Page 132 of Until August

I’d stopped pretending that I didn’t want that coveted star. We were going for it, and I didn’t keep it a secret.

We were so busy chasing the dream that I barely had time to take a breath, let alone stop and think. I knew it would all catch up to me, but for now, I decided that the best thing I could do was to throw myself into the deep end and worry about the rest later.

And as the summer melted into fall, I fell more every day.

Deeply. Madly. Recklessly.

Like a freight train that had picked up too much speed and was destined to jump the tracks, I felt my control slipping away. But I did nothing to stop it.

There were days when I felt I would be content to bask in August’s glow for eternity.

And there were other days when I got scared by how quickly everything was changing. Travis and Sasha had a baby boy, Adrian.

And Sage celebrated his eighth birthday.

We threw him a party at the restaurant on the third Saturday in September. The week before, he had a party at his house, but August wanted to do something special for him.

“Wow! It’s the best birthday cake ever,” Sage said when I led him into the kitchen, where August put the final touches on it. “Wait until my friends see this. They won’t even believe it.”

The cake was spectacular. Vanilla sponge with midnight blue icing. A burnt orange octopus rose from a wave, its tentacles wrapping around the tiers. On the sides, August had created a coral seabed with fondant.

He’d been working on this cake since five o’clock in the morning.

By the look on Sage’s face, it was worth all the time and effort.

I took photos from all angles to capture the seahorses, sea stars, and anemones.

Then I snapped a few candid shots of August and saved them on my phone for days when the sun didn’t shine.

* * *

The party was on the terrace. The entire staff—Sage’s ‘kitchen family’—had come in early to attend. Shane and Remy brought Kai and Bodhi. Scarlett and Dylan arrived shortly after with Everly and Isla, the girl of Sage’s dreams.

“Small world,” Scarlett said with a laugh as we watched Sage and Isla talking and laughing over their burgers and fries, the meal Sage had requested. “They’re so adorable together. Ugh, I can’t stand it.”

They were adorable. Sage with his blond hair and Isla with her long dark hair. I snapped tons of photos and deluded myself into thinking that someday when Sage was older, I’d show him the photos and say, “See? This was your first love. I’m so happy I was there to witness it.”

As if I’d still be in his life years from now. As if he’d still come into the restaurant a couple times a week and do his homework in my office. Or sit at the counter while we prepped, eating the fancy grilled cheese sandwiches his dad made.

As if, five years… ten years from now, August and I would still be together.

My gaze drifted to August talking to Shane and Dylan across the terrace. They’d started hanging out together and were becoming friends.

When August caught me watching, he smiled.

It felt intimate. A secret smile that lovers shared.

He looked relaxed. Confident. So sure of himself.

Like a man who had found his place in the world and rebuilt a life after everything had been ripped away. I’d started seeing the changes in him after he found out that Sage would be staying in Costa del Rey.

He seemed lighter, like some of life’s burdens had been lifted from his shoulders.

And at that moment, on a picture-perfect September day, with the sun shining and the sky so blue, amid the sound of children’s laughter and the warmth of August Harper’s smile, I knew what I had to do….

The sky dimmed. Because August was my sun.

Some would say I was lucky to have found love, not only with one but two amazing men.