Page 54 of Sometimes You Stay

He loved the land not just because his dad had but because his dad had taught him to love it too.

And just because he liked Cretia—and liked being near her—didn’t mean that she felt the same or was interested in inviting him to tag along on her adventures.

Finn stabbed his fingers through his hair and took a shallow breath, then forced himself to let it out on a silent sigh. “Are you going to pick it up?”

“Across the ocean?” Julia Mae asked. “But that’s too far. How will we see you if you’re so far away?”

Cretia opened her arm to welcome the little girl’s hug about her waist. “Actually, I asked the delivery company to send it to the inn.”

Someone yanked a boulder off his chest, and Finn could breathe deeply again.

She looked right into his eyes. “I thought I’d stick around for another week or so.”

His smile refused to be subdued, and hers matched.

Spending another week with her was a terrible idea. Saying goodbye in a week would be even harder than it would be now. But for however long she stayed, he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

Cretia finally looked down at the girl hanging on her waist. “Would you mind if I stayed with you a little longer?”

Cretia couldn’t sleep that night. She paced the confines of her room, pausing every now and then to inspect the sweet antique trinkets that lined the bookshelves or press a key on the ancient typewriter that sat on the desk. But the more she walked, the smaller the room felt.

She had to turn to the side to navigate between the foot of the bed and the desk chair. The bookcase, laden with clothbound tomes, looked like it might tumble over to box her in. Even her brand-new suitcase—identical to the one that had fallen into the harbor—blocked her path.

All the elements that had made the room so homey before now made it feel too small, too cluttered, toomuch.

Her skin itched, tighter than it should be. Her heart thudded so loudly that she feared it would keep Marie and her family awake.

Wringing her hands in the hem of her pajama shirt, she tried not to let her mind wander to the what-ifs. But there were so many of them. Chief among them, what if she’d made the wrong decision?

Maybe she should have gone to Italy.

And never see Finn again?

Her lungs seized at the very thought, and she coughed to force air in.

She barely knew the guy. He was not why she had decided to stay.

He was ... a perk.

Yeah, keep telling yourself that.

Shaking her head, she slammed her hands on her hips and stared at the ceiling. Even with the light from the bedside lamp, the corners were shrouded in shadows, and she wanted to fall into them. Just to disappear for a little while.

It wasn’t too late for Italy.

Snatching her phone from its spot on the nightstand, she thanked God that the customer support had gotten her online. She opened her favorite travel app and started a search for flights to Europe, leaving from Charlottetown in the morning.

Before she could see her options, a bar across the top of her phone popped up. A call. From Finn. The phone vibrated in her hand, on silent mode since earlier that evening.

She froze. It was nearly midnight. He couldn’t know she was still awake. Unless he was standing outside her window and saw her light was on.

But that only happened in rom-coms.

Her stomach swooped. Maybe something was wrong. But he wouldn’t callher. He had an island full of trusted friends and family.

The phone shook again.

With a deep breath, she hit the green button. “Hello?”

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