Page 116 of His Curvy Distraction

“Thanks. It was such a great idea to have people here. And to show off the Retreat to everyone before camp starts next week.”

“I wasn’t sure we’d ever make it to today, so I’m happy this place is functional.”

“It’s so much more than functional,” I told my bestie. Natalie worked her ass off to create the place she dreamed of. Nothing stopped her. Not the tree on the camper, not the minuscule budget she had, not her anxiety, and definitely not her boyfriend, even when he was being a pain at the beginning of the whole thing.

Natalie looked around, pride in her gaze. “It really came together, didn’t it?”

“Yes, it did. And you got Omar out of the whole deal.”

Natalie chuckled. “I almost screwed all of that up.”

I shook my head. “No. He understood. You know that. And the trailer he got for you is better than the crushed one, anyway.”

“Yeah, it is,” Natalie agreed reluctantly. “All of this is better than I imagined it would be.”

“Today is a day for fun. What time are people coming?”

Natalie looked at her phone. “Soon. We officially start in twenty minutes, so probably any time. Do you need anything?”

“Nope, I’m all good.”

Natalie hugged me. “Thank you for being here. And your table looks amazing. I need one of these tattoos.” She grabbed one from the front of the table.

“Take whatever you’d like,” I told her. I had temporary tattoos made with my store logo and a cute animal picture. The same designs were also made into stickers. And I bought some mini beach balls and footballs with my store name on them. Kids could grab an item and parents would remember where it came from, and hopefully come in to the store next time they were shopping for toys.

“Thank you. I’ll be back soon.” Natalie waved and moved on to the next table.

I kept messing with things and debating if it was all perfect until the first vehicles rolled down the driveway and parked. Excited kids got out with wide eyes and even wider smiles.

That was my favorite thing ever. Seeing happy kids.

I was busy for the next two hours as a steady stream of families came through the camp. Kids played basketball and volleyball on the newly refurbished courts. Families jumped into the pool. Laughter followed everyone around.

And through it all, Natalie beamed with pride and joy. Omar was never far from her side, a hand on her hip when she faltered and a whisper in her ear when no one was talking to them.

I was so damn happy for them. I wasn’t so sure about Omar at first, but he was a good man. Exactly who Natalie needed in her life. She was happier than I’d ever seen her, and she was more herself than I ever thought she’d be with a man. She was the person I knew, not the person she showed others.

I was not looking forward to the day she would move out and I wouldn’t see her every day, but I was looking forward to watching all her dreams come true.

Cars drifted out of the parking lot and the other vendors packed up their things to head out. I only had a few swag items left, and I decided to leave them with Natalie for any families who didn’t make it out to the grand opening.

Omar and Natalie were near the office trailer when I walked out of the building. Their heads were together, reading something on his phone. Natalie’s mouth dropped open.

I rushed to them. “What’s wrong? What happened? Is everything okay?”

Natalie looked up at me and exhaled a laugh. “You’re never going to believe who was behind the articles about Omar.”

“I thought there was no way of knowing.” Omar searched for months, asking the reporter and putting pressure on the editor of the paper. No one would tell him anything about who was giving them the information.

“Casey White, the woman who interviewed Omar?”

“I remember. Melody’s friend. She’s behind it?”

“No, no. But she wanted to know, too. She didn’t stop looking, even though after her article, no more came out. She just texted Omar. It was Mayor Levine.”

“What?” I screeched. Mayor Levine resigned two years ago, and Omar took over as the interim mayor. I didn’t know a lot of the details, but the little I did know sounded like it was not Mayor Levine’s choice to leave.

Natalie chuckled. “That’s what Casey said. The reporter who wrote the articles about Omar got the picture of us from a family friend of Levine’s, someone who wanted him back in office. Once he had the picture, all they had to do was concoct a story about Omar and the article was done. The reporter fell for it, even though most of it was not true.”

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