Page 1 of Stars Shine In Your Eyes

CHAPTER ONE

Josie Hartwell could hardly believe she was in England. It had been an eleven-hour trip from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to Heathrow Airport in London. She should be tired after spending hours beside a couple who chattered the entire way, and if there was a crying-baby section, she was in it. However, she was so excited to be in the UK that she didn’t feel tired at all.

Instead, she was energized. She couldn’t wait to run her first reading retreat at Elderflower Island Books on Elderflower Island. Even the name sounded magical. When she had started her business of creating reading retreats, she had never dreamed that one day it would take her all the way across the Atlantic. She felt so lucky, as though everything she’d been through in her life to get to this point was finally all worth it.

She’d developed an expertise not only in running retreats but in designing spaces in which to hold them. As she and Mari Everett, the owner of Elderflower Island Books, had chatted on email and then, when they got more comfortable, on Zoom, she’d discovered Mari to be an energetic woman with big plans. She wanted to create a retreat space, and she wanted Josie to design it, then run the first reading retreat. “And more if it works out, which obviously I hope it will,” Mari had said.

Josie was excited to see the project through from design to holding the first retreat, so she’d enthusiastically agreed. Mari had booked a flex ticket in case the two weeks ran over, and Josie was careful not to take any bookings too close to the end of her time in the UK. She knew perfectly well that sometimes projects took longer than expected.

For the next two weeks, she was going to be staying on a houseboat on Elderflower Island, in a borough just outside of London. Mari had offered to book a hotel room if she preferred, but the houseboat belonged to her partner Owen’s brother, and since Mari was working so hard to launch her bookstore and reading retreats, Josie imagined money was tight. A loaned houseboat would be a lot cheaper than a hotel and, to Josie’s mind, so much nicer, so she happily chose the boat. She’d read a little bit online about the area, but she hadn’t wanted to do too much research before embarking on the trip. She wanted to experience it all fresh—to see and feel and be amazed by everything in person for the first time.

One thing she noticed as soon as she got to Arrivals at Heathrow: Everyone looked so cosmopolitan in their trench coats and fashionable boots, with expensive bags swinging from their shoulders. They all walked with such purpose, as though they had important meetings to go to. Or, like the woman who ran into the arms of a man holding flowers, they were meeting a lover whom they hadn’t seen for a while. And there was the family waiting for their father to walk out of the baggage claim area, holding a sign that said, Daddy, we are so happy you’re home! Already, England felt welcoming, and Josie hadn’t even left the airport yet.

Unlike the lovers reuniting beside her, Josie didn’t have anybody waiting for her back in Coeur d’Alene. Her mother had moved from the rainy Pacific Northwest to the Las Vegas area for year-round sun, and Josie’s friends were so busy with their kids and husbands that Josie no longer felt like she fit in anywhere. Or with anyone.

Once upon a time, she’d thought she was headed toward wearing a wedding dress and walking down the aisle to recite vows of forever. Maybe she’d even start a family in the not-too-distant future. She’d thought she’d found Prince Charming, her one true love, the man she was supposed to be with. Everything had been so perfect.

Until the day she’d had the biggest shock of her life… when she’d learned that her boyfriend already had a wife and baby.

Until the day she’d been forced to face the fact that she was nothing more than a mistress who had been lied to in every possible way.

She’d never forget the day she opened the door and found a young, attractive, furious-looking woman holding a baby and accusing her of being a homewrecker.

No, Josie thought with a shake of her head. That was her past. And this—coming to London to do her dream job—was her future. She was living a different life now. A better life. One where she chose books—both fiction and nonfiction—to help her clients.

Whatever state their personal, physical, or mental affairs might be in, the right book could help. She still could hardly believe that she was making her living by helping others find the books that were right for them, in the same way stories had always helped her through tough times… and now she’d be working in London too!

When her “perfect” relationship had fallen apart, she’d decided that she didn’t need or want a man in her life to be happy. She couldn’t trust men anymore, and that was fine with her because she was far happier being alone. Happier knowing that she wasn’t falling for some fantasy spun by a scumbag masquerading as a good man.

Even two years later, it was difficult not to let herself stew on how badly he’d betrayed both her and his wife. But she refused to let her ex ruin her life or take any more from her than he already had.

If only she could forget his frantic phone messages in which he’d claimed:

1)The situation was more complicated than his wife had made it sound.

2)He would have left his wife if she hadn’t gotten pregnant.

3)Josie was the woman he was truly in love with, not his wife.

Josie never responded to any of those messages, and within a week of breaking up with him, she got a new phone number so that he couldn’t bother her anymore.

Unfortunately, when he couldn’t reach her by phone, he had come to her house. She hadn’t let him in, though. Instead, she’d sat on the floor with her back against the door, where he couldn’t see her and the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Tears because the fairy tale had never been real.

Tears because she hadn’t seen from the start what a horrible man he was.

Tears because she’d unwittingly hurt another woman, especially one with a beautiful new baby.

All of that was behind her now, thankfully. Mari Everett, bookstore owner and Josie’s new client, was somewhere in Heathrow’s Arrivals hall, ready to take Josie to the island. Mari had said she’d be holding a sign with Josie’s name on it.

But when Josie got all the way out of the baggage claim area, dragging her heavy suitcases behind her, and looked around at all the signs, she didn’t see anybody holding one with her name on it. Nor did she see Mari.

Maybe she’d been held up in traffic? Josie had the woman’s phone number, so she could call her, but she figured she would wait a few minutes before seeing if there was a problem.

Josie had always enjoyed people-watching, and standing in the middle of the Arrivals area of one of the biggest airports in the world was a great opportunity. More lovers were reuniting to her left. A mother and son were greeting each other a little awkwardly. A businessman was heading off to continue building his empire, great purpose in each step.

Ever since Josie was a child, she had created lives for people inside her head. Her mother had always fondly said that it was what came of reading so much. Her mother had assumed that one day Josie would become a writer. But although Josie could spend all day reading, she had never had the patience to sit in a chair and type for hours, day after day. She adored writers, of course. But she would always stand firmly on the reading side of books.

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