Page 64 of Lucky Star

Chapter Twenty-Four

Sarah

Our first sight of the Eagle Harbour and the working harbor beyond consisted of low-slung wooden buildings festooned with lights, neighbors waving to each other in greeting, float planes circling overhead before coming in for a landing on the water, and foggy, atmospheric spruce-tipped islands looming in the distance.

Driving down Main Street, we spotted a coffee shop and parked just up the street. Coincidentally, right next to the VW we’d seen a couple minutes earlier. I chewed my lip in apprehension. It was one thing to get caught making out by a complete stranger; it was an entirely other thing to have to come face to face with that person again.

Cameron grabbed hold of my hand and squeezed. “No more hiding.”

Entering the hip, industrial looking coffee shop, we approached the counter. Cameron ordered a large cappuccino for me and an Americano for himself.

When I smiled at the woman behind the register, she grinned back, friendly but uninterested as her gaze dropped back down to the register. Then, all at once, her eyes flicked back up and went wide in recognition.

Shit.

I waited for the same malicious look the woman at the airport had tossed my way, but it never came. Instead, she began making my drink while another woman began pouring Cameron’s coffee at the other end of the counter. Sliding my cappuccino to me, she smiled and said, “Welcome to Eagle Harbour.”

“Thanks.”

“ I just have to ask … he’s not really with her, is he?” She lifted her chin to indicate the tall, sexy movie star standing a few feet out of ear shot.

The first thought that crossed my mind was does she really think I’ll answer that? When she continued to stare at me expectantly, I realized that she did. Cameron had just said we were done hiding, but I didn’t want to rock the boat.

Before I could formulate a reply, Cameron sidled over and wrapped one arm around my shoulder and extended his free hand toward the barista. “Cameron Scott. Good to meet you.” When they shook, he added, “And this is my fiancé, Sarah Travers.”

My jaw dropped as I thought, Well, I guess that settles that. Obviously, Cameron hadn’t been lying when he’d said he was going tell everyone he met that we were together.

“Nice to meet you Cameron. I’m Alexandra, but my friends call me Alex.” She bestowed us a gleaming smile that transformed her from the cute girl next door to extraordinarily beautiful. She wasn’t wearing a shred of makeup that I could see, but her natural vitality was enhanced by healthy, active good looks. Just a shade past the first blush of youth, she wore her freckles and the beginnings of a few deep laugh lines like the badges of honor they were instead of covering them up under layers of concealer and powder.

Over her shoulder she called to the other woman, “I told you it was all fake.”

Having just taken a sip of my coffee, it was all I could do not to choke on her words. As I sputtered and coughed, she chuckled and set her hand out, palm upturned. “You owe me five dollars, Drea.”

When Alex saw the confusion on my face, she turned toward me with a sympathetic smile. “Sorry,” she said, leaning her forearms on the counter. “Dolly—that’s the woman who checked you guys in at Steelhead—called her sister Sue and filled her in on your little public display of affection. I ran into Sue a couple hours later at the co-op, and then she filled me in. She couldn’t wait to tell me all about the Hollywood hunk who’d openly flaunted his mistress in front of her sister.” Alex used her fingers to make air quotes around that last part.

“So it’s all over town by now?” I asked, my cheeks turning hot as my ears began to ring.

“Pretty much,” she answered, pushing away from the counter.

According to Drea and Alex, as the rumor had spread, the town’s major gossips—of which there were surprisingly many—had broken into two factions: those who were obsessed with the idea of the two actors who played Xander and Arabella falling in love in real life, and those who’d taken one look at the pictures of Cameron and Jillian and declared them #fakenews. Obviously, I approved of anyone in this second camp.

“I can’t wait to tell Sue she was wrong about Cameron,” Alex said with more glee than I would have thought possible. “Proving her wrong is going to be sweet revenge.”

“Revenge?” I asked, looking between the two women.

Drea laughed and punched Alex in the arm as she walked past. “When we were in high school, Alex dated Sue’s son Mitchell. Suffice it to say, the relationship did not end well.”

“That was what, ten or fifteen years ago?” I asked, guessing at their ages.

Alex pursed her lips as if she was mortally offended by my calculation, and I worried I’d misjudged her age—by a lot. Then she laughed and said, “Nah, I’m just shitting you. It was fourteen years ago.”

“She’s held a grudge against you for more than a decade?”

“Pretty much,” Alex chirped, and then went to deal with another customer’s refill.

“What could possibly have been so bad that they’re still locked in some endless battle?” I asked Drea as she made her way back over to us.

“It’s not a battle,” Drea answered. “More like an elaborate game of oneupsmanship.”

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