Summer Love in the Country (Summer Instalove)

favors, and searching online, both for ourselves, and the other girls.

Tomorrow morning I was going to be the first to leave, headed out to the country for a ten-day working artist retreat.

“Are you excited about tomorrow?” Laura asked me.

“Excited is a word. Nervous is another word,” I said softly.

“It’ll be easy,” Becca smiled. “You’ll pick blueberries or whatever in the morning, write

poetry all afternoon, and have dates with sexy farmers at night.”

“Good grief,” I muttered. “I’ll be far more focused on finishing my book than any farm guys.”

Kim waved her perfectly manicured finger in my face, her silver rings flashing. “But you’re

going to keep your eyes open,” she insisted. “Ope

n to possibilities. Even if it goes no

further than an innocent flirtation. We each have to take a few steps.”

“Or in Kim’s case, run a marathon,” Kate muttered.

We all cracked up while Kim waved her hand in the air proudly as if she were on a parade

float. “Sure. I’ve been on a few lousy first dates, and I’ve had one two-month relationship. If that makes me the most experienced woman at the table, that’s just sad for all of us.”

“Um, speaking of that, remember what we talked about after New Year’s?” Kate asked

quietly. “Is everyone on the pill?”

“Yes,” we all chimed. Kate’s cousin had a close call last summer, and now she was the

poster girl for birth control, even for virgins.

We nodded to each other, realizing that we were all taking this a little more seriously than

we were letting on. It was clear that some of us wanted to stay in our bubble of single-hood

for a bit longer, but if we ever wanted to find real relationships, we were going to have to

start practicing.

Since the only family I had was my mostly silent mother, I was extremely grateful to have

these four almost-sisters to give me an occasional push.

My phone beeped, and I took my last sip of wine. “I’m sorry, I have to go. I need to double-

check my packing, because I have to get up early.”

“I thought the train trip was only an hour and a half?” Becca asked, her pink-tipped fingers

fiddling with her necklace.

“That’s the express train. I got a deal on a ticket for the one that makes every stop.”

“I’ve always liked trains,” Laura said. “Bring a good book – it’s always tranquil reading as