Page 101 of The Summer Swap

“I’m the same.” But it all made sense now. The reason Cecilia had smashed all the paintings but that one. It hadn’t been painted by Cameron. The final piece of the puzzle had fallen into place. “I’m so tired but I don’t want to sleep. This is the happiest I can ever remember being and I don’t want to waste a moment of it.”

She still couldn’t believe that she was with Todd. She couldn’t stop smiling. She’d smiled so much over the past few days that the muscles in her face should have been tired.

He kissed the top of her head. “Sleep. I promise I can make you happy in the morning, too.”

But she knew she wouldn’t sleep. She fought her way through the wisps of tiredness that tried to wrap themselves around her brain.

“Have you ever wanted to hold on to a moment because it’s perfect?”

“Not until I met you.” He murmured the words against her mouth. “But we don’t need to hold on to this moment, because we have a million more moments just like this one ahead of us.”

“Cecilia was pleased with the cottage, wasn’t she?”

“Yes. It was worth the muscle aches, and the blisters and the lack of sleep. Of course you were partly responsible for the lack of sleep.”

She smiled against his lips. “I’m not going to apologize. Do you think she’ll still sell it?”

He eased away just enough so that he could look at her. “I don’t know. I think we wiped away those memories, but maybe this place just isn’t the life she wants.”

“You mean because she and Seth are—”

“Together. Yes. Maybe it’s time she swapped her old life for a new one. That’s what she has basically done this summer.”

“Like me.” Lily stroked her hand over his shoulder and down his arm and wondered if the day would ever come when she didn’t want to touch him. “Do you think your mom is okay with her being with Seth?”

“I hope so. She should be.” He caught her hand in his and kissed the tips of her fingers. “In the end it’s no one’s business except Nanna’s. It’s her life. People should be allowed to make their own choices, and the people around them have to learn to accept it whatever their personal views.”

“On that subject, I have something to say.”

“You have?” He stilled. “It sounds as if you’re about to say something profound. Is this the sort of conversation where we should both be sitting upright so I can give you my interested and supportive look?”

“If you sit up you’ll probably bang your head. I’m fine with the lying down version.” No one had ever been as supportive of her as he was. He didn’t encourage her to be the person he wanted her to be. He encouraged her to be herself.

“Then tell me.” He stroked her hair away from her face. “Whatever it is, I’m right there with you, you know that. I’m in your corner.”

It was having him in her corner that had made the difference.

“This last week has been the best of my life. I know I’ve already said that, but I’m saying it again because it’s true. And it’s not just because of you, although a lot of it is.”

“Go on. My ego is loving this.”

“I loved transforming this place. And I learned a lot. It isn’t just about how a place looks, is it? It’s about how it makes you feel. And every single room is different. It’s like starting a new canvas.” She expected him to tease her for her enthusiasm, but he didn’t.

“You’re good at it. And I could see how much you enjoyed it.”

“It’s the first time in my life I’ve felt comfortable with the work I’ve done. No anxiety. No pressure. Just a sense of satisfaction and the confidence that I can do it.” It was a revelation that she could feel that way. All her life she’d felt as if she was a breath away from failing. She’d thought that the feeling of pressure, the anxiety that almost smothered her in the early hours of the morning, was part of who she was. She’d thought it was something she’d have to learn to live with, to manage, but now she understood that wasn’t true. That feeling had gone. “Do you know how good it feels to do something that you love? Yes, you do, because you’re doing something you love, too.”

“I can see from your face how good that feels.” He stroked her cheek with his fingers. “I always said you were meant to be an artist. And Seth seems to think that it might be possible for you to go down a more traditional route.”

“Whatever Seth says, I still don’t believe I’ll make a living from my art. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I can see now that this life, or some version of it, is possible for me.”

“Time will show us whether Seth was right, and in the meantime I can tell you that you will make a living using your artistic skills to decorate people’s houses. And on that subject, I have a proposition to make. Set up in business with me. You can split your time between art and house renovation.”

She sat up because she couldn’t concentrate when she was lying this close to him. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. I’m thinking of basing myself here, on the Cape, as we both love it. What do you think?”

“Are you inviting me to join you?”

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