by KB Winters
Warmth flushed my cheeks. Noah knew I was no longer engaged, though he hadn’t asked me directly. I hadn’t worn my ring for the past six weeks and while my desk had framed pictures of Rachel and me at the beach, Hunter as a puppy, and a shot Carly had taken of Hunter and Princess on a hike over the summer, there were no traces of Jack. I didn’t know why it bothered me that he knew I was single, and had very recently gone through a breakup, but there was something about it that prickled at my skin.
“I’m all right, Noah. Thank you for asking.” I smiled, hoping it would be convincing enough to throw him off the scent. “I’m actually going on a few house tours this weekend.”
“You in the market?”
“Just a rental at this point.”
Jack and I hadn’t discussed what to do about the house we’d purchased together. He’d tried to offer it to me but I turned it down saying I wanted something closer to my new office. In reality, I couldn’t imagine living in the house we’d shared. It was haunted with too many memories.
“I actually have a property becoming available,” Noah said, lowering into one of the chairs across from my desk. “When do you need to move?”
“Whenever,” I answered, not offering the detail that I’d been crashing at a hotel the last six weeks. As much as I enjoyed the maid service, it was time to move on and get my own space. Besides that, Hunter was getting antsy and needed a backyard again.
He smiled. “If you can wait two weeks, and like the place, it’s yours. I’ll give you one hell of a deal.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely! You want to see it? It’s about five miles from here, backs up to greenspace and hiking trails. I bet your pooches would love it.” He gestured at the picture of Hunter and Princess on my desk. I didn’t bother to correct him that only one of them was mine. “It’s about eighteen hundred square feet, three beds, two and a half baths. Gourmet kitchen, outdoor living space, community pool, and gardening services are included in the HOA.”
“Wow. It sounds like a dream!”
And it did, especially considering the listings I had lined up for the weekend. With my new job at Scoville Properties, I had more than enough money to afford a nice place, but the market wasn’t cooperating. It seemed as though everyone was in my exact price range and had scooped up all the good properties. Everything left over was either just above or so far under that either location or general vibe was all wrong.
“I’ll get back Monday. We’ll set something up.”
“Are there tenants currently there?”
He shook his head. “No, they moved out two weeks ago. I was having some work done. It should be done by the twentieth. Or at least, it better be. Otherwise, I’ll have to crack the whip.”
I laughed. I knew Noah had an aggressive side—or else there was no way he would’ve been able to achieve what he had so far in his business—but I had yet to see him so much as raise his voice. “I would really like to see it, whenever you get a chance once you’re back in town.”
He stood, rebuttoned his jacket, and smiled down at me. “I’ll look forward to giving you the grand tour.”
A flurry of emotions flew through my stomach. Noah was easy going but the consummate professional. I had an inkling that he was interested in me, a comment here, lingering glance there, but he’d never acted on any of it. Noah was the kind of guy any woman would be lucky to have. Young, successful, ambitious, rich—but not snobby or overbearingly—and he had this air about him that was contagious. A love of life. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find him interesting, and definitely attractive, but there was something blocking anything further than that from developing in my mind.
Jack.
The past six months had been a rollercoaster of emotions. One day I would barely be able to force myself out of bed. The next, I woke up, ready to conquer the world one spreadsheet at a time. The only thing that remained constant was Jack’s presence in my mind. He was always there, no matter how hard I tried to bury or drown him out.
Even an overwhelmingly handsome—and single—man like Noah didn’t stand a chance.
“I’ll see you Monday, Holly.” Noah headed for the door. “Do me a favor?”
“Hmm?”
He flashed that smile. “Let your hair down this weekend. Treat yo’ self, as the kids are saying.”
I laughed and nodded my agreement. Satisfied, he waved and walked out of my office.
When he was out of my sight, I turned my attention back to my computer and dove into work. The housing problem might finally be solved. I was relieved to potentially have that off my plate, but at the same time, I couldn’t ignore the pang of sadness. The hotel felt temporary. At any given day, I could decide to leave, pay for my stay, and go back home. But moving into a completely new house would be another story entirely. Would I go back to the house and pack up my belongings? Would Jack and I have to go room-by-room and divvy everything up? God, it sounded too exhausting. I never thought I would be back to this place—moving from my home, splitting up the dishes and pots and pans and furniture. And I never thought it’d be Jack standing across the room asking if I wanted to keep the TV or washer and dryer set. Everything in the house was barely a few months old.
How is this happening?
By some miracle, I pushed the thoughts out of my head for a few hours and finished the project I was working on. It was Friday night and when I closed out of my email program, I glanced at the clock and decided that I would take Noah up on his offer. I’d kick off my shoes, slip into my sneakers, and leave early.
Hunter was over the moon to have me back so early. I changed into a pair of yoga pants, a t-shirt, and grabbed his leash. On our way out the door, I paused at the hallway mirror and caught my reflection. With a smile, I tugged the pins out of my hair and watched it tumble to my shoulders. “Cheers to the freakin’ weekend,” I said, smiling to myself. It was my first one solo since the breakup, the others had been spent with Rachel, either in Newport Beach at her apartment, or the two she’d come down to Holiday Cove. I’d been dreading spending an entire weekend alone, but walking out of the hotel, with the sand beneath my feet, I decided I was okay with it.
****
Hunter was finally starting to tire of our game of fetch and when he brought the ball back, I scooped it up and carried it. “Come on, boy. Let’s walk down to Carly’s. She’ll have day old scones for us.”
The Siren was a mile down the coastline but the distance passed quickly under the late afternoon sun. The sunset was probably an hour away, and I decided there was no better place to spend it than on Carly’s patio, sipping some delicious coffee drink and eating my body weight in pastries.
Carly was at the counter when I stooped over to tie Hunter’s leash to the bike rack outside the doors. I’d learned the hard way that he needed to be tied to something more secure than a bistro table or patio chair. I patted him on the head and promised to bring him a treat if he stayed still and didn’t go digging through the potted plant to the left of the shop’s front door.
“Hey, stranger!” Carly greeted as soon as I entered the quaint shop.
I smiled. “Hey, girl. It’s definitely been a while.” I scanned the dining area as I approached the counter. There were two college-aged girls at a table but they were both engrossed in whatever they were looking at on their phones. “I skipped out early.”
“For once!” Carly said with a smile. “I swear, I’ve only seen you two times since you started there! Don’t they give you weekends off?”
I nodded. “They do…”
Carly gave me a sympathetic smile. “I get it. It’s the curse of the small town.”
“Pretty much.”
The air museum was only a few minutes’ walk from the coffee shop, and I knew Aaron and Jack made daily pilgrimages for breakfast or lunch. And if Jack’s schedule was anywhere close to what it was when we were together, he worked most every weekend. It wasn’t worth the risk.
“I’m sorry,” I said, sa
gging down onto the counter. “I feel like a terrible friend.”
“You’re not.” Carly soothed. “You’ve had a lot going on.”
“Yep.”
“You want anything to eat? Drink?”
I smiled. “You know me so well.”
I placed my order and we made small talk as she worked to get everything together. When I had my coffee cup and plate in hand, she followed me out to the patio. Her part-timer had already left for the day, but from the patio, Carly could see if anyone came inside. She took the seat that had the best view of the store and I took the one looking out at the ocean. “How is the new job?” she asked, pinching a bite off the scone on my plate.
“It’s really good. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel working for someone after all the years working for myself, but it’s been great. Everyone is super nice and professional, but in a relaxed way. I think I can see myself staying for a long time. There is going to be a ton of growth and new opportunities ahead.”
Carly smiled and popped the scone into her mouth.
I nibbled at the edges, getting the most frosting for my effort. “Have you seen him?”
Carly nodded. “He comes in with Aaron most days.”
“Is he…all right?”
“I think so.” Carly hesitated, like she wasn’t sure how much to say. “Aaron came in the other day, solo, and we chatted for a few minutes. He didn’t mention any concerns. But then again, he knows you and I are thick as thieves so maybe he wouldn’t…”
“Probably not.” I sighed and leaned back in my chair. I pushed my hair out of my face as a sudden breeze carried it in a hundred different directions. “I might be moving soon. My boss has a rental property becoming available soon and he’s offered it to me. I don’t know the price tag, but from the description he gave me, it sounds ideal.”
“Will you still be in Holiday Cove?”
“A little outside.”
“Hmm. Well, I suppose that’s for the best. You can…move on. Ya know, if that’s what you want to do.”
I smiled sadly. “I suppose.”
After the break up, Carly and I’d had a long, wine-fueled conversation so she knew all the ins and outs and reasons why, but I wondered if it still didn’t make sense to her. To anyone. Hell, sometimes it didn’t make sense to me. I sometimes wished I could bury my head in the proverbial sand and pretend everything was fine. After all, Jack had finally offered me the thing I thought I wanted—a wedding date. But by the time he seriously gave in—it was too late. The other cracks and fault lines in our relationship had been revealed and I didn’t feel secure anymore. A wedding wasn’t going to patch that up. It would be like super gluing a pricey vase back together. By no means permanent, and definitely not pretty.
No, I’d done the right thing by leaving. Even if it hurt like hell.
My phone rang and I hurried to answer it, wondering if Noah needed something and couldn’t reach me at the office as I’d left early. My heart jumped into my throat at the name on the screen.
Carly gave me a pointed look. “Do you need to get that?”
“It’s Jack.”
“Oh…”
I sighed. “Do you mind?”
She shook her head. “Not at all.”
I took the phone, and left everything else at the table, and paced to the end of the patio as I clicked onto the call. “Hello?”
“Hey, Holly.”
I squeezed my eyes tight as the sound of his voice washed over me. “Hi, Jack.”
“Do you have a few minutes?”
“Sure.”
He paused, like he wasn’t sure what to say, even though he was the one who’d initiated the call.
“Is everything okay, Jack?”
“Yeah. I was hoping we could get together, for a coffee or something, so we could talk a couple of things over.”
“Oh. Okay. Sure. I’m actually at Carly’s right now. If you’re free…”
Silence, then finally, he said, “All right, sure. I can be there in about ten minutes. Should I bring Princess?”
Tears pricked at the back of my eyes, even as I smiled and nodded. “Sure. I’m sure Hunter would love to see her.”
“Okay. We’ll be there soon.”
We ended the call and I returned to the table. “He’s coming over. He says he needs to talk about a couple of things.”
Carly wrinkled her nose. “Well, that’s cryptic.”
“Tell me about it.”
She sighed and pushed up from the table. “Looks like I have a couple of customers. Good luck, Holly. I really hope you guys can work something out.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you later.”
She squeezed my shoulder and then went back inside. I stared out at the water, my mind cranking out a dozen theories on what Jack might want to discuss. He’d sounded so business-like. Was that it? He was taking Aaron up on his offer to open a charter service business and needed my advice? Or was he going to tell me he was reenlisting in the Navy? That idea turned my stomach. I hated the idea of him being deployed again. Not after everything that had happened the last time.
I sighed and tried to calm my racing mind but it was a losing battle.
Jack and Princess walked up the beach a few minutes later and I stood from the table. I waved and then hurried around to the front of the coffee shop and got Hunter. I unclipped his leash and laughed as he nearly tripped over his own paws to get to Princess. My laugh choked off as emotion built in my throat and tears once again pushed to the surface at their happy reunion.
They missed each other just as much as I missed Jack.
I stooped down beside them and gave Princess a hug. “Hey, girl. You look good.”
When I straightened up and pushed back to my feet, I saw Jack watching me with sad eyes. It was gutting him just as much as it was me. “You look good too,” I said softly.
He gave a pained smile. “Thanks. You look beautiful, as always.”
I ducked my chin. “You’re welcome to help yourself,” I said, waving at the scones left on the plate that Carly and I hadn’t plowed through.
“That’s all right. I’ll try to make this quick.”
My heart sank. He just got here and he’s already trying to leave?
“All right.” I sat down and he took Carly’s chair. “What’s on your mind?”
He rested his forearms on the table and interlocked his fingers in front of him. “I wanted to ask you about the house. We haven’t talked about it in a little while—”
“Jack…” I sighed. “I already told you, you’re not a jerk for keeping the house. I’m perfectly fine where I’m at now. In fact, I have a new rental opportunity coming up next week.”
“It’s not that, Holly.”
“Oh.” My cheeks warmed. “Sorry.”
“As you know, that house payment was a stretch, even with two incomes. I can’t keep it all on my own and since this…you’re…well, we’re not both there, I need to look into my options.”
“Are you getting a roommate?”
God, I hoped she wasn’t tall, blonde, and busty.
“No. In fact, that was the other thing I needed to tell you.”
I steeled myself.
“I’m leaving Holiday Cove. At least for a little while.”
“You are?” My heart sank. As much as I hated the anxiety over worrying about running into each other at the grocery store or pet store, the idea of never seeing him again made me sick.
“I’ve been offered a job out on the East Coast. I’ll be doing charter flights back and forth between Europe mainly.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. It’s a big change, but I’ll get to travel as much as I want and pick up jobs when I need the cash.”
I tried to smile but it died before reaching my lips. “That’s a big move.” It sounded lame, but it was all I could muster.
Jack nodded. “It will be, but I think that’s the point. At least for now. Anyway, what I was saying about the house, I’m going to be le
asing it out. We can either split it or one of us will have to buy the other out.”
How was he so at ease? So…okay, with everything?
A surge of anger swelled inside me. How dare he be making plans and moving on as if I was nothing but a blip on his radar. I stood up from the table. “I’ll visit my broker and see about buying out your half. That should make things easier for you since you don’t want any strings.”
“Holly—”
“No, it’s fine. I wish you luck, Jack. Have fun doing whatever the hell it is you’re doing. I told you to figure out what you wanted, and if this is it, then I wish you nothing but the best.”
I snapped for Hunter and he reluctantly wandered away from his place at Princess’s side. I walked back toward the parking lot without looking over my shoulder to see if Jack was watching us go. I kept my head high and my shoulders back until I was safely inside my car. Only then did I let myself break.
Back in my hotel room, I went to the bathroom to take a shower and caught sight of the small, white paper bag by the sink. My stomach flip-flopped. I knew I couldn’t ignore it forever. Especially not now after the conversation with Jack.
I stripped out of my clothes, grabbed the bag, and headed to the adjoined water closet. My heart sped up as the cardboard box slid into my open hand. A woman cradling a baby featured front and center on the pink box and a million emotions swirled inside me.
It wasn’t my first time taking a pregnancy test. I’d had a scare back when I was married. We weren’t ready for kids but I’d missed a pill and then a period. It hadn’t been a baby, just a weird fluke, and my cycle returned the following month. This time, I had a sickening feeling in my stomach that told me this outcome would be different—no matter how loudly I tried to argue against it and rationalize it away.
I was on the pill but I knew they weren’t a hundred percent effective and I’d missed my last two periods. At first I’d chalked it up to stress and thought maybe my hormones were off because of the stress of a new job and my failed relationship. But I was six days late for my second month and I knew something else was at play. I’d bought the tests the day before but hadn’t brought myself to actually piss on one.
