“My flight gets in at eight-thirty. Are you still picking me up?”

“Of course I am, girl. I can’t wait to see you. I’ve missed you so much. Marmalade misses you too,” Jade cooed. I could hear her feline companion purring into the microphone, almost as if he were trying to convey to me how much he had missed me too. I couldn’t help but laugh. “How are you feeling about leaving?”

“I’m feeling very conflicted. I want to be home, to see you and Donnie, and get back to work. Man I miss being in the kitchen. But at the same time, it’s going to be hard saying good-bye. We talked about it last night, and we both want to try to make it work long distance. We’re going to give it a try.” I shrugged, even though she couldn’t see me. “I love him, Jade. Can you believe that? After only a week?”

“Whoa, that’s really…” she stopped herself for a moment, choosing her words carefully. “That’s wonderful, Brooke. I’m really happy for you. Have you told him?”

“Of course I’ve told him. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because he is the lead singer of our favorite band. Maybe because he lives more than a thousand miles away. And maybe because you’ve always been afraid of rejection. Take your pick,” she replied, sounding exasperated.

“He said it first, Jade,” I stated sarcastically. Honestly, why was it that my best friend doubted that someone famous might fall in love with me? Seriously, was that so hard to believe?

“No way! Get out of here! Sebastian Miles confessed to our Brooke that he loved her?” She let out a low whistle and clicked her tongue smartly. “This is a cause for celebration, my friend. When you get home, you and me, we are definitely going clubbing in your honor. I can’t believe it. You and Sebastian Miles, in love. I’ve got to tell you, you’ve totally just given me hope, my friend.

“Stop it!” I giggled into the phone, never once hearing Sebastian sneak up behind me and tickle me as I sat on one of the lounge chairs on the patio. “Oh my gosh! You scared me,” I squeaked, causing him to chuckle and plant a few well-placed kisses on my lips and cheek.

“Who’s that? Is that him?” Jade shrieked.

“Yes, it’s him. He just snuck up on me and scared me half to death.” I stuck my tongue out at as he plopped into the chair across from me.

“Who’s that?” He jutted his chin at the phone. “Is that Jade? Give me the phone,” he said, reaching over and pulling it from my grasp. “Hey there, Jade. How’s life in the lower half of the mitten?” I heard Jade screaming on the other end of the phone. He held it far from his ear, laughing hysterically. “Yes, Brooke has told me how much you both love our music.” He paused to listen to her speak. “Well, thank you very much. That means a lot. We do it all for the fans. If not for you guys, we wouldn’t have any reason to keep performing. We’ll have to get you tickets to a show during our next tour.” I heard more shrieking, and then Sebastian’s expression turned serious. “I know. She’s pretty special to me as well.” His eyes locked with mine. “I plan on taking very good care of her, for a very long time. I know, I promise. Oh, Jade, one more thing, thank you for being such a great friend to her. Take care of her for me when she gets back home. Okay, it was nice talking to you too. Bye.” He handed the phone back to me.

“Oh my gosh, he sounds incredibly hot,” Jade gushed into the phone.

“He is.” I beamed like a lovesick girl. “Listen, I’ll call you later. Love you!”

“Love you too, Brooklyn. Have fun with your hottie!”

Sebastian removed the phone from my hand, placing it on the side table before pulling me into his lap. “She sounds like a wonderful girl. She loves you an awful lot, which makes her a winner in my book already.”

“You’ll love Jade. She is definitely the best girlfriend I’ve ever had. I’m very lucky to have her in my life. Thank you for talking to her. I’m sure you made her day.”

“You don’t have to thank me for taking an interest in your friends, Brooke. I want to be a part of your life, all of it.” I buried my face in his neck, settling into the warmth I had grown so accustomed to this past week. “Hey, what do you say we get out of the house for the day? I have something I want to show you.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“It’s a surprise. Just throw on something comfortable, and you’ll be fine,” he said vaguely.

“You’re very sneaky, Mr. Miles.” I scrunched up my nose and thought about what he could be planning. “Just give me a few minutes.” I ran upstairs to change into shorts and a tank top. I pulled my hair up in a high ponytail and grabbed my sunglasses before heading back to find him waiting by the door. He smiled when he saw me and slipped an arm around my waist, pulling lightly on the ponytail.

“Cute.” He smiled, leaning down to kiss me. “Let’s go.”

I didn’t know where he was taking me, but he sure was being secretive about it. The drive only took ten minutes, and when we pulled into the marina, I turned to him, a smile spreading across my face as we parked in a space near the dock. The display of yachts and sailboats was impressive, far surpassing the size of the vessels docked in most of the harbors on Lake Michigan, though they had never been anything to scoff at. We got out of the car, and Sebastian came around to take my hand as he led me down the dock, an obvious destination in mind. Before long, we came to stop in front of a large sailboat that must have been forty feet long.

“You feel like going for a sail?” He smiled, pulling me toward the plank that led to the deck.

“Seriously? Do you know the owner of this boat?” I asked, suddenly very excited.

“Not really, but I made a few calls, and it turns out that my manager has a friend with a sailboat that just happened to be docked here. So, what do you say?”

“Lead the way, sailor.” I laughed heartily. Just then, the captain walked out, looked over the side of the boat, and called down at us.

“Come aboard! It looks like a beautiful day for a sail.” We walked a few steps and then crossed over a small plank. Once aboard, I turned in a slow circle, taking it all in, and looked over at Sebastian, giving him a toothy grin.

“This is great!” I walked to the other side of the deck and grasped the railing, peering over the side. He came up beside me, his shoulder brushing mine, and I reached over, slipping my hand in his.

“If I forget to tell you later, thank you for bringing me here. This is an amazing surprise. I’m looking forward to spending the day with you, Sebastian.”

He turned me to face him, placing one hand on my waist, as the other reached up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “You don’t have to thank me, honey. The smile on your face is all the thanks I need. I want you to look back on our time together and have the same sparkle in your eyes that I saw when you talked about sailing with Jade. I want you to love everything about our time together.”

“I love you,” I whispered, tilting my head into his open palm.

“I love you too,” he whispered back.