SOFIA
Sofia got to the Emerald House a little early for once, anxious about her dinner with Isaiah and Willow, whoever she was. She and Isaiah hadn’t had a chance to talk since he’d left the tulip festival the previous afternoon. She caught sight of him in the lobby and walked toward him.
She reached for his hands, but he angled himself away. It was subtle, masked to appear as if he hadn’t noticed and was shrugging on his hoodie, but it stung. Sofia took a step back.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“Willow will be arriving any minute. Just gonna go out to meet her,” Isaiah said. His voice was normal, but Sofia didn’t miss that he had avoided her question.
What’s happened between us since yesterday?He’d squeezed her hand before he said goodbye at the tulip festival, and she thought that meant things were okay.
Isaiah went outside, and her eyes zeroed in on a black car as it pulled into the parking lot. Isaiah was out there, ready and waiting, while Sofia watched through the window.
A woman who Sofia guessed was a few years younger than her with gorgeous shiny auburn hair jumped out of the car andran to Isaiah. He hurried to meet her, and the two hugged for a long time.
Sofia continued to watch as the two pulled apart and said a few words to each other, both grinning. Sofia had known all along that once Isaiah figured out who he was, his other life would come crashing down around them with full force. She just hadn’t expected it to be in the form of that pretty-as-a-picture woman. The two walked into the Emerald House.
“Sofia, this is my sister, Willow,” Isaiah said, grinning, as the two walked toward Sofia.
Sofia tried to rearrange her expression, but the sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach didn’t fully ease.Sister.
Sofia didn’t have any siblings, and neither did Ash or Holly, but Isaiah had at least one. The knowledge made her uneasy. It was just another aspect of his life that was so different from hers. She wondered how having a sister had shaped Isaiah growing up.
She forced herself to sideline the dozens of questions that had jumped into her mind upon meeting Willow. Those could wait. Instead, she stuck out her hand. “Welcome to Emerald Hollow.”
Willow gently shook her hand then pulled her in. “Sorry, I’m a hugger.” Willow’s shiny auburn hair swished around her face as she pulled back. She kept her hands on Sofia’s arms. “But seriously, I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for Isaiah. I couldn’t believe any of this when he first called me. I’m so glad he’s okay.”
Sofia really wanted to jump in with questions, but Ash emerged from the restaurant and invited them all to the table.
“Why don’t we talk over food?” he suggested.
Isaiah and Willow accepted eagerly, Isaiah following Ash without saying a word to Sofia. She still didn’t know whatto think. Willow had greeted her so warmly, but Isaiah was obviously keeping her at a distance.Why?
“Are you okay?” Holly whispered to her as they began to take their seats in the largest booth in the restaurant.
“Not sure yet,” Sofia said.
Isaiah had barely met her eyes, and the worry in the pit of her stomach was growing.
Holly nodded and squeezed her hand under the table. Sofia sat between Holly and Isaiah. Willow was on Isaiah’s other side, with Ash next to her.
To Sofia’s surprise, Luca, Enzo’s son, slid in next to Ash.
“Luca was here getting coffee, and I invited him to join us. It’s been a long time since he’s had an Emerald House meal. I thought we could welcome him and Willow both to Emerald Hollow. Hope that’s okay with everybody?” Ash looked around the table, and they all nodded.
“Of course,” Isaiah said. “Luca, you’ve just walked into the most hospitable place in the country. They’ve been taking care of me for the past few months.”
Sofia watched him closely, wondering what was going through his brain. His words to Luca, a complete stranger, seemed normal enough. But he couldn’t even say two words to her.Getting all his memories like that had to have been a shock. Maybe he is just adjusting to everything.
Luca gave an easy smile. “Oh, I remember. I haven’t been here in years, and the Emerald House has grown a lot, but this restaurant feels exactly like it was.”
Ash did a quick round of introductions—everyone was new to Luca except for Ash and Sofia—then turned to Willow. “So, Willow, tell us everything. What happened when you got the phone call? Had you been looking for Isaiah?”
Tyler, their server, began to fill their glasses with water.
“It was the craziest thing,” Willow said, gesturing with her hands. “I had been expecting to hear from Isaiah within a few weeks, so the call itself wasn’t a surprise, but when he told me where he was and what had happened, I was shocked. We all thought he had been hiking the Pacific Crest Trail all that time. He was supposed to be nearly to Canada by now.”
“The PCT?” Ash asked, his eyes widening. “So that explains why you weren’t marked as a missing person.”
