-seven inches and fairly thin.
We approach and see there’s one for each of us, our names written in cursive on white tags.
Silently, we each take our box, looking at each other, glancing around to see if anyone pops out to yell something at us, but we’re clearly alone.
“Jewelry?” Kat muses.
“Only one way to find out,” Marcie says and pulls the ribbon off her box.
Kat and I follow suit and all three of us lift the tops off the boxes at the same time.
“What in the world?” I mutter, pulling out a puzzle piece almost the size of the box it was in.
A single puzzle piece with some sort of landscape picture on it, but I can’t tell what it is. I’m not shocked to see Kat and Marcie also have a puzzle piece in hand and we quickly deduce that they’re meant to be put together.
Kat grabs the cardboard pieces from me and Marcie, moves to the low coffee table and snaps them together. We lean over her shoulder, each of us immediately seeing it’s a photograph of our pond where we hang out.
“I’m not all that good at figuring out mysteries,” Marcie says with a shake of her head. “But I’m guessing we’re supposed to go to the pond.”
“I don’t think you’re wrong,” Kat says in a somewhat irritated tone. “I can only imagine what those boys have planned.”
“I’m not skinny-dipping with all of you,” I point out.
Kat rolls her eyes, throwing her head toward the door. “Let’s go see what our men are up to.”
We pile into Kat’s ATV, the cool spring air whipping through our hair as we drive down to the pond. The landscape is bathed in the soft glow of the setting sun, the shadows long and the light golden. It’s peaceful, almost magical, and I can’t help but feel a flutter of anticipation in my chest. Trey’s been acting funny all week and I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, but he’s clearly up to something.
As we round the final bend, the pond comes into view, and the sight that greets us stuns me. Hundreds of stringed lights are draped in the trees and dozens upon dozens of candles and lanterns line the edge of the dock, casting the entire area in a warm, flickering glow. Tommy, Fi and Sylvie are at the start of the dock wearing amused smiles as Kat brings the ATV to a stop before them.
“What’s going on?” she asks.
Tommy merely tilts his head toward the dock where Ethan, Trey and Gabe stand. They’re side by side, legs planted firmly and hands clasped behind their backs. They look like warriors, as if they’re protecting the water.
My bet is they have something in their hands they don’t want us to see, and it could be anything really. We’ve been doing a lot together as couples the last handful of months. Triple dating as we’ve come to call it—weekend trips, concerts, dinners in fancy restaurants. We’ve even all gone camping and sometimes Abby and Kellan fly in to join us.
It’s not surprising they’ve planned this together. The guys like to spring stuff on me, Kat and Marcie, and I’m ready for it. But the fact that Tommy, Fi and Sylvie are here has my blood racing a little faster.
Could they be…?
We step out of the ATV, and as we approach the men, Trey’s eyes lock onto mine. The love in his gaze is unmistakable, and my heart pounds. The air between us is charged, every step toward him heightening my feelings.