Page 87 of Savannah Sweethearts

It figures he would track me down. I’m not sure how he knew where I would be, but there he was, waiting. While my heart leapt upon seeing him, it also felt bitter that he hadn’t trusted me or confided in me.

When he waved I trudged over to him, my heels hooked onto my fingers. Sand sloughed off me as I patted myself down. I stopped in front of Orlando and crossed my arms.

“Let me explain. Please.” His voice was low and he did not meet my gaze. When I didn’t answer, he took his own shoes and socks off. “Can we walk?”

I set my shoes next to his. “Sure. Let’s walk.”

We set off silently and I kept my eyes on the uneven terrain of the sand until we made it to the heavy, packed sand closer to the water. Orlando moved to be between me and the waves.

It took him a moment, but he finally opened up. “When I first came here, yes, I thought I would sell The Promenade. Potential new owners were set up to come look at it before I even got there, but I wanted a few weeks to give it a full assessment before they came. I intended to sell it, turn a profit, and set my mother up for a comfortable retirement before I went back to Atlanta.”

I sucked in a breath. “You’re going back to Atlanta?”

He stopped walking a moment. “I was going to. That had been my plan.” He picked up a shell, then continued to walk. “I spent weeks running the numbers, checking the profits, making sure this was a viable business. But in that time I realized I loved the slower pace here, I enjoy not being so stressed out. And I enjoy seeing you every day. I didn’t think I would, but I really like it here.”

“You could have told me any of this,” I said. “And you should have told your mother. I told her.” I looked at him then, feeling guilty that I had ratted him out.

He shrugged slightly. “Yeah, she came to talk to me.”

“What did she say?”

After a thought, Orlando grinned. “She told me to come after you. So I did.”

“What about selling?” I drug my toes through the wet sand.

“She wasn’t too happy. But she was more unhappy that I had let you get away.” His hand reached out for mine. I considered pulling mine away, but I didn’t. His fingers entwined with mine. “I’m truly sorry, Amaya. I shouldn’t have kept it from you.”

I stopped and looked up at him. “I’m hurt that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me. If you want to sell your business, you can. Maybe you aren’t in the same place with our relationship as I am, and that’s okay, but I thought we had a mutual trust happening.”

“We do, we do.” He ran his hands over my bare arms. “I do trust you. I was stupid and clearly not thinking. My mom said the same things you said. And I told her I much preferred life here to life in Atlanta. I like running The Promenade and maintaining my other ventures from here. It’s less pressure and I feel more relaxed now than I ever have.”

He hesitated and we allowed the breeze to blow through our hair. “You have made me feel more relaxed than I ever have. I credit you with much of what has made me fall in love with Savannah.”

Once again, I waited with bated breath, wondering if he would use the word love in conjunction with my name. Maybe I should say it first. Thoughts of Kyle tried to push to the forefront of my mind, but I squashed them back again.

“Orlando,” I mused. I didn’t know what else to say. There was both too much and not enough in my mind to form a coherent thought.

He pulled me close and kissed my hair. “Let’s grab something to eat before we head back, huh?” When I nodded into his chest, he asked, “Do you forgive me?”

I nodded again and looked up at him. “If you can forgive me for reacting so poorly. I was so caught off guard I didn’t know what to do.”

“There’s nothing to forgive. I would have done the same thing.”

We made our way back to our cars and decided to ride together. Orlando could bring me back to mine later. We stopped by a little seafood shack that smelled like the sea and was coated in sand.

Before we left, we ventured out to the porch that was covered in crab traps and fishing gear but overlooked a beautiful inlet. The gear was from a hard day’s work, not as décor, and we had to step over several fish scales that were clinging to my shoes. The view, however, far surpassed any obstacle we had to get through. The lighthouse stood tall in the distance, the sound of waves crashed in our ears, and the smell of salty air filled our noses. It both looked and smelled like home to me.

“This is where I would get married.” I blurted it out before even realizing I was saying it.

I was left stunned when Orlando replied. “I agree. Let’s do it.”

My attention turned from the view to him. “Excuse me?” I almost choked but I managed to hold off while I stared him down.

He looked like a child playing his favorite game, face alight, body wound up tight. “Let’s get married here.”

I laughed because he sounded ridiculous, but my heart began to pound inside my chest. “Orlando, we’re not engaged. We are not planning a wedding.”

“That can be fixed.” His eyebrows waggled as he put his arms around my waist.

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