Page 28 of The Now in Forever

T he drive back to Fortune Falls is quick. Anh is feeling better and chatters on. She finished the Emily Henry book last night and has wanted to discuss it the whole way back.

“I forgot how good it feels to finish a book. You know? It’s like a vacation for your brain. I forgot how much I love that.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

“I can’t believe I let myself go so long without reading.”

Ed shrugs while maneuvering around one of the many twists on the road. “You were just in a different season.”

“Season?”

“Yeah, like that old song, you know. ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ There’s a season for everything. It just wasn’t your time to read, and now it is again.”

“Hmm, maybe. What season are you in?”

Ed catches my eye in the rearview mirror and pauses a beat. My heart flutters. “Hopefully it’s a time to create, because I have a ton of deadlines fast approaching.”

My heart sinks a little bit. I was hoping he’d say a time for love. But that would be sappy—and completely insensitive to say to Anh who just broke up with her partner. Maybe he was saying it to me with his look .

“You two should make it a race. Competition always motivates me,” Anh says.

“A race?” I ask.

Anh turns around, her smile wide and devilish. “Yeah. The first to finish their book wins.”

“What do we win?” Ed says.

Anh shrugs. “I can’t think of everything.”

Ed’s eyes are focused on the road, his finger tapping against the steering wheel, but I can see the gears spinning. “A race. Hmm.”

When we get back, Nathan and Robin are in the kitchen prepping food.

Robin is cutting a watermelon, and Nathan is pouring vodka into a pitcher of lemonade.

As we walk in, Robin sets down her knife and wipes her hands on a tea towel with an illustrated map of Fortune Falls on it, walking directly to Anh and pulling her into a big hug.

She motions for me to come over, and we envelope Anh in a group hug.

“You guys.” She squirms in the middle. “You’re going to crush me.”

Planting a kiss on her cheek, I move away. Robin kisses her other cheek and goes back to chopping watermelon. “We’re going to start the grill in an hour or so, and then as soon as it gets dark, we’ll start a fire on the beach. Nathan thinks we should be able to see the fireworks from here.”

“Nice,” Anh says.

I take my bag upstairs, not sure where Ed disappeared to. He’s perched on the edge of his bed as I pass his door, tapping furiously at his phone, his brow deeply creased.

“Hey.”

He puts the phone underneath him on the bed, a move I recognize from when Chad and I were together. Ice fills my veins. Is he hiding something?

“Everything good?” I ask, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice. I don’t want him to think I’m paranoid and insecure, even though I clearly am if after one whole day of hooking up, I’m already sure he’s hiding something from me.

He nods. “You know, I’m pretty beat from the drive. I think I’m going to take a little nap.”

“Want company?”

He walks over to me, leaving his phone on the bed, puts his strong arms around my waist, and brings his lips to my ear. “If you keep me company, I definitely won’t sleep.”

He gives me a soft kiss and pulls away with his hand on the door.

“Okay. Come find me when you wake up. Hey, what do you think of Anh’s suggestion?”

Ed yawns. “Which one?”

“About racing with our books?”

He shrugs. “We can think about it.”

After he closes the door, I pick up my notebook, trying to write some more and shake off the antsy feeling I have about our interaction.

He’s just tired. But who was he texting that he didn’t want me to see?

Maybe it's a habit to not show his phone to anyone.

Everyone is like that, right? After changing into cut-off shorts and a bright-blue tank top, I make my way to the porch.

Robin and Anh are sipping drinks, and Nathan is grilling burgers.

Robin smiles when she sees me. “There you are! Where’s Ed? We thought you two may have snuck off together.”

“He’s napping.”

Nathan is nodding. “Yeah, dude is a pill when he’s tired.”

My heart lifts. See, he was just tired and cranky. He’s like that with everyone. My whole body feels lighter.

Robin stands, grabbing a glass. “Drink?”

“Yes, please.”

Anh shifts in her seat. “When are we going to have our book club meeting?”

Robin laughs. “Um, when you actually finish one of the books.”

Anh’s mouth is hanging open. She looks at me. “You told her.”

“I didn’t.”

Anh looks back at Robin. “How did you know? ”

Robin hands me my drink, and we all sit together at the table on the porch.

“Because when you used to actually read the books, you had a lot more to say about them, your thoughts on them didn’t sound like CliffsNotes, and—this is the one that really did it—you were always so agreeable.

I would say I think Poppy is a little selfish, and you would say totally.

If you had actually read the book, you would never agree, at least not so fast.”

Anh sighs. “You’re right. But I really did read one of the books this time. I read the whole thing on our little trip while Hattie was…” Anh arches an eyebrow and hides behind her drink.

Robin claps. “I knew you two would get along.”

Anh swats at my shoulder lightly. “Tell her the crazy part.”

Robin sets down her drink and rubs her hands together. “Oooh, there’s a crazy part?”

I take a sip, suddenly feeling very on the spot. “So, you remember that guy I met at the bookstore?”

“The guy from the perfect day?”

“Yeah.” I take another sip, buying time. “It’s Ed. Ed’s the guy.”

Robin’s mouth is hanging open. “No.”

I nod. “Yes.”

“You’ve got to be joking.”

“I’m not.”

“Nathan, why didn’t you tell me Ed worked at Neighborhood Books?”

Nathan doesn’t respond, and I notice he has ear pods in. Robin gets up, takes one out, and repeats her question.

Nathan looks at her with a lot of love and a lot of confusion. “I didn’t know. We lost touch when we were in high school. I moved to Portland. We just reconnected since we’ve lived there. You know that, babe.”

“Right.” She gives him a kiss on the cheek and puts his ear bud back in. Then she makes her way back to the table and takes a long swig of spiked lemonade. “That’s crazy. Why didn’t he show up six months later like he said he would?”

“He had to be with his mom.” I don’t want to say more .

“Okay… This is so nuts. And now you two are an item?”

“Uh…”

Anh jumps in. “Stop giving her the third degree. You’d think you were the lawyer.”

We all eat burgers—veggie for me, beef for them—and drink more of the delicious lemonade. It is so sweet and tart, you can hardly taste the bite of alcohol, but my cheeks are warm, and my worries are pleasantly blurred.

I check my email idly as the others chit chat around me. Right there at the top is one from Chad. Quickly reading, I stand.

“Oh my God. You guys! We sold the house.”

Everyone cheers and pours more drinks, and for the first time in a long time, my shoulders relax.

As the sun starts to wane, we make our way down to the beach. Nathan rolls a large cooler, Anh has a blanket in her hands, and Robin is carrying a bag of snacks. Ed still hasn’t emerged from his room, but I’m not as worried as before the three spiked lemonades.

Kyle is a little ways up the beach with a big group. He waves, and I wave back.

After setting everything up, Anh, Robin, and I take off our shoes and run to the water. The icy froth of waves licks my toes like an overexcited puppy. It’s exhilarating.

It may have something to do with the lemonades, or the house sale, or Ed, but my heart is full, and this place feels so right. “I love it here.”

Robin smiles, lacing her fingers with mine. “I do too.”

Anh just nods, holding Robin’s other hand.

We break apart, and I wade into the water up to my calves.

It’s amazing, given how hot the summer has been, how cold this water stays.

It must be because of its magnitude. I look out to the horizon, and the water has no end.

The sheer size of it overwhelms me. I stare out at the rhythmic crash after crash of waves and get lost in thoughts of my book.

I hardly notice when Anh and Robin make their way back to the blanket. When I can’t feel my toes anymore and the next two chapters are plotted in my head, I head back, the sand sticking to my wet feet.

Ed is walking down the beach as I am walking up.

He smiles, and my insides melt like a forgotten popsicle in the sun.

I don’t think. I just run, the sand kicking up onto my calves in prickly bursts.

He catches me when I get to him, lifting me up, and I wrap my legs around his waist, planting a big kiss on his mouth.

I can hear whistles from our friends over on the blanket, but I don’t care.

When our kiss ends, Ed puts me down. “Whoa. I feel like I should’ve been carded for that kiss.”

I shrug. “The lemonade is a pinch strong.”

“Apparently.” He grabs my hand, and we find a spot on the blanket.

He sits down first, and I sit in front of him, leaning back like he’s my chair.

The sexiest chair. He drapes his hands around me, and it feels like we’ve been a couple for years instead of days.

The sunset is brilliant, shades of deep pink and swaths of gold.

We all sit, watching it in silence for a while.

“So, Ed,” Robin says, lying on the blanket and propping herself up with one elbow. “You are the man from the perfect day.”

Ed’s cheeks turn a shade of pink deeper than the sunset. “Uh…”

“Robin.” I give her my don’t do it eyes, but she ignores me.

“Hattie has talked about that day for years. About how you two shared this connection.”

Ed moves away on the blanket then stands to get a beer from the cooler. I’ve switched to water, my head still swimming from the lemonades. “Yeah. It was pretty magical.”

Anh sits up, getting involved now. “So, why weren’t you there six months later?”

My stomach roils, like I’m on a rollercoaster after eating too much fried food. I may actually be sick. They’re looking out for me, and in their drunky drunk way, they think this is a good idea.

“I…I couldn’t get away. I’m going to check out the water.” Ed walks off toward the shoreline without even a glance my way. No invite. No, would you like to come?

I throw a chip at Robin then Anh. “Why do you two hate me? ”

Anh frowns. “We love you. That’s why he needs to answer for where he was.”

Robin is pointing at Anh and nodding.

“Babe,” Nathan says but quickly stops when Robin shoots him a glare.

“We’re just looking out for you,” Robin says.

“Please don’t. I can take care of myself.”

Robin holds up both hands, one still holding a mango White Claw. “Okay. I’m sorry, honey.”

Anh sighs. “We worry about you. We just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

I soften, the fire in my argument snuffed out by the genuine concern in her eyes. “Thank you. But please don’t mama bear this, okay? He explained it to me.”

They both nod as I stand, a little unsteady on my feet, and go after Ed.

I catch up to him walking along the edge of the water. “They’re a little protective.”

Ed laughs. “You could say that again.”

“I told them to ease up.”

Ed runs a hand through his hair. “I’m happy you have people that have your back. It’s just a trip, you know. I don’t like talking about my mom’s problems. Honestly, I’ve kicked myself for ten years for not being there that day. It’s hard to have other people do it too.”

I hold his hand in mine.

He lets out a quick breath. “And what was it all for anyway? She’s still out there getting fucked up—maybe not with pills, but how long is that going to last? She hates me for trying to help.”

“Hey. It’s okay. I get it. My dad and I don’t talk. It’s hard.”

He takes a beat, his face turned toward the ocean. When he speaks again, his words are careful. “It’s not the same. You can text him anytime you want, and he'll respond.”

“Yeah, maybe in five to ten business days.”

“My mom…” He shakes his head. “It’s different.”

He’s right. We may both have strained relationships with our parents, but I have no idea what it’s like to have a mom battling addiction. “I talked to Robin and Anh. They’re going to back off.”

He takes my hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb.

We walk hand in hand down the beach until the stars come out one by one.

As we head back, fireworks explode in the sky.

We stop, and Ed puts his arms around me from behind.

Without the sun, the sand is cold in between my toes, but Ed’s arms are warm around my body.

We watch the light show in each other’s arms.