Once in a Blue Moon

by Lenora Worth

• ISBN13: 9780373881147
• ISBN10: 0373881142
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-10-01
• Publisher: Harlequin

Summary

Who said life is a beach?

Certainly not Lola Nelson. Her neighbors might be fooled by her not-a-hair-out-of-place appearance.

But alone in bed at night, Lola believes she's lost all the passion in her life since her husband's death. Hoping t

Excerpts

"I bought the Blue House." Ignoring the delicate drone of the lunch crowd at the Tea and Trinkets Tearoom in Shreveport, Louisiana, Lola Nelson waited for the reaction from her friends, Chloe Simons, Emma Strickland and Shelby Harold. It hadn't been easy keeping this a secret for over a month now. But buying the Blue House was a huge thing. It was the first truly real thing Lola had ever done on her own, and on impulse, without advice from anyone else. Not even her three closest friends. These four were known as the Beach Bunnies. Lola had christened them that years ago, when they'd all admitted at a women's beach retreat on organization and efficiency, that they hated dust bunnies, but they loved the beach. Although other friends had come and gone, these four had been fast friends for over fifteen years and they never kept secrets from each other. Well, maybe one or two. Which was why Lola had been dying to tell them her big news for weeks now. She'd purposely invited them here to one of their favorite eating spots to do so, since she was pretty sure they would all be extremely upset with her for holding out on them in the first place, and she figured they wouldn't make a big, loud scene in such a dainty little place. She hoped. Lola liked to play her cards close to her chest, and in this case, she'd done something completely out of character and impulsive. And she'd needed time to find her bearings before revealing this latest escapade. From her friends' gasps and shocked expressions, she'd say she'd hit the mark. Their expressions went from surprised to confused to suspicious without skipping a beat. Emma put down her forkful of pasta salad and stared across the Victorian-themed table at Lola, her brown eyes widening. "What did you say?" "Are you deaf?" Chloe asked Emma, fingering the gold Monet slide necklace hanging at her throat. "Lola said she bought a blue house." Then she glanced at Lola, then back at Emma, her green eyes filling with acknowledgment. "Uhoh. She bought the Blue House on the beach in Gulf Shores!" Emma took a sip from her glistening crystal glass of raspberry iced tea. "I don't believe it." She eyed Lola as if searching for signs of a fever. "Did you really?" Before Lola could answer, Emma looked over at Shelby. "Do you believe her?" Wishing Shelby Haroldwouldsay something--Shelby didn't hover or question too much; she was quiet and dependable and perfectly blunt--Lola innocently took a sip of her hot tea and looked away. It was hard enough telling them her big news, let alone having them think she'd gone off the deep end. But maybe she had finally cracked. Shelby stirred Sweet'n Low into her own tea, then without answering Emma's question, gave Lola a curious stare. "When did you decide this?" "About six weeks ago." Lola looked at her three best friends, thinking they reminded her of a group of flower blossoms. Emma had shaggy auburn hair and big brown eyes and Chloe had short red hair and bright green eyes. Shelby's softly highlighted hair was a mixture of silver and brown, while her eyes were a delicate hazel. Dressed in the usual bright spring sweaters and tailored slacks, they brought Lola a certain comfort and security, just like her butterfly garden at home. But right now, they were all watching her with that worried, curious, concerned expression she'd come to expect since her husband Kent had died six months ago. Outside the broad restaurant window, the April sunshine zinged by with a carefree clarity. Spring was coming to northwest Louisiana and that meant the Beach Bunnies' annual trip to the Gulf of Mexico. They'd been making this trip in one capacity or another every spring for over fifteen years. But this year--this year Lola would make the trip as a widow. That sounded so staid and sad. A widow. "I don't believe it," Emma said again, waving a hand in the air, her voice carrying across the intimate