The One Who Loves You (Tickled Pink #1)(113)

“Holy shit,” Willie Wayne suddenly says reverently. “No way. No. Way.”

“Get a live one?” Jane calls.

He’s fumbling with things in the bottom of his boat, and he eventually comes up with his binoculars. “Oooohhhhh, Teague, you’re not gonna like this,” he says as he trains his attention on the shore.

I glance over, and there’s Estelle, walking down the path behind the square, a dark-haired woman beside her.

“Oh no, she didn’t.” Phoebe straightens, drops her phone, and shades her eyes as she, too, looks to shore.

“Holy shit holy shit holy shit,” Willie Wayne’s whispering.

“No, she didn’t,” Phoebe repeats. She flaps her hands. “Teague. Shore. Now.”

“Fastest way might be to swim,” I muse.

“Dad.” Bridget suddenly makes a noise I know all too well, too, and my curiosity turns to dread. “Dad, that’s Lola Minelli.”

“Shut your mouth!” Phoebe shrieks. “It is not! It cannot be. I refuse to believe this.”

“Akiko isn’t going to like this,” Willie Wayne groans. “That she’s on my freebie list thing is a joke, but Akiko is not going to like this.”

Lola Minelli.

Lola—oh, fuck me.

“Tell me your grandmother didn’t bring a reality TV star to my town,” I say to Phoebe.

My eye is twitching.

My eyeball is freaking twitching.

“I’m sure she’s just visiting,” Phoebe says, not sounding sure at all. “Gigi was only joking about moving someone new into my room. And my room hardly qualifies as a tiny house, so Lola wouldn’t be . . .”

She trails off while everyone in the surrounding boats slowly turns to look at me.

Technically speaking, I live in a tiny house.

I live in the coolest tiny house.

“No,” I say.

Willie Wayne chuckles. Nervously, but he chuckles.

Jane outright cackles with glee.

“Who’s Lola Minelli?” Jonah calls to me. “She one of your ex-girlfriends?”

Shiloh cracks up so hard she almost falls off the pontoon.

“She wishes,” Phoebe calls back.

“Teague,” Estelle hollers from the shore. “Teague, you need to come here. Now. We have something to discuss.”

I eyeball Phoebe.

Then her grandmother.

Then the bodysuit-clad woman twirling her long dark hair next to the queen of hell, who will most likely be my grandmother-in-law someday in the not-so-distant future, if one of us doesn’t kill the other first.

I settle back into the beanbag chair in my boat. “Welp, Phoebe, hope you don’t mind living on the lake,” I say, “because I’m pretty sure I’m never going to shore again.”

She laughs, and then she does the most Phoebe thing ever.

She tries to crawl across the bottom of the boat, probably to kiss me and promise me it won’t be so bad, but the boat rocks, and she freezes so fast that I don’t care about Estelle or the reality TV star or anything anymore.

I just care that Phoebe’s okay.

“You know if you go in this lake, I’m coming in after you, right?” I murmur.

“My penguin too?”

“Penguin too.”

“And my cat?”

“Anything for my love.”

She inches forward, slow and careful, until I can reach down and pull her into my lap. She snuggles in, then lifts her face and smiles at me. “You know what?”

“What?”

“I think I could live on this lake. But only if I’m with you, and only if we occasionally sneak to shore to ride the Ferris wheel in the middle of the night once it’s done.”

That’s my Phoebe.

She’s nothing like what I expected.

And still everything I need.





AUTHOR’S NOTE

Dear reader, Writing this book brought me so much joy during a time when joy was in short supply. I hope you enjoyed Teague, Phoebe, and their friends and families and that you’ll always consider Tickled Pink a safe place to return to whenever you need the reminder that you’re utterly perfect, exactly as you are.

If you’re looking for more snort-funny romantic comedies that’ll also hit you in the feels, I hope you’ll check out my website for a full list of books, and if you’re really ready to dive in, sign up for my newsletter for weekly visits with various characters from the Pippaverse, behind-the-scenes peeks, book recommendations of my favorite reads, and more fun.

Keep reading, and stay awesome.

Pippa





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


Before all else, I’d like to thank you for spending time with Phoebe, Teague, the Lightlys, and the residents of Tickled Pink, Wisconsin. Books are nothing without readers devouring their pages. You’re a superstar! Make sure you treat yourself like one.

A massive thank-you to Maria Gomez at Montlake for believing in me and making this project possible, and to Lindsey Faber for pushing me to make it even better.

To Jodi, Beth, and Jess, who keep me organized, looking good, and always sending Pipster Reports on time—I would be a puddle of helplessness without you. Please don’t ever leave me.

To Jenn, Jenny, Tammy, and Joyce—thank you for keeping the Pipsquad running seamlessly! You are the best. Squishy hugs all around!