Page 76 of Diving In

Jesus, this man was too good.

I turned my head so he wouldn’t catch the grin on my face. I couldn’t let him know that he was right, that he knew me better than I knew myself, that it made me so damn happy.

The sun greeted us as soon as we stepped foot on the front porch. I almost forgot how lovely the warm July sun felt as it landed on my skin. I stopped to take it all in.

“You good?” Cal asked.

“So good.” He grabbed my hand, squeezing it as we walked toward the Jeep.

Making our way toward town, I couldn’t help but feel Jack and Fletcher, their presence floating through the wind around me. A sense of peace flooded through me, and I was sure it was no coincidence.

Reaching into my bag, I grabbed my phone and dialed Mom’s number. In the midst of all the chaos, I hadn’t had a chance to call her again, and based on the texts I’d been ignoring from her, Ivy had already shared some of the news. So, I knew our phone call would be interesting.

“Hey, Mom!”

“Well, hello, G.”

“How much has she told you?”

“Hey, Mrs. Windsor!” Cal said as he shot a look in my direction.

“Enough to know that you broke up with Ian and the man I just heard was Callahan Thomas. Hello, Mr. Thomas.”

My stomach flipped with excitement at the sound of her talking to Cal.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner. Things were just, uh, a little busy.” I was on the verge of letting out the tiniest giggle as I glanced over at Cal.

“Don’t apologize, my darling girl. I can’t tell you how much comfort I find in hearing the happiness radiating from you. I don’t know what your plan is, but if you’re going to be there a while, I’d love to come visit.”

“Honestly, I don’t have a plan. But I’d love that, Mom. I think I’ll be here for a while. There’s just something… magical about this island,” I said.

“You’re starting to sound like Jack.” My mom laughed. “I love you, G. Way past heaven.”

“I love you too.”

The high I was feeling from that phone call withered a bit when I realized that I’d have to be the one to tell her about Beau.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Cal asked.

“I’m just dreading telling Mom about Beau.”

“I get it, but look at it this way. She’s coming to visit, and you’re going to be the one that gets to tell her that she has a grandson. Despite the shitty circumstances, that fact alone will be enough to make her happy,” he said.

I smiled at him because I knew he was right.

Minutes later, we were pulling up to The Grounded Bean, my anxiety skyrocketing as soon as Cal shifted the Jeep into park. I kept telling myself that the hard part of initially meeting Beau was over, but I couldn’t help feeling like I was meeting him for the first time again.

As I got out of the car, I met Cal at the front of the Jeep and stole his hand as quickly as I could, knowing it would bring me the solace I needed to enter this restaurant.

“I’ve got you.And, Georgia?”

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I’m proud of you,” he whispered into my ear, pressing a lingering kiss against my temple.

The door closed behind us, and I saw Beau immediately. He hadn’t seen us yet, but I was okay with that. It gave me time to really look at him, admire him. And holy shit, he was literally Fletcher reincarnated. Even the way he sat in his chair, elbow propped up on the table, hand resting against his chin while he read the menu… He was Fletcher, or at least a damn close replica.

He looked up from the menu and met my eyes, and I could have sworn I saw a hint of a smile, so I smiled back. Butterflies danced in my stomach as we approached the table, but I did my best to appear calm. Thank god for Cal, because calm was all he knew how to be.

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