Page 55 of Their Reluctant Catch

The flowers drop from my hand, and I turn.

I shake off Todd’s hand, and stumble into the hallway and down the stairs. I need air. I need the sea. I need... her.

I move on autopilot, out the door, and into the cold. The wetness on my face has nothing to do with the weather.

I don’t know where I’m going.

The dock. TheSea Spirit. The only place that’s ever felt steady.

Except it doesn’t anymore.

It’s like watching a fishing net rip open as I haul it on board, my hopes slipping away with a flick of a tail.

Nothing has hurt so much like this. Not even when my ex told me she was leaving.Because you didn’t love her, you love Savannah, a little voice in my head taunts.

Yes, yes, I do.

Because I love her.

I fucking love her.

Halfway down the driveway, I stumble.

* * *

Savannah

I turn, the hand holding my phone dropping limply to my side.

Todd stands just inside the room, his expression unreadable.

And—wait. Is he holding flowers?

Behind him, I only see Colton’s back.

The scene feels unreal, like I’ve stepped into someone else’s life. My mom’s voice is still muffled in my ear, but I barely register the words. I raise the phone back, pressing it against my cheek. “Sorry, Mom. I have to go.” I end the call before she can object.

I told her I was staying in Maine, which did come as a shock to her. Probably, I should have been more sensitive to her reaction to the news. But I can’t deal with Mom right now.

I have more important matters at hand.

My left eyebrow slides up, and I cock my head at the brother standing in the doorway.

Todd shifts his weight, and his grip flexes around the bouquet.

“We love you.”

The words don’t register at first.

I blink. Once. Twice. My gaze drops to the flowers lying on the floor, the ones Colton let slip from his fingers before he bolted.

My other eyebrow joins the first in its climb toward my hairline. “We?”

Todd rubs the back of his neck, looking uncharacteristically unsure. Then he bends, picks up the fallen flowers, and holds them both out to me. “Yeah… we.”

I don’t reach for them. “Why did Colton take off like that?”

Todd exhales through his nose, the sound somewhere between amusement and frustration. “We overheard you telling your mom you miss her and Miami.”

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