Page 99 of Bargain with the Bachelor
“You must be in town to resolve the trust fund situation. I heard you were getting most of the money back. Congratulations. I’m glad it worked out.”
“Thanks.” She shrugged. “Margot is down a yacht, and Harry won’t be practicing law again anytime soon, but I’m glad that Mom and Dad’s hard-earned money is back in the bank where it belongs.”
“You won’t be using the fund to live on?”
Kristal grinned, and my heart tore in half from the utter beauty of that smile. I’d missed seeing it more than I’d even thought possible. And she was wearing red lipstick to match her red sundress.
Somebody just shoot me. Please.
“I don’t need to. I have a job now. Iwilluse some of it when I find the right house to buy. I’m thinking of a cottage—nothing fancy. I don’t need much.”
I nodded, not surprised at all to hear that she didn’t plan on buying a mansion. She’d always told me she didn’t need all the trappings of wealth to be happy. I’d been such an idiot to try to impress her with mine.
But did they even have cottages in New York City? She must have been planning to move out to the suburbs of Connecticut or New Jersey.
“How’s living in New York? Must be pretty exciting.”
“It’s great—for some people,” she said. “I’ve discovered I’m more of a New England girl though.”
My heart gave a hard thump. “Really? You’re not going to stay in New York?”
“Actually, I’ve already left. The city and the people are awesome, and thereisa lot to see and do. But I gave notice at my job weeks ago. All my stuff is in storage. I just got back to Eastport Bay today. I’m staying with Cinda again until I can find the right place to buy.”
The hard thump was followed by another then a smattering of frantic beats. I fought to keep my voice sounding normal, though I was struggling for breath.
“You’re... moving back to Eastport Bay?”
Another breathtaking smile. “Yeah, you know, I don’t want to miss my favorite season.”
“But… winter is months away.”
“I’m not talking about winter—I’m talking about wedding season.”
Kristal gave me a significant look.
What was going on here? My mind buzzed with confusion. Maybe Robbie had poisoned my burger, and I reallywasimagining this whole encounter.
“You’re going to be a wedding photographer?” I asked, struggling to make sense of the absurd.
“No silly.” She laughed. “I’m talking aboutourwedding.”
“Our wedding?”Yep. Definitely hallucinating.
I took in a deep breath, looked around, and spotted Robbie walking toward us with the leather folder containing my card and receipt.
“Kristal!” Robbie exclaimed when he saw her and rushed over to give her a hug. “It’s great to see you. You coming back? I need someone to cover my shifts this weekend,” he teased.
She laughed. “Afraid not. I’m going to be working at the Art Guild again. I took a job as the director—this timewithpay.”
“That’s great. I’m so happy you’ll be back in Eastport Bay. We’ll have to get together and catch up.Soon.”
To me, he said, “Thanks for dining at Cliffhouse. Will there beanything else?”
If I hadn’t been so discombobulated, I might have laughed at the obvious disdain in the other man’s voice. As it was, I could barely manage a quiet, “No, thank you.”
After the waiter left, Kristal sat back down. “Maybe I should have thought out my proposal location a little better. I just wanted to see you the minute I got back into town, and Hap told me you were here.”
She looked down at her dress. “Also, this outfit isn’t exactly suited to get down on one knee… but I’ll do it if that’s what it takes.”
