Page 20 of Chasing the Horizon

Esme and Victor looked at one another with confusion before realizing she was making a joke.

“Well, if he is throwing you a party, he didn’t invite us,” Victor said with a laugh.

“Shoot,” Esme said. “Just when I thought I was getting on Alex’s good side.”

Esme and Victor waved from the garage, watching as Valerie hurried back to her car. It had only gotten colder since the afternoon, and she thought of the vegetables and fruits in the trunk, maybe on the verge of freezing. She hadn’t considered them.

Alex had sent her a Siasconset address, one on the outer edge of Surfside Beach, far away from where the tourists usually swarmed in the summertime. Valerie could picture that stretch of beach in her mind’s eye, but she couldn’t fully fathom why Alex wanted her out there.

But when she pulled up at the house—a soft gray colonial with slate siding and an enormous wraparound porch, everything clicked.

Alex wanted to look at this house. It was for sale.

Why hadn’t she thought about it, to begin with?

Just as her parents had, Alex hurried outside to help her into the foyer. Valerie threw herself into his arms, shivering and laughing. She confessed, “I had no idea what you were getting me into! I was terrified it was a dinner party or something.”

Alex laughed and helped her take her coat off. The heat had been turned on, and a fire flickered in the fireplace.

“Is that a real fire?” she asked, drawing closer and sitting down on the rug in front of it. But this close-up, she saw it for what it was—thick and all-real logs, crumbling under a very real flame.

Alex sat down beside her and traced her head with his hand. “It just went on the market,” he said.

Valerie realized she’d let her guard down. “Is Kathy here?” Kathy was their real estate agent, a woman neither of them really liked who seemed to hold their future in her manicured hands.

“She isn’t,” Alex said. “I know the owners. They just put the sign up, and I called them right away.”

Valerie’s heartbeat quickened as Alex explained more. The owners were older, friends of his parents, and they were heading to Florida full-time after a gorgeous life of raising their children in this colonial. “They want to give us a discount,” Alex said.

It was the golden word: discount.

Valerie could hardly believe it.

Without realizing it, she was back on her feet. Alex joined her, and Valerie threw her arms around him, squealing. “How much?” she asked.

Alex told her the number. It was well within their decided price range—and a complete steal, given the square footage, location, and beautiful view. Tears filled Valerie’s eyes.

“Remember that closet we used to share back in San Francisco?” Valerie whispered.

“I remember we talked about storing our jeans in the oven,” Alex joked.

Valerie was fully weeping now. “Tell them we’ll take it. Tell them as soon as you can!”

Alex laughed. “I was going to put an offer on it, but I wanted you to see it first.”

Valerie pressed her forehead against his chest. She was so grateful he was the sort of man to check on her opinion first. She was so grateful he was the kind of man who didn’t leap without her and recognized that her feelings mattered, too.

“It’ll be so close to your sisters, too,” Alex reminded her.

The house was indeed just down the beach from where both Bethany and Rebecca had recently bought houses. It meant they could easily share coffee together in the mornings or a small glass of white wine at night (when and if Valerie wanted to drink). It meant, too, that they would know Valerie’s baby, beinvolved and compassionate aunts, inspire and offer a helping hand, and love Valerie’s new family with everything they had.

It felt too good to be true.

“Where are the owners tonight?” Valerie asked.

“They had to go to Boston tonight,” Alex said. “But they told us we can have a trial run.”

Valerie’s jaw dropped. “We can stay here tonight?”

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