Page 17 of The One You Want

Chapter 5

When the text came in from Riley Friday night, I jumped at the chance to get out of my apartment. Nightlife options on Lilac Bay were pretty limited, but I didn’t mind—hanging out at Cora’s bar with my closest friend was exactly what I needed after the week I’dhad.

Unsurprisingly, Cora’s place was packed when I pushed my way inside. The season was just starting to wind down, but Cora’s was one of the few places on the island that remained busy even when the tourists headed back to the mainland. For one thing, it was one of the only dining establishments that stayed open all year. For another, Cora’s chef James made the best hamburgers in northernMichigan.

But for me, the atmosphere at the little pub was what made it special. Every weekend (and most weeknights too) the place was filled with locals. Friends who had known each other for years, enjoying good food, talking andlaughing.

Somehow, I never felt out of place at Cora’s. For a girl who had a hard time fitting in most everywhere she went, that meantsomething.

“Jenny!” a voice called as I searched the crowd for Riley’s distinctive white blonde hair. I saw Iris and David Jenkins—newlyweds just recently home from their Parisian honeymoon—waving from a nearby booth where they sat with Iris’s cousin, Edward, and his fiancé,Zane.

I felt a little pang as I waved back at Iris. She had such a big family here on the island, everyone knew the Powell clan. She had only moved to Lilac Bay a few years ago, and she already was well loved by just about everyone. I wondered, not for the first time, what it would be like to have such a large supportsystem.

Before I could get too melancholy, I saw Riley sitting at a nearby table with her boyfriend, Andrew—Edward’s twin. “Hey, girl!” Riley called as Iapproached.

“Hey.” I gave Andy a shy smile. He was the nicest guy in the world, and perfect for Riley, but I still wasn’t quite used to hanging out with him in such a smallgroup.

Apparently I didn’t need to worry about that. As soon as I slipped into a chair, Riley pushed on his arm. “Okay, buddy, that’s your cue. This is girl time, getlost.”

He grinned at me. “You see what I put upwith?”

I shrugged. “Boys have cooties. Can you blameher?”

Riley laughed while Andy smacked a kiss to her cheek. “See youlater.”

She patted his cheek, giving him that softly fond look that always made my stomach hurt, just a little. They were so inlove.

Once Andy was gone, Riley held a bottle aloft. “I took the liberty of ordering us somewine.”

“Thank God,” I said, reaching for it. “Gimme.”

She raised her eyebrows at my eagerness, but complied. “Roughday?”

I snorted. “You have noidea.”

“Well, I’m definitely going to needdetails.”

Before I could start my much-needed rant about everything that had happened over the past week, Iris appeared at our side. “Andy came over to sit with Eddie and Zane,” she complained, sliding into the spot he’d vacated next to Riley. “That’s just too much Powell testosterone at thattable.”

“Pretty sure you’re a Powell too, babe,” Riley pointedout.

Iris nodded. “Which is why I know better than anyone how annoying they can be when they gettogether.”

“True,” Riley agreed. “I’m sleeping with one of them and I still can only stand to be around him about fifty percent of thetime.”

I laughed, because she was clearly full of it. Riley and Andy had been basically inseparable since they were little kids, long before I even knewher.

“Jenny was just about to tell me about her shit day,” Riley said, handing Iris thewine.

“Shit week,” I corrected, and Iris gave me a sympatheticwince.

“Who had a shit week?” someone asked and we looked up to see Libby pushing her way through the crowd of patrons to joinus.

“Jenny,” Riley said. “You can come commiserate with us, but we’re all out of wineglasses.”

“Not a problem.” Libby sat next to me then grabbed the bottle and took a longswig.

“Gross, Libs,” Iris said, wrinkling hernose.