Lantern Lake Read Online Free

lovely enough to distract her through the first round of hugs and congratulations with the bride and groom. She tuned back into the conversation just as Miles clapped Cooper on the shoulder and said, “So. Are Greta and I flying off for this fabulous honeymoon you’ve arranged in my helicopter? Or are you going to try to convince me you won the bet?”
    Vivian stole a glance at Cooper, whose brow had lowered like a storm cloud. “Don’t make me take those tickets back,” he growled, only half kidding.
    “What bet?” Vivian caught the quick look exchanged between bride and groom.
    “Nothing,” Cooper cut in, glowering at his oldest friend. “Miles is being an ass.”
    The groom raised a brow. “At least I’m not a sore loser.”
    “I haven’t lost anything,” Cooper insisted. “The deadline is past. I won.”
    “Debatable,” Miles said, an amused glint in his eyes. “Are you sure you’re being honest with yourself? Think about the exact terms we agreed on, and you might realize you’re mistaken.”
    Totally lost, Vivian looked to Greta for help. The bride leaned in conspiratorially. “Miles bet his billionaire bachelor groomsmen, that if they came to Sanctuary Island and helped him out with a few wedding-related tasks, they’d find their lives changed forever before he said, ‘I do.’”
    Vivian couldn’t help but smile as a rush of love for this special island filled her. She’d adored Sanctuary from the moment she stepped off the ferry for her first visit to meet her childhood friend’s fiancée five months ago. “Sounds like a sucker’s deal to me,” she observed.
    Switching his narrow glare from Miles to Vivian, Cooper demanded, “What do you mean?”
    “I can’t imagine anyone spending time on Sanctuary Island without falling in love,” Vivian said, picturing the calm, glassy surface of Lantern Lake in her mind.
    A short, charged silence followed her words, and when she replayed them silently, she had to fight down a flush. “With the island,” she hastened to add. “Everyone who comes here falls in love with Sanctuary Island. Is what I meant. At least, I certainly fell in love with it.”
    “Oh right!” Greta seized on the subject change. “How did escrow go?”
    Rock solid satisfaction expanded Vivian’s ribcage with pride. “Like clockwork. Have I mentioned that I can never thank you enough for your help with the Lantern Lake cabin?”
    “A few times,” Greta said, laughing and rolling her eyes fondly. “Here and there. I’m so glad it worked out!”
    “You bought property here?” Cooper asked, looking at her askance. “I never would’ve thought you’d leave New York.”
    The words sent a chill through her that had nothing to do with the wintry wind whipping the over the waves outside the glass walls of their tent. “There’s nothing for me in New York. Not anymore.”
    A strange expression came over Cooper’s face, something like recognition firing in his eyes. “Sometimes the only way forward is to leave everything you know behind.”
    She stared up at him for a long, suspended moment, the connection between them as strong and real and tangible as it had ever been when they were young. He was so magnetic, his presence sucking the very air from Vivian’s lungs and leaving her shaky with the knowledge of how much she still wanted him.
    “I tell you what,” Miles interrupted, amusement coloring his deep voice. “Let’s table the bet for the moment. We have a party to enjoy, and Greta and I have a honeymoon adventure to embark on, thanks to you. We can settle the bet when we get back in two weeks.”
    And with that, he whisked his bride onto the dance floor for their first dance.
    “I won’t still be here in two weeks,” Cooper protested, scowling after his friend.
    His words pierced right through Vivian’s heart with a dart of regret, but she ignored it. She couldn’t be silly enough to hope for more time with Cooper. But she couldn’t stop herself from