But, guess what? This is me.

  It’s real life.

  From now on, I’m going to show you the good, the bad, and the ugly. Because life isn’t perfect, and neither am I.

  Thank you, Freddie, for opening my eyes.

  I’ll always love you for that.

  Freddie looked up from the phone.

  “Uh-huh,” Charlotte said and took the phone back.

  “I’m an idiot,” Freddie said.

  “Yes, you are,” Charlotte replied.

  “I should’ve gone to her. I should’ve tried harder.” He felt the tears brimming in his eyes. “Is this her way of saying goodbye? Charlotte, is it too late?”

  “It’s never too late for true love, Fred.” Charlotte stepped aside, Serena had been behind her in the shadows. Charlotte smiled, “Freddie, meet the winning bidder.”

  The tears that had been threatening to breach Freddie’s eyelids finally escaped as he met the equally teary-eyed Serena. “Did you hear all that?” he croaked.

  “I did,” Serena replied and smiled, and there it was, her chipped tooth.

  He took three giant steps, swooped her up in his arms and pulled her tightly to his chest. They embraced, chests brushing heavily against each other’s, then Freddie pulled back and kissed Serena passionately. The backstage erupted in cheers, but Freddie felt like they were in their own little world. Everything he needed, everything he ever wanted, he was holding right now – and he’d never let it go, ever again.

  He didn’t know how long they embraced, but when he finally set Serena back down on the ground, everyone was gone. They held hands and walked together to the parking lot.

  “I can’t believe you bid $10,000 for a date with me.”

  “We’ll get that for the ring. But the money doesn’t matter anymore, Freddie. My dad’s awake and he’s going to be okay.”

  “Are you serious?” Freddie was so happy for Serena. He picked her up and whirled her around in a circle, “I can’t wait to meet him.”

  “And, I couldn’t lose out to Stacy,” she winked and grinned at him.

  “Ugh, Stacy,” Freddie groaned. “About that, I can explain.”

  “Charlotte told me everything,” Serena replied. “And Freddie, I need to tell you something important.”

  He set her down on the ground. “This sounds serious.” He knew that the night had been too good to be true.

  “It is. I think I’m ready to be a Rapidian.”

  Freddie couldn’t believe his ears. “Wouldn’t you miss the big city and your life there?” Freddie heard high heels clacking on the pavement as he stared at Serena. Charlotte was approaching with a cellophane-wrapped gift basket in her arms.

  “If that glamorous woman can live here, so can I.”

  Charlotte paused as she reached the duo. “Sorry for interrupting, but they’re locking up the community center. I have to ask you something.” Charlotte handed the basket to Freddie. “Serena, if you’re serious about moving here, I want to hire you.”

  Freddie raised his eyebrows. A few months earlier, they had hated each other’s guts and now they were acting like best friends.

  Serena gasped, “Me? For what?”

  “I’m too busy for all of my marketing. I’d like you to take it over.”

  “Oh, Charlotte,” Serena lowered her eyes. “I think I ruined my media career. I’m the last person you should have running things for you.”

  “No,” Charlotte smiled. “You’re a genius. I want that kind of brutal honesty – it’s marketing gold. And haven’t you seen your latest numbers? You surpassed one million followers tonight.”

  “I did?” Serena pulled out her phone and clapped her hand over her mouth. “I thought that I’d lose them all.”

  “Turns out they like what Freddie likes… the real you.” Charlotte put her phone back in her handbag. “Think about it and let me know. And you two have a good night.” The cellophane on the gift basket crinkled as she hugged both of them.

  “What are we doing on our date?” Serena asked, peering through the clear wrap.

  “Let’s find out,” Freddie said and ripped off the ribbons.

  He pulled out a picnic basket and opened the envelope. “It’s a canoe rental at the Bison Cabin.”

  “What a crazy coincidence.” Serena pulled the gift certificate from Freddie’s hand to examine it.

  Freddie slung his arm over Serena’s shoulder, “Baby, there are no accidents in this life.”

  Serena raised her eyebrows at him. He kissed her on the lips and she mirrored his grin. “So. That’s it. We’re doing this?” Serena pointed back and forth from his chest to her own. “Me and you? For real?”

  “I’m all in, Serena. If you’ll have me.”

  She looped her arms around his waist. “I’m going to take a chance in Chance Rapids, Freddie. I love you.”

  “I love it when you’re cheezy,” he smiled and stopped to face her. He brushed a strand of her hair from her face and cupped her chin, “And I love you.”

  Twenty-Eight

  The Bison Cabin wasn’t as rustic as the little cabin at High Lake. It had running water and electricity, for starters, but the scenery was just as beautiful.

  “We should’ve tried to get up here sooner,” Freddie said, pointing to the changing colors on the trees.

  It was late September and Serena had been busier than she’d ever been in her life with running her own account and O’Hare Realty’s marketing campaign. “I know,” Serena replied and shivered in her down coat. “I wish I wasn’t so busy.” Serena had been traveling back and forth to and from the city visiting her dad. He had moved out of the rehab center and was living on his own in her condo.

  Freddie was the first boyfriend she had ever lived with, and it had been an eye-opening experience, but even with the ups and downs including those of the toilet seat (and the fact that his aim was terrible), Serena was in heaven. Waking up next to Freddie over the past few months felt like something she had been doing for years.

  They broke off the engagement after the contract was up and Freddie sold the ring. The Sidney’s executives didn’t care. They had gotten great exposure through the couple and were happy with how they completed the contract.

  A piece of Serena’s heart broke off when they agreed that it was just too soon to be engaged but with the honesty and openness of their new relationship, she felt closer and more intimate than she had when they’d been engaged. She didn’t make an official announcement though. That had been Freddie’s idea.

  “Why don’t we just consider it paused,” he had said. “No one needs to know.”

  The night they called off their engagement, they made love on the living room sofa and then again in the kitchen. He loved pressing into her as he held her on the kitchen counter.

  Now almost two months later, they were sitting on the edge of a pristine lake watching the sun slip behind the jagged peaks of the mountain.

  “Want to go for a sunset cruise, babe?” he asked.

  “With these boots on?” she pointed to the burly hiking boots on her feet. “I’d sink right to the bottom of this lake.”

  “You still haven’t learned your lesson about standing up in the canoe then?” he asked and pulled her to her feet. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I don’t know if I’ll ever set foot in one of those boats again.”

  Freddie kissed her gently. “You’re not a Rapidian until you’ve made love in a canoe. Come on…”

  She pulled back, her eyes wide. “You’re crazy,” she said, but let him lead her by the hand to the red canoe sitting on the sand beach. There was a thick blanket folded in the bottom and candles spread in the sand beside it. He pulled out a lighter and soon the twilight night was highlighted with flickering candles and a driftwood beach fire.

  “Nobody said that the canoe has to be in the water.” He kissed her then, needing her lips. He was hungry to taste the salt on her skin. Their down jackets compressed against each other as Freddie lifted Serena up and set her down gently on the bottom of the canoe. He pulled the bow to rest in the water, the stern safely perched on land and then crawled in. The water rippled from the rocking of the canoe as Freddie made Serena Cruise a real Rapidian.

  They snuggled up under the blankets until it was completely dark and the first stars were starting to shine.

  Freddie gently eased himself out of the canoe.

  “Where are you going?” Serena reached for him. She wasn’t ready to leave their cuddle cocoon just yet.

  Freddie tossed another log onto the fire and adjusted the burning pieces, sparks flying up into the night sky.

  “I’ll be back in a second.”

  Serena relaxed and gazed up at the stars. A flash of light shot across the sky and she gasped – her second shooting star. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake as last time and she quickly made the wish she had planned out months earlier.

  “You missed it,” Serena said as Freddie returned.

  “Missed what?”

  “A shooting star. It was beautiful.”

  “Did you make a wish this time?” he asked.

  “I did,” she whispered. She felt like she was in heaven watching her very own mountain man tend to the fire. He walked back to the canoe with his hands in his pockets, but instead of crawling back in, he knelt down beside it.

  “Serena.”

  She sat up and gripped the gunwales of the canoe, his voice was serious.

  “When I proposed to you on the rooftop, I felt like an actor. I remember thinking that if I was really proposing to someone, it wouldn’t be in front of a bunch of people or require a spreadsheet and elaborate plans. It would just be me and the woman I loved somewhere that meant something to both of us.”

  Serena couldn’t have agreed more. The proposal was elaborate and wasn’t what she would’ve wanted either. She wanted to speak. To tell him that she agreed, but couldn’t find the words. Instead, she reached out and gently touched his face.

  He continued, “And that ring... man, was that hideous.”

  “It was.” She laughed and cried at the same time while tears brimmed in her eyes. “Hideous.”

  “I have to come clean about something,” Freddie said. He pulled the Royal Blue Sidney’s box out of his pocket. “I didn’t sell that ring. I exchanged it…” Freddie opened up the velvet box and a simple princess cut ring glinted in the firelight.

  “Serena Cruise, will you marry me?”

  She didn’t hesitate. “Yes,” she gushed. “Freddie Brush, I will marry you.”

  Freddie slid the perfectly sized ring on to her finger and leaned into the canoe to kiss Serena. He wiped away her tears with his thumbs and she kissed his tears from his cheeks.

  Her shooting star wish had just come true.

  Serena held her hand out in front of her and admired the ring. She stood up and accepted Freddie’s hands to help her out of the canoe, but the toe of her boot caught under the wooden gunwale and she screeched as she tumbled into his arms.

  Freddie grunted and took the brunt of Serena’s weight as the two of them landed with a thud on the sand.

  “Are you okay?” Serena asked. She sat up and brushed her hands off as she straddled Freddie.

  “Serena,” Freddie said. “I think we need to agree on one thing before we get married.”

  She saw the side of his mouth turn up into a smile and knew exactly what he was going to say.

  “No more canoes.”

  “No more canoes,” she echoed. They stood up and headed into the cabin. Serena’s thin fingers interlaced through his, her very own real fiancé.

  A Secret Chance

  Chance Rapids Book 4

  One

  “Do I really have to go?” Logan yelled from where he was lounging on the sofa with Freddie.

  “Yeah, it’s the third period. It’s almost over.” Freddie pointed to the giant screen TV where the hockey players were on a power play.

  “Yes.” Charlotte and Serena said at the same time. They looked at each other and smiled.

  “She’s my niece,” Charlotte said. She picked up the remote control and shut off the game and the brothers groaned.

  “Hey guys, at least she’s having the party somewhere with a liquor license,” Serena added.

  “It’s still a ten-year old’s birthday party – how wild can it get?” Freddie groaned theatrically as he peeled himself off the sofa.

  “Car’s running, boys.” Charlotte slapped the back of Freddie’s worn sofa and leaned over the back of the sofa to plant a kiss on Logan’s cheek.

  “Alright, alright,” he groaned. Logan pushed himself up from his well-worn spot on the sofa. The sky was clear when the four of them left Freddie’s downtown house, but as they crossed the covered bridge heading toward the ski hill, clouds were rolling in and snow was starting to fall. Charlotte navigated her SUV up the switchbacks of the mountain road. By the time they reached the base of the mountain, tire tracks in the fluffy white powder followed them into the parking lot.

  “How was opening day?” Logan asked.

  The ski resort had just had one of its earliest openings ever; the leaves had barely fallen from the trees when the snow started accumulating on the higher peaks.

  “It was a little patchy up there, but not bad considering it’s November,” Freddie said. Aside from the years he was sidelined with knee injuries, Freddie was always on the mountain on opening day.

  The foursome headed to the chalet and Logan and Freddie stumbled blindly along behind their girlfriends, peering around the elaborately wrapped presents in their arms.

  They were met with a wall of noise as they stepped into the day lodge. Kids were screaming, a piñata swung wildly in the corner, and a frazzled-looking bartender had twenty Shirley Temples, complete with paper umbrellas, lined up on the bar.

  “Thank god you’re here,” Lauren rushed over to them. “They turn into wild animals when they’re in packs like this.” Lauren took one of the boxes from Freddie’s arms.

  “Where would you like the rest of these?” he asked.

  “Follow me,” Lauren replied, and the two men disappeared into the throngs of red-cheeked, snow pants wearing tweens.

  “Want to get a drink?” Charlotte asked.

  “I think we’re going to need one,” Serena replied and the two of them headed to the bar.

  As Logan and Freddie added to the pile of presents, they heard a squeal and turned, and saw that the usually reserved Tabitha had a huge smile on her face. “Uncle Logan, Uncle Freddie,” she bounded over to the brothers and they bent down to hug her.

  “Happy birthday, sweetie,” Logan whispered in her ear.

  “Thanks,” she smiled. “Are you guys going to take a turn at the piñata?”

  “Of course,” Freddie grinned.

  “Good,” Tabitha replied. “We need someone with some actual arm strength to bust it open.” She grabbed Freddie by the hand and led him away.

  Logan turned and Charlotte slid a glass of beer into his hand, her eyebrows raised. “Now aren’t you glad you came?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Logan smiled. “That little hug was worth this…” he paused as he looked around the room, “this, chaos.”

  “I’m so glad you guys are here,” Lauren smiled. “If you think the kids are bad, you should see some of the parents,” she whispered. Lauren had raised Tabitha on her own and was the opposite of a helicopter parent. She didn’t have time to be hovering over her daughter every second. She had spent most of her life either working two jobs or working one job and going to law school full time. She looked over at her daughter, who was giving Freddie instructions on how to whack the unicorn piñata and smiled. She didn’t know if it was luck or the way she was raised, but her daughter was an old soul in a young girl’s body. She was independent and, in many ways, Lauren’s co-pilot in life.

  “Do you need a drink?” Charlotte asked, shoving a martini into Lauren’s hand. “Thanks,” Lauren replied and downed it in one swig.

  “Easy, sis.” Charlotte took the glass from her hand.

  “No time for easy,” Lauren said. She wiped her lip with the back of her hand. “Is Megan here yet? She’s bringing the cake.”

  “What’s the big rush?” Charlotte asked.

  Lauren rolled her eyes. “The half-pipe contest starts at 2:30, and Ethan is up first.”

  “Ah,” Charlotte replied. Ethan was one of the town’s snowboarding stars. He oozed talent, and, provided he didn’t hurt himself, was on the fast track to the Olympic team. “He’s adorable.”

  “You’re not the only one who thinks that,” Lauren laughed. “All the girls have a crush on Ethan.”

  “I can see why,” Charlotte mused.

  Lauren rolled her eyes again. “Cougar.” She smiled and smacked her sister on the arm.

  “Hey,” Charlotte mock rubbed her arm. “I’m just stating the obvious.”

  “Obvious what?” Logan showed up beside them and wrapped his arm around Charlotte’s shoulders.

  “That Ethan Fraser is hot,” Lauren said.

  “Oh, he is,” Logan smiled. The three of them broke out into laughter, which was soon drowned out by deafening screams as the piñata exploded, and candy shrapnel ricocheted around the room.

  They looked over to see Freddie with his arms raised, holding the stick over his head while the kids wildly scrambled around on the floor collecting the candy.

  “Who let the big kid play?” Lauren laughed. She looked around the room, happy with the organized chaos. The party had been weighing on her for months. The case she had been working on had been intense but trying to plan a ten-year old’s birthday party made it look tame in comparison. As much as Lauren didn’t want to, she had Tabitha invite her entire class to the party. Growing up a poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks, she and her sister had been shunned from birthday parties as kids, and she didn’t want to do that to any other kids – even if that meant inviting their horrible parents.

  She saw Josh Johnson’s red wool hat at the entrance door and breathed a sigh of relief. Josh’s wife Megan had promised to make Tabitha’s cake, but Lauren heard that she had been having a rough time with their new colicky baby. Lauren wove through the crowd of sugar-fueled tweens and met Megan and Josh by the door.