“I wouldn’t expect anything less from her in other aspects of her life but…”
Holly waited, wondering where his line of thought was heading.
“She’s been very reserved in her relationships since she moved back here. She hasn’t really done any serious dating. At first, I thought it had to do with her mom being sick then passing away, but as the years went on…”
Holly watched his face, seeing his unease in the tightness of his brow.
“I’ve kind of wondered if something happened while she was in the military. I’ve never asked her directly, and she hasn’t brought it up. She just tends to joke around when anyone asks her about her relationship status.”
Holly’s heart sank. In her adult life, as she’d traveled around the world, collecting Cheer to power the North Pole and all its magic, she focused on happy emotions and ran away at thefirst inkling of anything negative. It was the way her magic functioned. She had a hard time processing all the hurt that humans could do to one another. And the idea of anyone hurting Sofia, her fun, vibrant best friend, was heartbreaking.
“Then there’s the fact that she was so suspicious of him at first,” Ash said, bringing Holly back to the moment.
Holly wondered if it was the right time to share what she’d really been doing in Finland, and she readied herself to speak, but Ash continued his thought.
“It might stem from the hospital visit when Isaiah first arrived. We have really limited resources here in Emerald Hollow, and Sofia was often worried about getting the right level of care when her mom was sick. I think the idea of someone faking an illness or injury and taking those resources from someone who needed them really got to her.”
“But she doesn’t think he’s faking it anymore.”
“She’s spent too much time with him now to think that anyone could be that good of an actor.”
“And there’s some kind of pull between them, like there was between us,” Holly noted, warmth spreading through her body.
Ash stopped walking and pulled her in close. “Nobody has a pull between them like us.”
Holly grinned as she leaned into his chest.
“But there’s definitely a spark there,” he admitted. “I’ve never seen Sofia like this. I really hope Isaiah’s intuitions are right, and that there isn’t someone else in his life. I just wish I could do something more to help get his memories back.”
“About that,” Holly said, pulling back to study his face. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
Then she shared everything she knew.
Chapter Forty-Seven
SOFIA
The week leading up to the tulip festival flew by. Before Sofia knew it, she was loading the back of her car with folding tables and bins for her stall. She’d created mounds of earrings plus some bracelets, necklaces, and rings and designed some new display pieces to lean into the tulip and floral theme.
She finished loading the car and began the drive to the Emerald House, where she was picking up Isaiah, who was going to help her set up her booth. She caught herself grinning as she thought of spending a whole day with him, and she tried to settle her expression as she pulled up. He was waiting outside, leaning casually against the wall, looking like a male model.
She rolled down the window and shouted, “‘Get in, loser! We’re going shopping!’”
Isaiah gave her a bewildered expression but smiled as he walked toward the car. The look made her insides feel like freshly warmed butter.
“I have no idea what that meant, but I’m sure it’s a quote from a movie,” Isaiah said as he slid into the passenger side. The seat was already scooted back all the way from his sitting there on their trips to the library and all the time they’d had togethersince then. His long legs took up most of the space in front of his seat.
Sofia sighed. “I always forget that your pop culture memory only includes what I’ve shown you so far. That one is aMean Girlsreference.”
“Mean Girls?” Isaiah raised an eyebrow.
Sofia navigated out of the parking lot. “I’m not even going to try to explain it. So, how did Ash seem this morning? Did you see him? Is he losing it?”
“I did see him. He was moving fast, as usual, but Holly was with him, and together, they seemed to have things under control.”
“She’s really helped to calm down some of his overanxiousness. He actually lets her help him with things. It doesn’t hurt that she’s a whizz with decorating either. I can’t wait to see the clearing.”
Sofia parked her car along the path that led to the meadow and opened the trunk, revealing the boxes and bins that were crammed inside.
