Page 25 of The Autumn Leaf Bookshop (Everly Hollow #1)

To Nights Like This

Raene

“ F aerie wine?” I mumble, lifting the teal goblet to my lips and taking a sip. The bubbles dance on my tongue, sweet and fruity, and as soon as I swallow, warmth spreads throughout my body. The girls are watching me, their goblets in hand, waiting for my reaction.

We’re outside in Elora’s backyard, wrapped in the warm colors of the setting sun, and the glow of twinkling lights strung across the pergola.

The outdoor furniture is ridiculously comfy, the kind that makes you sink into another world and never want to leave.

I can even feel the plushness of the cushions through my leggings.

A small table between us is covered in a spread of food that looks divine, and then there’s the wine… delicious, dangerous faerie wine.

I take another drink, peering down into my glass. “Is this going to get me drunk?” I laugh. “I feel like this can get addicting…it’s so good!”

“Maybe a little bit,” Jas says with a grin, tucking her legs underneath her on the sofa before leaning forward to grab a slice of cheese and a cracker. She takes a bite, then pauses, staring down at it like it suddenly spoke to her heart, and sighs.

“I love our girl nights,” she admits softly. “I needed this. I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed lately with Seren, the business, and…she’s starting Kindergarten. Aaryn isn’t here.” She pops the remaining cracker in her mouth.

Next to her, Poppy reaches over, giving her shoulder a light rub. “Is she at her house right now?”

Jas nods, lifting her glass for a sip. “Yeah, she’s having a sleepover there.”

I glance between Jas and Poppy, brows raised. “Who is her ? Are we just…not naming this mysterious person?”

Oriana snorts with laughter, and Jas cracks a smile, shaking her head.

“Sorry,” Jas says, running her fingers through her curls, only to get them caught halfway. She wiggles them free with a soft groan. Even her hair is exhausted.

“My mother-in-law,” she explains. “Aaryn’s mom, Elowen.”

Her tone shifts as she says the name, like it carries a heavy weight. “She’s…quite the character. She adores Seren, but ever since Aaryn died, something’s changed. I mean, I get it, he was her only son. But she doesn’t warm to me the way she used to. I don’t know.”

She shrugs, but her shoulders stay tense, as if her confession won’t fall off.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I tell her, and I am.

I can’t imagine losing my spouse and then his mother acting like I put a bad taste in her mouth.

She needs all the love and support she can get.

It’s good she has help with Seren, but I don’t know how I would feel if someone treated me like family and then, when the one person that brought us together is gone, they change.

I’m grateful I had my grandmother when my parents died.

“We’re all happy you’re here, Jas, and if you need help with anything, let us know, okay?” Elora pipes up from her hammock swing.

She’s curled into it, wearing shorts and a tank top, which I’ve honestly never seen her in.

She usually wears skirts and dresses like a goddess of the woods.

Her bare feet dangle lazily, an anklet bracelet made of twine and little flowers with toes painted a soft pink.

Her waist-long hair is braided into a crown, an abundance of flowers blooming between the strands.

Oriana raises her glass, “I second that!”

“Same,” Poppy says. “If you need a break or help, let us know.”

Jas looks around, her eyes glistening, tears forming in the corners, and she wipes them gently before they fall. “I appreciate you girls.”

Poppy gives Jas’s thigh a quick, reassuring pat before reaching for a carrot stick and dipping it into a spread that looks like hummus but is not.

They told me it’s made from some other type of legume, something similar to chickpeas, though I’ve already forgotten the name.

The color is a shade darker, and when I tried it earlier, the flavor surprised me.

It’s good, similar to hummus, but with this warm, nutty undertone that lingers on your tongue .

“How is the festival planning going?” Elora asks, munching on a few items from her plate. “I know we talked about my booth, but do you need a list of the produce items I will have there?”

“I think a sign of all the fruits and veggies will be great to have at your booth, and I’m excited to see it.” I pop a chip in my mouth and chew slowly as I feel Oriana’s gaze on me.

She swirls her glass. Her blue eyes look like shimmering pools of light as she crosses her legs, popping a grape into her mouth.

“And Sylas…or Ash, as you call him, how is he?

Once again, every pair of eyes is on me.

“We…we um…we kissed…” I pull up the shoulder of my oversized t-shirt, but it slides back down. That’s the purpose of the outfit. Tease of the shoulders, which I love, but I’m nervous as hell.

Oriana stands up to dance to the music that is playing, her skirt swishing with the movement of her hips.

Jas screams, a happy, giddy scream. Elora’s eyes go wide, but she gives me the sweetest smile with the faintest blush on her cheeks, and Poppy just gives me a lopsided grin like she knew it would happen. It was only a matter of time.

“I knew it! I knew he wanted you! I mean, look at you, Raene!” Oriana says before sitting down to catch her breath.

Look at all of you. What’s in the water here?

Oriana refills her glass before adding a few more items to her plate. “Okay, I got my snacks, now I’m ready for you to share the deets, so spill.”

I laugh, sipping my wine. “I am not sharing this with you. ”

Oriana tsks, wagging a finger at me. “Nope, wrong answer, Rae. It’s girls’ night. We all share secrets and gossip.”

“We do?” Elora asks.

“Oh absolutely…we do!” Jas interrupts, her lips curve into a mischievous grin. “Was the kiss tender and sweet, or was it one of those kisses that was life-altering and took your soul?

Took my soul?

“Life-altering and soul-taking? You guys are ridiculous,” I say, covering my face with both hands.

“It was…”

“Tell us everything,” Poppy says, her tone firm but her grin wicked. “Don’t hesitate to share the details. Where were his hands? Where were you guys when this kiss happened? Did anything else happen?”

Elora was quiet, but she leaned in, balancing on the edge of the hammock.

“Do you really want to know what happened?” I ask, my face in my hands.

I need more wine for this.

“Yes,” Oriana waves her hands in a shooing motion.

“You’re a brilliant writer, so I know you’ll be able to share your story. So spill. Or I’ll start making things up…and trust me, I’m very creative.”

“You are creative,” Poppy chimes in. “But I think we deserve the real story.”

I sigh, but it’s useless. I’m grinning like an idiot, and they all know I’m going to share the details. I’m glad guys don’t do this because then the majority of Everly Hollow will know what went down in the bookshop.

“Fine. It was…” My voice dips, soft, like I’m replaying it in my mind, and I am because I will never forget that day. “It was slow at first. Like we didn’t know if we wanted to give in or not, like we were testing one another. It was very tender but perfect. But then it got...”

“Hot?” Poppy interrupts.

“Yes. Very hot,” I admit, laughing. “He’s…intense. The way he looked at me with my legs around him…” My breath hitches just thinking about it.

Poppy puts her hand up in the air. “Wait, your legs were around him?” Her head tilts. “Time to sprinkle the details on the cupcake. Where were you?”

“The bookshop.”

“Where in the bookshop?”

“Against the door.”

“Oh, scandalous. That anticipation building of possibly getting caught…and his hands?”

“On my ass, on my thighs…” I ponder on if I want to disclose further details, but what the hell, “Under my shirt…inside my leggings…”

My hands quickly shot up to stifle the laugh that was about to escape.

“Goddess above,” Jas groans. “That’s so damn sexy.”

It was. Very much so. I can’t get his voice out of my head, and the thought of his fingers on my skin again is torture .

“So, when are you seeing him again?” Oriana asks.

Hopefully soon.

“I don’t know, maybe this weekend or next week?

” I say more of a question because I’m not sure.

We haven’t talked about when we will meet up next, and I know we still have a few things left to do before all the heavy work starts the week of the festival, but when we do see each other, what the hell am I going to say?

My gaze drifts off to the fields, and I see something flickering lightly.

“What is that?” I point, and everyone turns their heads in the direction of my finger.

“Goddess!” Elora exclaims, leaping up out of her swing and running off the patio and into the lush grass. “It’s a glow-moth!”

We all follow her, and the coolness of it feels amazing on my feet.

“I’ve never seen one a few weeks early,” Elora whispers.

We stand at a distance as it flutters over some flowers.

It’s small, but much larger than a firefly.

It’s a glowing moth that has a fuzzy body and is brown, cream, and deep blue.

It’s adorable and beautiful. I don’t touch it, but I can’t take my eyes away either.

Elora, Jas, and Poppy are all huddled chatting while Oriana skips her way over to me. “I have two things to ask you.”

“Okay.” I stand tall, roll my shoulders back.

“First, do you want to come to the book club tomorrow evening at seven-thirty at the cafe? We’re starting a new dark romance.”

“I’d love to!” I beam. When spending so much time writing books, I rarely get to actually sit down and enjoy them anymore.

“Secondly, you need to go see Flora.”

“Flora?” I ask. My nose wriggles a bit. “What for? ”

“A tonic,” she says, giving me a small smile. “Just to be safe.”

A tonic. The wheels in my head are spinning. I’m thinking, but maybe too hard until it clicks. A tonic. Just to be safe. A contraceptive tonic.

“Okay,” I say. That’s something I’m going to have to look into.

We stay here for a few minutes to see if any more moths come, but this little one goes back into the forest. We go back to our seats and continue in our conversations about books, life, and occasionally Ash.

“Okay,” Oriana says, getting to her feet. “Everyone, stand, grab your glass, and make sure it’s full!”

With glasses refilled with the sparkling pink wine, we stand and together hold our glasses to the moon beam that shines its way through.

“To nights like this.” Oriana begins. “To friendship, and a new friend.” She turns her head towards me with a smile. “To blessings from the Goddesses. To our hopes, dreams, and successes. To love, good health, and happiness. To secrets, laughter, and too much wine!”

She holds her glass up higher and shimmies her hips to the light music.

We all laugh and dance along.

“May we always have nights like this,” Oriana says, her face serious but radiant in just love and happiness. “May we never forget the reasons to celebrate together and celebrate who we are.”

Our glasses clink and I close my eyes…smile, and drink.