Page 83 of The Glass Dolphin

“I do too,” Robin said.

“I just have a problem with one thing you said,” AJ said, and Eloise sucked in a tight breath as she looked over to AJ.

She wore a very serious line to her mouth, but her eyes sparkled. “Yourhusband is the sexiest husband ever?” She scoffed and that was when her smile broke onto her face. “Alice? You agree with that?”

“I mean…the Chief is pretty sexy, yeah.”

Eloise’s gaze flew to Alice. “Alice.”

“What?” Alice laughed. “He’s good-looking. Doesn’t meanI’mattracted to him.”

“I think I agree…” Laurel paused thoughtfully. “With AJ. I mean, have you guys seen Paul without his shirt off?”

“Okay, okay,” Robin said, throwing her arms up, but even she grinned like a fool. She even got to her feet as others started claiming their husband was definitely the sexiest one in the bunch. She laughed as she said, “Maybe El spoke a little too firmly about Aaron. But that’s no reason for us to argue.”

She put her hand out in the middle of the table. “Come on. Hands in. Everyone stand up.”

“We’re not cheerleaders,” Alice said, but she got to her feet and put her hand over Robin’s.

“I liked this when we did it at Maddy’s wedding,” Julia said. She put her hand in too, and Eloise didn’t need further invitation.

They all put their hands in, and once they’d done that, Robin said, “We've weathered storms and soaked in sunshine, argued and laughed, cried and celebrated together.”

“We’re more than friends,” Alice said. “We’re family.”

“We’re a constellation,” Kelli said, her smile beautiful and bright. “Each of us is a star, shining brighter for the others.”

Eloise’s throat closed up, because they were so right. She wanted to add something to what they’d said, but her mind had turned blank.

“Here’s to us,” AJ said as she pulled her hand out of the group. She lifted her drink, and everyone hastened to do that. “To resilience, to love, and to the future.”

“To family,” Eloise said.

“To family,” several of them chorused.

“No matter where life takes us,” Robin said. “Let’s promise to always lift each other up, to always be each other’s…” She looked over to Alice and grinned. “To always be each other’s cheerleaders.”

“Hear, hear,” Eloise said, and she plunged her glass out into the middle. Clinking filled the room, as did laughter and other pledges of love and friendship. Eloise’s heart warmed at every murmur of every voice in the room.

She looked down to Kristen, then to Jean. Over to Robin and Alice. Across to Clara, Laurel, and over to the curved corner where Julia and Maddy stood beaming.

Finally, down to Kelli and AJ, both leaning in to reach the core of the table. She realized they each carried some part of the core of this friendship, even her, and she tucked that knowledge away, ready to call on it whenever she might need to.

* * *

Read on for the first couple chapters ofTHE BICYCLE BOOK CLUB, the next book in the Five Island Cove Friendship Saga.

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Sneak Peek – The Bicycle Book Club Chapter One:

Tessa Simmons wished she could smile as the express ferry from Nantucket pulled up to the northwest dock on Diamond Island. She lived on Sanctuary, so she’d still have another boat ride to make before she could return home.

But the express ferry only went to Diamond Island, and Tessa had to work today anyway. She’d grab lunch somewhere—alone—and then walk herself over to the library.

She finally turned her face toward the early summer sunshine, a tickle of a smile touching her lips. She loved the island life far more than living in New Jersey, but she didn’t want to stay on Nantucket.

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