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all come back to Angel’s Bay at exactly the right time.
    “I can hardly believe it’s me,” Lauren whispered, meeting her gaze. “Or that this is really happening.”
    “It’s really happening,” Kara cut in. “And you are gorgeous. My big brother’s heart is going to stop when he sees you. We might have to revive him.”
    Lauren tried to laugh, but her eyes blurred with tears.
    “Hey, now, no crying,” Charlotte said, getting up to put an arm around Lauren’s shoulders. “Or we’re all going to start, and I am a really ugly crier.”
    Lauren sniffed back a tear. “I’m just so happy. All those years that Shane and I were apart; I never imagined we’d find our way back to each other.”
    “You two were meant to be,” she said. “A love story for all time.”
    Lauren smiled. “Thank you, Charlotte.”
    “You’re welcome.” Charlotte turned toward Isabella. “You did a fantastic job. It’s a beautiful dress.”
    “Okay, our turn,” Kara said. “I want to see the bridesmaids’ dresses.”
    Charlotte was just as curious to see what she would be wearing. Her last three bridesmaids’ dresses had been appallingly awful, one a hideous orange that had made her look like a pumpkin, another that was more mother-of-the-bride than bridesmaid, and the third a frilly mess of ribbons and gathered pleating guaranteed to add twenty pounds to even the skinniest bridesmaid.
    Isabella opened the second garment bag and pulled out two slinky, strapless, floor-length dressesin a gorgeous dark blue. She held them up with an expectant smile. “Well?”
    “Oh, my,” Kara breathed, her voice almost reverent. “Really? We get to wear these?”
    “I’m stunned,” Charlotte said. “You must really love us, Lauren.”
    Lauren laughed. “Well, I didn’t want you to look better than me, but I was afraid you’d both bail if I put you in pink taffeta. Try them on. I want to see how we look together.”
    They stripped off their clothes and put on their gowns, then the three of them lined up in front of the full-length mirror.
    “We look good,” Kara said. “One blonde, one brunette, and what group would be complete without a hot redhead?”
    “We’re grown up,” Lauren said, a note of amazement in her voice.
    Charlotte smiled, seeing not their adult selves but the little girls they’d once been, playing hide-and-seek in the neighborhood, making up imaginary games in Kara’s family tree house, and giggling the night away playing Truth or Dare at a slumber party.
    “What do you think, Charlotte?” Kara asked, meeting her gaze in the mirror.
    “I’m happy that we all found our way back to Angel’s Bay.”
    Lauren squeezed her hand. “It was the best decision I ever made.”
    “Well, I was wise enough to not ever leave,” Karasaid. “But you two had to see the world first. Thank goodness you finally came to your senses and returned home.”
    “You all look wonderful,” Isabella said. “It’s great that you’ve been friends for so long. I hope you know how lucky you are. I don’t have friends who go back twenty years.”
    “Well, you’re one of us now,” Charlotte said.
    Isabella smiled. “That’s generous of you. When I came here a few months ago, I wondered what was so fascinating about this town that my brother couldn’t pull himself away. Now I know. It’s the community. The people.”
    “You’ve fallen under our spell,” Kara said with a wise nod.
    “Or the spell of one hot guitar-playing architect,” Lauren added with a grin. “How are things with you and Nick?”
    “Excellent,” Isabella said. “I’m going to go back and forth between my projects in L.A. and here until June, and then we’ll spend the summer in Los Angeles. Somehow we’ll find a way to have the best of both worlds. Of course, Megan is the priority. She has been shuffled around a lot, and Nick and I want to make sure that she’s happy with whatever arrangement we come up with.”
    “Sounds like you’re