Once We Met
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to an actual person, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2023 by Annabelle McCormack
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Published by Annabelle McCormack
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www.annabellemccormack.com
To family curses, especially the ones that dictate you don’t marry the first guy who proposes so that you get to end up with someone much better for you. Thank God.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Epilogue
Newsletter and Next Book
Acknowledgments
Also by Annabelle McCormack
About the Author
Chapter One
Now
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Avery Moretti didn’t really believe in curses, except for the one that had condemned every woman in her family: that she’d be engaged at least twice before she found her spouse. Which was exactly why Avery was sure she might actually die on this godforsaken airplane. Bryan was only her first fiancé, and they got along great. They were deeply in love and had been for a year.
With the wedding only a few weeks away, it would take something like an accident to end their relationship.
Not to mention that Avery could visualize the newspaper headline: “Bride-to-be and Maid of Honor Die in Fiery Mountain Plane Crash.”
The plane touched down in the small airport near the mountains of Western Maryland, and her left hand curled into a fist, the diamond of her engagement ring digging into her palm as she prayed for good luck. The pilot had predicted this would be a bumpy landing, and her stomach was already prepared to drop from not enough food. She mashed down on the chewing gum, giving Erika a sidelong glance. Her best friend wasn’t afraid of flying and had her head still buried in her e-reader.
Weren’t electronics supposed to be off during landing?
The whole plane shook, then took a deep bounce, and they were on the tarmac. Not exactly smooth.
As Avery exhaled, tension released from her shoulders. Erika raised a brow at her. “See? I told you we wouldn’t die.”
Avery leaned back in her seat, still trembling. “Bryan was right. I shouldn’t have gotten on this contraption. I can’t believe my father thought this would be easier than flying in from Pittsburgh. This was terrifying. Did you know if a plane catches on fire, you have, like, ninety seconds to exit before it burns up?” Great, now I sound like Bryan, repeating frightening statistics about flying.
Erika grinned, then pulled her carry-on out from under the seat. “Yeah, it must be such a burden having your dad get you on a private, chartered flight. Since when are you so afraid of flying?” She fished a box of mints from her purse. “Want one? It’s no chamomile, but it’ll settle your stomach. You’re looking green.”
Avery unlatched her seat belt. The nice thing about this chartered flight was that there wasn’t a flight attendant to scold her for unbuckling too soon.
Her knee bounced. She didn’t have a fear of flying. The flight from San Diego had been fine. But when she’d met up with Erika in the airport in West Virginia and seen the tiny plane, all of Bryan’s warnings flooded back. Erika, still half-asleep because of her early flight from Miami, hadn’t cared about the plane’s size. “I can’t help it. I’m just nervous.”
Erika chewed on her lower lip, then frowned. She pulled a pot of her homemade lip balm from her bag and smoothed it on her lips. “It’s going to be fine. I’m sure of it. You just need to get your heels on the ground. It’s the fun part now. Just a half-dozen appointments, and we can relax.”
“I should have listened to my gut and hired a day-of coordinator from Brandywood.” Bryan had strongly objected to the extra expense, though, and she hadn’t wanted yet another wedding-related argument. The arguments had started from the moment her parents had offered to pay for the wedding, which Bryan didn’t want. He claimed it would give them too much control.
Avery tucked a loose strand of hair behind the neat bun she’d made that morning before she left her apartment. It wasn’t the summery look that she imagined went with the lake house trip of her dreams, but it had tamed her thick, wavy auburn locks well when she’d left at four in the morning.
Erika slipped her e-reader into her bag as the plane finished taxiing to a stop. “As Halmeoni always says, ‘Even a monkey sometimes falls from the tree.’ Mistakes happen. We still have plenty of time to sort everything out.”
Avery gave a taut nod. Usually, Erika quoting her Korean grandmother’s proverbs made her smile, but now it didn’t.
She had two weeks. That was it. Planning a wedding from across the country had been harder than she’d expected it to be, even in a town that she’d been visiting every summer since she was born. Since she’d started doing work for a major publisher a year earlier, she could hardly keep up with designing book covers, let alone plan a wedding. Not that she wanted to scale back on the work. She was finally doing her dream job.
But the wedding planning probably should have gotten a smidge more attention. Everything would be fine at the venue, at least. She’d reserved every room in Serendipity Lake Lodge nine months ago, when Bryan had proposed. And she’d spoken to the ancient owner, Mr. Harrison, about holding her wedding on the grounds there, and he’d assured her it wouldn’t be a problem. He’d even let her make payments, and she’d dutifully been putting them in the mail all year.
The problem was that Mr. Harrison told her everything for the wedding had to be brought in from off-site—florals, a tent, chairs, catering, a band, everything—because the Serendipity wasn’t a wedding venue. But all that trouble seemed worth it, because Avery’s parents and grandparents had both had their weddings at Serendipity.
Of course, when their weddings had been there, weddings weren’t what they were now. Avery had more than one hundred guests coming in from all over the country. Besides the ten rooms she’d booked at Serendipity, her guests had booked short-term rentals and cabins throughout the town. Brandywood wasn’t exactly swimming in hotels, and since the whole town had come into the national spotlight recently, those rentals and rooms were scarce.
A local day-of coordinator
would have saved Avery’s sanity, but Bryan had thought it was excessive. “We are both highly educated professionals, Avery,” Bryan had said. “I think we can coordinate our own wedding. That’s another made-up job created by the wedding industry to add to the ridiculous cost of weddings in America.”
Well, it’s too late now. She was here, and her work email had an out-of-office auto response message. She’d fix whatever she could at this point and let go of the rest . . . or at least try to let go.
Avery pulled her phone out and turned it back on. She checked her watch. “Okay. We’re early. We can probably go straight to Serendipity, drop our bags off, then head to the bakery. After that, we can get some lunch.”
“Aye, Captain.” Erika grinned. “Relax already. You’re at your vacation paradise, aren’t you?” She leaned past Avery to see out the window and grimaced. “Though I have to admit, my idea of paradise is more palm trees, more blue sparkling ocean waves, and a lot more drinks in my hand. Are we in the middle of a field?”
The pilot opened the door to the cockpit and nodded toward them. “Welcome to Accident, ladies.”
“Accident?” Erika gave him an odd look.
“That’s where the airport is located.” He said it with a straight face and not a hint of irony.
Avery’s jaw dropped. Of all the terrible names for a town with an airport. Thank God I didn’t know that before I landed.
The pilot helped them grab their suitcases from the plane, and they made their way out to the tarmac, carry-ons in hand. Standing on the nearly empty airport landing strip, Avery gave a disheartening glance around.
They really were in the middle of nowhere. Beyond a neatly mown field, trees lined the short airstrip. A few buildings and hangars made up the rest of the “airport.” As they parted from the pilot, she checked her phone for service. One dismal bar.
Hopefully, she could call an Uber. They stopped near one building off the tarmac as Avery unsuccessfully logged into the app. “Crap.”
Erika pulled out her sunglasses, fanning her face. “Aren’t the mountains supposed to be cooler than this?”
“Even the mountains can get warm in August.” Erika’s comment struck Avery. The whole reason her Floridian family had come to Brandywood was to get away to a cooler lakeside summer retreat each year. At least, according to her grandmother. Her grandfather’s friend from his younger days in the army had been from there, too, and it was a good chance for them to catch up until they’d both passed away.
But with the beach at her disposal every weekend in Miami, a trip to the lake had always felt special. Brandywood was where her family felt the most at home . . . and where she’d first fallen in love at eighteen. She’d even given that first love one of the most precious items she owned—her grandfather’s St. Christopher medal. She was still mad at herself for giving it to Dan Klein.
Her jaw set. She didn’t have time to reminisce about lazy summer days splashing in the lake or bruised hearts right now. “I can’t get the Uber app to pull up.”
Erika sneezed and scrunched her nose, her dark eyes scanning the barren parking lot. “Is anyone even here?”
No one was in sight. Where had the pilot gone? He appeared to have hightailed it out of there. Avery’s gaze zeroed in on a security guard near the entrance, who appeared to be asleep in his metal folding chair. She marched toward him, heels wobbling. “Excuse me?”
He lifted his head from his chin. “Yes, ma’am?”
“I’m trying to get a ride into Brandywood from here and can’t get cell service. Do you know if there’s a taxi service or a bus?”
His gray brows pushed together quizzically. “Bus?”
“Into Brandywood.” She did her best to keep a calm, polite tone. Her question hadn’t been that complicated.
“No, ma’am.”
“Well, do you have a taxi service around here?”
“Taxi service?”
Not this again.
Erika sneezed beside her. “I feel like my throat is getting itchy. Do you have a tissue, Ave?”
“Probably ragweed. You’re not from around here, are you?” The old man gave Erika a sympathetic look and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. “You can use this. It’s clean.”
Erika stared at the handkerchief as though he’d offered her a dead bird. “I-I . . .”
Avery retrieved a fresh package of travel tissues from her purse and thrust it into Erika’s hands. “We’re fine, thanks. So about that taxi service . . .”
The security guard shrugged. “Nothing like that around here. You should try one of those handy app services my grandson is always talking about.”
Avery forced a patient smile on her face. “I would, but I don’t have cell service. So it doesn’t work.”
“I don’t have a fancy phone. I’d give you a ride, but my shift isn’t over. You want me to call my grandson? I’m sure he could help.”
Erika wiped her nose. “That’d be gre—”
“Uh, Erika, why don’t we talk?” Avery tugged her several feet away. She eyed the security guard. “I don’t think so. We have no way of telling anyone where we’re going or who we’re going with. Bryan wouldn’t like me getting in a car with a perfect stranger.”
Erika rolled her eyes. “Didn’t you hitchhike across California once? And then end up hooking up with some random magician?”
“Yeah, I’d like to think I’ve gotten slightly smarter and more mature since that incident. And please never tell Bryan about the magician. He already questioned my judgment enough when I told him about the hitchhiking.”
“You’d get into a car with a stranger if it were an Uber.”
She couldn’t argue with her logic. But that didn’t mean Bryan would agree. “But it’s not Uber. And at least there, the app could track us. I could send Bryan a license plate. Something. We can walk. It’s safer, and we’re both reasonably fit women. We’ll be fine. I’ll just change my shoes.”
“Take a picture of the license plate of whoever takes us, then. You can still send it.” Sneezing again, Erika turned toward the security guard. “How far is it to the lake from here?”
“’Bout eleven miles.”
Erika gave Avery a sharp look. “I’m not walking eleven miles. Whatever is triggering my allergies has me ready to claw my eyes out already. I need to find my way to a pharmacy. Stat.”
“But—”
“If it makes you feel better, tell Bryan I made you do it. Or better yet, don’t tell him at all. I don’t see what the big deal is.” Erika started back toward the security guard.
Avery released a slow stream of air between her lips. She didn’t want to resort to lying. She’d worked so hard not to be that person anymore. But maybe this was nothing to worry about.
Flying into a town named Accident. Not having service or access to an Uber. Those weren’t signs of bad omens. Because curses weren’t real. And she’d laid Avery, the superstitious, impulsive, irresponsible girl, to rest. She needed to stop worrying. She’d survived the flight. Nothing is going to happen.
Avery raised her chin and gave Erika her most promising smile. “Sure. We’d appreciate the offer of a ride.” She just needed to relax and get through the next couple of weeks. After that, she’d never have to worry about any sort of curse again. Erika gave her a grateful look, then sneezed.
“Where’re you two girls heading?” The security guard stood and limped toward a nearby phone on the wall.
“Serendipity Lake Lodge. It’s on the lake.”
The security guard squinted at her. “You sure about that?”
She didn’t like the sound of that. Her hands grew strangely damp and achy. “Positive.” Avery’s voice sounded overly bright. “I’ve been going there on summer vacation for almost thirty years. It’s right on the lake.”
The old man scrunched his face, giving a slow shake to his head as he scratched it. “No, no. I don’t mean that. I mean, you sure that’s where you’re going? The owner of the lodge, Ken Harrison,
was a good friend of mine. But he died in January. The place has been shut down for the past few months. His daughter just sold it.”
Avery’s knees wobbled, the air whooshing past her ears as her brain struggled to process his words.
The Serendipity . . .
The one place she hadn’t worried about at all.
Because Mr. Harrison knew her by name. He’d faithfully held on to her family’s reservations for over fifty years. She’d mailed in her payments, rented the whole place out—what had there been to call about?
How could she have overlooked this?
The Serendipity was the site of her wedding. She should have confirmed the reservation, even if she’d never had to worry about it before.
A silent scream formed inside her, but no sound came from her parted lips as her eyes locked with Erika’s.
So much for nothing going wrong.
Chapter Two
The renovation was going better than Dan Klein had expected it would.
His sisters had the hold on all the creative genes. His brother was good with numbers. And then there were his brothers-in-law. One was internationally known in business and a multi-millionaire, another was so busy with his home improvement and house-flipping work that he had to turn customers away, and the third was so good at helping his wife run their family rental cabins that they’d tripled the number of cabins on their property in the past two years.