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First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2016
Copyright © D.R. Graham 2016
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D.R. Graham asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authorâs imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Ebook Edition © August 2016 ISBN: 9780008145170
Version 2016-08-05
The bells on the front door of the Inn jingled and my best friend Sophie Sakamoto walked through the archway into the dining room. The breakfast guests all glanced in her direction, probably because her black boots, black leggings, dark sunglasses, and black tank-top dress under a black-leather jacket were an unexpected style in my tiny historic village. She looked like she just rolled out of a crypt somewhere.
We hadnât seen each other in almost three weeks, which was the longest time weâd ever been apart, so I screeched and rushed over to hug her. Despite the fact it was too early in the morning for her to show enthusiasm, she let me smother her with affection. âWelcome home.â
âYou too,â she said, strangled by my embrace. âBut donât tell me anything about Europe. It will only make me depressed that I didnât go with you. Not. One. Word.â
âItâs not like you were sitting at home doing nothing. A cross-country tour with the band is a big deal.â
She rolled her eyes and shook her head to disagree. âNot compared to the UK, France, and Italy. I donât want to know how much fun you had.â
I pretended to lock my lips with a key, then topped up a cup of coffee for a guest and filled one for Sophie with cream. âWhen you said you would drop by to say hi on your way to the gig, I didnât expect to see you this early.â
âDoug forgot to tell me the showâs in Victoria not Vancouver. We have to catch the ferry at noon. Iâm not happy about the early wake-up call, obviously. And apparently weâre staying tomorrow night, too, just to party. Sorry you and I canât hang out until I get back. Is that okay?â
âOf course. A gig in Victoria is exciting. Congratulations. Do you want something to eat?â
âNo thanks, but the guys do. Is your grandpa around?â
âNo. I let him sleep in since he had to do everything all by himself while I was in Europe.â
âNot. One. Word.â Sophie pointed at me in a mock threat. âI seriously donât want to know how awesome Paris and London and Rome were.â
âSorry.â I smiled and squeezed her shoulders. âThe buffet is almost gone. Tell the guys to come in through the kitchen. Iâll make them something else.â
Sophie raised the cup of coffee in silent thanks before she went out to the parking lot to let the band know they could come in for breakfast.
The last two tables of guests were finished eating, so I cleared their dishes and headed through the swing doors into the kitchen. My neighbour Kailyn was seated at the pastry table, helping herself to an entire can of whipped cream. Kailyn, her dad, and her brother Trevor had lived next door since I was five and they almost always ate breakfast at the Inn. Although Kailyn was twenty-one and one year older than Trevor was, she looked five years younger and acted ten years younger because of her special needs.
âYou canât eat that much whipped cream,â I said.
âYes I can.â
âItâll make you sick.â
After some contemplation, she used her hand and slid half the fluffy white mound off the waffle and onto the metal pastry table. âTrevor came home last night.â
âYeah, I heard his motorbike,â I said as I cleaned up the mess.
Trevor and I had a complicated relationship. We had been best friends as kids, but when he went to high school two years before I did, we drifted apart. Then, in my grade-eleven year, I developed a giant crush on him. It was weird. I loved him. I thought he loved me. But nothing happened between us. In the fall, I started grade twelve and he moved down to Vancouver to live on campus at the University of British Columbia. For my whole senior year he came home to Britannia Beach on weekends, but he was always busy with Search and Rescue, his friends, or spending time with Kailyn. I eventually gave up on the hope of a romantic relationship developing between us and moved on.