Page 70 of The Seascape Between Us

“What’s happening?” I asked. “And did you tell Alistair I was sick?”

“People kept asking me where you were, and I didn’t tell him you were sick. I just told him you were taking some time away.”

“Are you getting The Seascape ready to put on the market?” I still couldn’t figure out why everyone was here, and nobody seemed willing to explain.

He leveled his uncharacteristically serious gaze on me. “I already told you, we’renotselling.”

“Grey—”

“Nope,” he cut me off. “You need to listen. June and I have been on the phone for most of yesterday and all of today, rescheduling for a Grand Re-opening, which I had to push back a month. There’s just no way I can get that window in the restaurant replaced until the end of July.”

“That’s half the season,” I pointed out.

“I’ve been rescheduling guests all the way into September. We’ll make up for the financial loss. I can make sure of that, after all.”

“Grey, I don’t want you putting more money into this—”

Again, he held up his hand, cutting me off. “This hotel is half mine. It’s my investment as much as it is yours. Besides, when I told people in The Square what happened to the hotel, everyone stepped up to help. People have been clearing out rooms, lifting the floors—which are all going to need to be replaced—donating supplies, helping raise money. The whole community has stepped up to help us.”

I couldn’t speak. It was as if my throat had shrunk to the size of a pin prick, and I could barely draw in air, let alone push words out.

I’d spent the last twenty-four hours believing I was alone, that I had no one. But I’d never been on my own. I had friends, an entire community behind me, and the man I loved who stood by me… even after I walked away.

Guilt gave my insides a sharp twist. “Grey, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…”

“I know,” he said, taking my hands and pulling me into him. “I know you are, but you can’t run anymore when things get hard.” My eyes burned, turning glassy. “You have to talk to me. We’re in this together now. We have to have each other’s backs.”

I nodded, and his lips found mine. He kissed me, and I knew everything would be okay.

He’d stood by me. Even after I told him to leave, to go back to Portland, he stayed and fought even after I gave up. I wouldneverlet that happen again. Whatever Grey and I faced, we’d do it together. Whatever the future held, whatever the risk, I would stand by Grey the way he’d stood by me.

“I want this,” I said. “I want you. I want the future we should have had. I want to start again.”

Grey flashed a watery smile. “And I want to give you everything you want.”

Chapter Thirty

Grey

Six weeks later

I parked on the road beside the Seascape. The parking lot was crowded, with no available spots. I hoped I didn’t get a ticket. It was lucky I hadn't gotten one coming home. I’d shaved a good twenty minutes off the drive from Portland—practically breaking the sound barrier—but I couldn’t wait to get back. To come home—and warmth welled in my chest. That’s what Daniel and I were building: a home.

I closed the car door and looked up. The sun was a fiery ball hovering over the ocean, just about to sink behind the horizon, streaking the sky in vivid shades of orange, pink, and lavender, and reflecting off the rolling waves. The sea breeze was cool and refreshing after the day's high heat. I took a deep breath of the salty air and grinned. It even smelled like home.

The last month and a half had been better than anything I could have hoped for. I decided to live in Saltwater Cove full time. Daniel had tried to argue with me, saying that it wasn’t fairfor me to have to do all the traveling, but logistically, it just made more sense for me to be here. I could work from home, hold meetings online, and the commute was only a little more than an hour—or forty-five minutes if I drove like a bat out of hell. In a worse-case scenario, if my meetings ran late, I could stay overnight in Portland in my loft. Admittedly, this was my least favorite option. Having grown so used to Daniel sleeping next to me, I found it hard to fall asleep without him.

Besides, as I explained to Daniel, as a mostly silent partner in the hotel, I should stay close in case I’m needed. Though Daniel had everything under control, so I was mostly just moral support or a sounding board when he’d had a tough day.

The Grand Re-opening had been a huge success. With everyone’s help, we’d been able to repair all the damage from the storm. While replacing the damaged furniture in the rooms had been something of a challenge—finding new items and keeping it all uniform on such short notice meant the decor was more eclectic than we’d planned for—somehow, it worked for The Seascape.

Having to delay the re-opening meant we lost a good chunk of our prime tourist season, but we were going to be okay. What was left of the summer was booked solid, and we already had bookings into the fall and winter, with visitors even rebooking for next summer.

I liked living in The Square, and sometimes it surprised me how easily I’d settled in. Especially with my unresolved feelings for my father hovering over me. I didn’t think I would be able to embrace this community that he’d created. Whenever I thought about how he meddled in my life, a small ball of rage lit inside me as bright and hot as the sun. That Daniel and I wasted almost two decades apart because of him still made me want to hit something.

Sure, he’d written a letter of apology, and he’d tried to make it right, but it still made me furious that he’d interfered in my life that way,andthat I’d let him manipulate me so easily.

Yet, despite my complicated feelings for the man, I could acknowledge he built something important here in Oceanwind Square. After seeing firsthand how the community rallied for the hotel, for us, for Daniel, I really understood how important this place was for everyone who lived here, and I knew I would do my part to support it. Not because of my father or in spite of him, but for the people who made the community. For the people who lived and worked here, for our friends who were an integral part of our lives, and most of all, for the man I loved.

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