Page 53 of Beginnings By the Sea

MILES

There were so many things I wanted to tell Nyla about Cohen, but I held back. Telling her would only make it look like I was trying to turn her against him. He wasn’t the type of man to be trusted. I always considered myself a good judge of character, and he was far from a good person.

Cohen and I grew up together, and he did everything he could to make my life miserable. His parents bought him everything and he boasted every chance he got. When my parents bought me something new, Cohen would destroy it. It was like a game to him.

Did my grandparents show me more attention? Yes, they did, but that wasn’t my fault.

They knew I didn’t have much and tried to make my childhood as memorable as possible. I loved fishing with my grandfather and helping my grandmother in her gardens. Cohen was always above all that and made it known that he had no interest in getting his hands dirty.

However, a part of me always wondered what Cohen would be like if he didn’t have a self-absorbed douchebag for a father. My uncle wasn’t the type to do manual labor. He had the money to pay for everything to get done for him. Even my aunt—who I had adored as a kid—changed into someone I probably wouldn’t recognize if I saw her today. Literally.

She had walked past me at the last family reunion many years ago, and I had to do a double take. The number of plastic surgeries she’s had has completely changed her appearance. That was the last time my mom had seen her sister.

Sadly, the family soon became nonexistent once my grandparents passed away. They were what held the family together. With them gone, that was it. The only time I ever saw Cohen after that was in the tabloids. Maybe he was different with Nyla, but I doubted it; he was still the same conniving piece of shit I’d known my entire life. He could fool anyone into thinking he was a decent person. That was exactly how his father was. Because of him, my mom never spoke to her sister anymore.

Cohen and his father were master manipulators.

I hated the thought of Nyla going to dinner with him, but it was only for a couple of hours. After tonight, never again.

I walked through the beach house one last time to make sure I hadn’t left anything.

“Everything look good?” Nyla called out from the living room.

After looking around the bedroom and bathroom, I shut off the lights. “I think so!” I shouted, grabbing my bag off the bed.

Things were moving a lot faster than I thought they would. However, I wasn’t going to complain. Nyla and I talked the entire night, and she said it was a waste of money for me to continue renting a vacation house when I could just stay with her.

For the next two weeks, while I worked in the area, we were going to be living together. Afterward, I would run to Virginia and get everything ready to sell my house along with putting in my notice at the station.

Our future was finally coming together.

I joined Nyla in the living room and couldn’t get over how beautiful she was. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a light purple sleeveless top that hugged her curves perfectly. Her red hair hung down in waves down her back, and her majestic blue eyes were so clear they could be seen from far away.

In a little less than an hour, she would be with Cohen.

I tried getting her to wear my T-shirt and sweatpants from last night, but she refused. I kept hoping time would slow down and five o’clock would never come. Luckily, with me staying at Nyla’s house, I would be there when he picked her up and when he dropped her off.

Did I want to gloat about it in front of him? Of course, but I wasn’t going to.

Nyla and I walked out of the beach house and I locked the doors, securing the key in the box by the front door.

“Now that you’re going to be living at my house, you can cut the grass,” Nyla said, winking at me over her shoulder.

I would do anything she asked of me. She stopped by her Jeep and I went to my 4Runner, tossing my bag in the back seat.

“Does that mean you’ll be cooking every night?” I asked, laughing. “Or are we getting takeout like we used to?”

She snorted. “Definitely, not. I don’t see how we did that all the time. I love cooking now.” Her eyes widened and she gasped. “But on Tuesdays, eating at The Beachcomber is a tradition. You’ve already met Jensen and Seth, but you’ll get to meet Seth’s wife, my friend Michelle, and her husband.”

Oak Island was already starting to feel like home.

“I can’t wait,” I said.

We both got into our vehicles and headed to Nyla’s house. When we arrived, she cleaned a few drawers in her dresser and helped me unpack my things into them. It was all becoming a reality.

Nyla grabbed my toiletry bag and set my toothbrush in the holder beside hers. I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She stared at our reflection in the mirror and smiled.

“I know we spent some years apart, but with you here now, it almost feels like no time has passed.” Her smile faded. “Although that time apart was the worst moment of my life. Now it seems as if it was all just a bad dream.”

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