Because the Heart brothers were already living in LA when she was initially hired as their choreographer, Arabella had only been to the Florida residence a few times, after she and Grady were officially a couple. She remembered a rambling ranch filled with love, laughter, and memories of a father the boys adored. They talked about him often, relaying stories and life moments that made Arabella envious of their storybook childhood.
Judging by what she'd discovered on the internet, Sea Breeze remained a quaint oceanside town that had changed very little over the years. It was located in the upper east tip of Florida, where the summers were hot and the winters were on the cool side, but the weather was mild compared to the Midwest, where Arabella had grown up. California hadn't fit the lifestyle she'd envisioned and, in truth, the little town of Sea Breeze could be the soothing tonic that she needed, if only for a short while. Just saying the name had a calming effect. There was only one problem.
Grady Heart.
Arabella groaned. She'd tried to avoid following any part of Grady's life, but his handsome mug always seemed to be staring back at her from the supermarket tabloids. She'd look away and then glance back with her fingers itching to pick up the paper for a look, but she resisted-well, most of the time, anyway. If any of the tales were true, he'd sure moved on from her absence quickly, and without an ounce of regret. The sensible part of her brain said that the tabloid stories were mostly fabricated. She knew this from personal experience. How many times had the media splashed headlines saying she and Grady were fighting, getting married, breaking up . . . having a baby?
Arabella felt a fresh prickle of pain and had to steel herself against sliding into memories that haunted her when she least expected it. "How in the hell am I going to pull this off?" she whispered, hanging on to the steering wheel like it was a lifeline.
///
Of course, after the groupie incident she'd ignored Grady's calls and his attempts to contact her, but how could she not? Saying he was sorry couldn't begin to cut through the pain he'd caused, but her biggest fear was that she would be persuaded to go back to him, and there was no way she was going to live the life of angry distrust her parents had led. Trust was the foundation of any good relationship.
She'd thought that when Grady said he loved her he would be faithful. "Well, I guess Mom thought the same thing too," she mumbled.
Siri responded, "I'm sorry, I didn't quite get that."
Arabella managed a weak chuckle but then glanced at her phone. She hadn't realized she'd held down the home button a moment too long. Sometimes Siri kinda freaked her out.
"Okay . . ." Arabella realized she couldn't go much slower, and the urge to turn around tugged at her hands. "Fake it till you make it, girl," she said firmly, but then she jumped when a loud pickup truck passed her with an angry honk.
Arabella knew that, unlike her, the Heart brothers had had an amazing childhood. Life could be so damned unpredictable, with the cruelest heartaches trapped inside of the biggest blessings, leaving you unable to have one without the other. Granny York used to tell her that blessings could come in disguise. Granny had hated that her son Patrick's marriage had fallen to pieces and had blamed him, not speaking to her son for nearly a year after his divorce. Oddly, it was Arabella's mother who'd encouraged Granny York to forgive her son and move on. "I'd do it again even knowing the outcome," her mother said to Granny one afternoon, "just to have Arabella. What would we do without our Bella?" she'd asked, and Granny York had tearfully agreed.
Well, Arabella wished that, just once, the next blessing-in-disguise would out itself from the get-go. She imagined the blessing would say in a polite English accent, "Hello, I know this appears to be, shall we say, a bit of a sketchy situation right now, but not to worry. You'll thank me later. I just chose to be in disguise."
After swallowing hard, Arabella finally sat up and put the sedan in drive. "Okay, Siri, let's do this thing."
Trying to keep her mind off the fact that she was heading to Grady Heart's house, Arabella took in the local sights. Main Street remained just as cozy and quaint as the pictures on the website promised. People strolled rather than walked at the fast pace of the city, where everyone seemed to be in a perpetual hurry. Colorful flowers draped over huge terra-cotta pots lining the wide sidewalks. A variety of storefronts displayed everything from antiques to toys. She passed Daisy's Diner, Scoops ice cream parlor, A Taste of Heaven candy store, and the Twisted pretzel shop, all reminding her that she hadn't eaten, and her stomach responded.