Page 24

W ho could have guessed that someone who was an assistant director at a racquet club would be so incredibly busy? thought Sebastian. But he couldn’t deny that Endy’s days—and evenings—were packed full.

The day after their waterfall adventure, Sebastian really thought he’d have his hours filled with everything Endy.

But after he’d vowed to himself to spend as much time with her as possible, it turned out to be easier said than done.

Between her full-time job and taking care of Picklers four afternoons a week, it was pretty hard to slide into Endy’s calendar.

But a few days later, Sebastian had an idea.

“Hey, you guys,” he called, waving as he jogged across the grassy area around the pickleball court.

Standing across the net from Paul Rothman, Endy waved, the morning sunshine casting a glow around her. She wore an aqua-blue Adidas tennis dress that hugged her slender body and just skimmed the bottom of her hips. Her dark hair hung like silk down her back, just the way Sebastian liked it.

She pushed her sunglasses on top of her head and a smile lit up her face, causing Sebastian to grin like a fool.

“Don’t tell me that you’ve forsaken tennis to join us for the pickleball clinic,” exclaimed Paul with a twinkle in his eye.

“Yeah, no,” chuckled Sebastian. “I’m headed to—”

“Stadium Court for mixed doubles with Sloane,” interrupted Paul, crossing his arms across his chest. “We know.”

The Grands, standing under the shade awning, stared at Sebastian as he approached the court.

Earlene peered over her boxy prescription sunglasses, and Candi stood with her weight shifted on one hip, her foot tapping rapidly on the court surface.

Nora wrestled with tearing open the wrapper on a granola bar.

Sebastian shifted his eyes to the trio of older women. “Hi, ladies, you’re all looking exceptionally beautiful today.” And then he turned to Endy and said, “And you look really, really pretty this morning.”

Upon hearing Sebastian’s words, The Grands seemed to soften, and they turned away.

“Did you just come here to charm the womenfolk?” asked Endy, her head tilted. “Or do you actually need something?”

“I actually wanted to see if you were available tonight …” began Sebastian, smiling.

“Darn it,” replied Endy. “You know that I have Picklers after work.”

“Yeah, I know. But I mean like late, late tonight,” he replied, his eyes gleaming.

“Oh my god,” interrupted Paul. “The meteor shower!”

“Exactly, it’s tonight, and the skies are supposed to be clear,” said Sebastian. He looked at Endy. “So I thought we could take a blanket out to the middle of the golf course to watch the shooting stars. Do you think you can stay awake until midnight?”

“I’d love to,” answered Endy.

“Of course I can,” answered Paul at the same time. Then he immediately colored and clapped a hand across his mouth. “Oh my gosh, Sebastian. Obviously, you meant to invite Endy, not some old third wheel.”

Still smiling, Sebastian threw up his hands and shrugged. His eyes caught Endy’s.

“The more the merrier,” he said. “What do you say, Endy?”

“The more the merrier,” she agreed. “I only have one blanket, so Paul, you’ll have to bring your own. But just not your lovely Prada cashmere one—that should be left at home on your sofa.” She laughed.

“It’s a date,” said Sebastian. “We’ll take my golf cart. I’ll pick you both up around 11:30.”

They laid out their blankets on the close-clipped grass on the championship golf course, but even before they settled, the dark sky lit up with a bright streak crossing overhead. “Did you see it?” exclaimed Endy, clapping her hands. Sebastian leaned over and kissed her temple.

“Beautiful!” agreed Paul. He tugged his Prada blanket flatter, then lay back, crossing his arms behind his head. “I know you told me to leave this at home, Endy, but life is too short to not use cashmere for the special moments.”

Sebastian sat in the middle of Endy’s blanket, then pulled her into his lap. She shivered when he wrapped his arms around her, pressing her back into his chest. If Endy didn’t know better, she would have sworn she was purring.

She tilted her head back against his shoulder, peering up at the jet-black sky, the darkness pressing around them. Coyotes yipped in the distance, their calls sounding somber in the night.

“How many shooting stars do you think we’ll see?” she asked in a hushed tone.

“If we’re lucky, it could be a half dozen or more,” replied Paul.

“Well, I only need one big one,” said Endy, “because all the other wishes that I’ve made on shooting stars have come true.” She laced her fingers through Sebastian’s. “I don’t want to get greedy.”

“Look, there’s another one,” breathed Paul, lifting an arm to point into the darkness. “Endy, you wait for a big one. I’ll take all of the littles like that last one and collect them together to wish on when I need to.”

“That’s sweet, Paul,” murmured Endy. She shifted, turning to kiss Sebastian, then crawled off his lap and onto the blanket to lay down between the two men.

Sebastian lay back and stretched out next to her, all three of them gazing at the huge breathtaking open sky, the clusters of stars twinkling. He reached out and held Endy’s hand in his, caressing her palm with his thumb.

Paul cleared his throat and quietly said, “The last time I went stargazing with someone was a very long time ago. I bet we were about your age.”

“We?” asked Sebastian.

“Gharrett and I,” said Paul. “He was the love of my life.”

“Is that who you save your wishes for?” asked Endy tenderly.

“Yes, he was the one. I’ll spare you all the details, otherwise we’ll be here until the golfers come out for their first rounds,” he said. “But we met working at Macy’s. We were both buyers … I was buying sweaters, he was blouses. And we were on a two-week trip to Hong Kong.”

Paul shifted on his blanket, pulling one side up to cover him. “Gharrett was recently separated from his wife and struggling with his sexuality. And well, two weeks in the same hotel in a foreign country with plenty of American whiskey and complete anonymity—”

“—traveling alone with a handsome blond who’s endlessly charming and interesting,” interrupted Endy.

“Right … and all that.” Paul chuckled. “Well, we fell madly in love.”

A shooting star stretched across the velvety night sky, a fleeting whisper as it danced across the heavens. Endy sighed and snuggled closer to Sebastian.

“But the last night we were in Hong Kong, we decided to do some stargazing from the rooftop bar of the Ritz-Carlton, our hotel. We were drinking champagne and holding hands under the table. It was so romantic, just us together, under the stars. But then a waiter came to our table and asked Gharrett his name and room number. Apparently a phone call had come to the hotel for him and the caller was holding on a guest phone at the end of the bar. When Gharrett heard this, he kind of spooked and yanked his hand from mine and ran to the phone. It was his wife calling, and she was distraught. They had young kids, and she wasn’t coping well, and she begged him to come home.

I knew before he hung up the phone that it was going to be the last time I’d ever be with him.

” Paul paused and wiped the back of his hand across his eyes.

“It was almost like I could hear him from all the way across the bar when he looked at me and said, ‘I’m sorry.’ So I drained my glass of champagne and then finished his as he walked out of my life.

” The coyotes’ plaintive howls echoed across the golf course.

“He loved you,” murmured Endy, “… but he just left you?”

“Yes, he just left me,” replied Paul, a sadness creeping into his words. “He had someone else that he loved before me. Someone he’d been with for years. Someone he had history with. How could I compete with that?”

Endy reached out and grasped Paul’s hand, holding it tight. She blinked quickly as a dazzling comet lit up the sky, reflecting off the tears welled up in her eyes.

“How could anyone compete with that?” Endy softly asked.