Page 20 of The Candlemaker

Well, she clearly had no idea my father had owned it—or willed it to me. And I wasn’t about to bring it or him up. “Selling.”

“Oh.” Her face fell.

“I’m up to take a look. It’s not under contract yet.”

“Well, tell Tom to only bring you buyers who want to preserve the place,” she declared, and I swore I was having déjà vu. How many times had she put her own stamp on my business dealings? Not a lot of them, but always ones that had history or character or meaning; Mom always took a stand for those.

“It’s absolutely charming and quite a landmark for the town, so be sure you sell to whoever is going to preserve that.”

Which was definitely notJohn Fairfax. The condo king.

“Noted,” I said with a tight voice, my knuckles turning white where they held my knee. Fuck if that wasn’t going to make this deal more painful to do.

“It reminds me a little of this place, actually,” she said, her voice softening as her gaze strayed around her room. “Warm and welcoming.” She looked back at me and then waved her hand over the candle, wafting more of the scent toward her at the same time as it made the flame go out. “A place that can make you feel at home.”

The significance of her words wasn’t lost on me. The Edgewood Estate wasn’t her home—not the one she’d give the designation—but the place and the people were enough to give her the same kind of comfort. It wasn’t what I wanted for her, but what I wanted wasn’t possible. So, this was all I could do.

I took her hand in mine, giving her small fingers a gentle squeeze. “And it’s close to the beach,” I added with a small smile. “Maybe we could go over there one day.”

She smiled back, blinked, and then broke me. “What beach, Geoff?”

Chapter Five

Frankie

“I’m sorry.”Story of my life.

“You’re…sure?” Lou’s stricken voice made me wince.

I sat on the couch next to my sister, watching as her throat bobbed and then her whole head followed suit, but it was her eyes that gave her away. Her vacant stare saw nothing but iterations of the truth… of what would happen next…of how this was the end.

“Yeah.”

I took deep breaths in and out, biting into my cheek while I waited for my twin to say something. Twenty-seven years of knowing her meant anything I said right now would go in one ear and out the other. Lou needed time to process while I dove straight into plans.

“He told me he worked in real estate, but I didn’t ask…never thought…I can’t go,” she declared solemnly. “I’ll text him?—”

“Absolutely not.” I took her hand and squeezed. “You haveto go Lou. First off, he doesn’t know that I know and now you know that he’s Chandler Collins?—”

“Do you hear yourself?” A broken laugh escaped her. “You sound like a rerun of aFriendsepisode.”

“Listen to me,” I ordered her and took a deep breath. “This is your chance.”

Her eyes bugged wide.

“You have the advantage,” I pressed on, standing as I spoke. “You know who he is?—”

“And he knows who I am! I told him about Mom and Jamie and Kit—” She broke off when I bent in front of her, meeting her nose to nose.

“And he still asked you to dinner.” I lifted a brow, daring her to disagree.

Lou creased her brow, and I pulled back. Sometimes it was a little disconcerting staring into your own face. Like a mirror, except the reflection moved on its own will.

“I can’t?—”

“You absolutely can. You can find out why he’s here. Why he asked you to dinner. And more importantly—most importantly—you can show him who you are.”

I was shocked and then in disbelief and then angry that the man could, in one breath, refuse to sell my sister the inn of her dreams and, in the next, ask her to dinner. I shouldn’t have been surprised. He was a heartless businessman.Who bought a beach candle for his mom.I shook off the silly reminder. That didn’t matter. Chandler Collins was enemy number one, and whatever he was thinking, I wasn’t going to let him hurt my sister.

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