Maybe We Will (Silver Harbor)

by Melissa Foster

  He was looking forward to surprising her with a new kitchen for their house as a wedding gift—and suffering through the penalty for doing so.

  Smiling with the thought, Aiden made his way back out to the patio.

  He spotted Shelley and Steve chatting with Leni, Jules, and Jock and felt a wave of gratitude. He’d confided in Shelley when he’d decided to stay on the island and work from Silver House after his and Abby’s argument last month. Staying away from Abby had been the hardest thing he’d ever done, but she’d asked for space, and he’d wanted her to know he’d heard her. But he’d been losing his mind with worry, and he’d needed someone he could trust to check on her and make sure she was okay. Shelley had graciously done the deed without exposing his whereabouts.

  On the other side of the patio, a swarm of young women was gathered around Jagger, who was sitting on a stool playing his guitar with Dolly at his feet.

  Deirdra sidled up to Aiden in her high heels and silk blouse, giving Jagger what Abby called the stink eye. “Can you believe the hippie has a harem?”

  Aiden chuckled. While he, Abby, and Cait had become good friends with Jagger, Deirdra still refused to call him by his name. “He’s definitely a welcome addition to the Bistro.”

  She scoffed. “I can’t even imagine what he and my mom had in common.”

  “From the things he’s said, it sounded like he and your mom were just unlikely friends. I think he’s a good guy.”

  “Yes, well, we both know your judgment needs tweaking.” Deirdra arched a brow. “I still can’t believe you didn’t have me sign a nondisclosure agreement when you sent me your life history.”

  Aiden had called Deirdra the morning of the competition announcement to apologize for upsetting Abby and to let her know he’d planned on proposing. While Deirdra was chewing him out, the package he’d sent her detailing the names and addresses of every business and property he owned, as well as a formal background check, for which he’d paid, had arrived.

  “I trust you, Deirdra, and I wanted you to know that you could trust me.”

  She sipped her wine. “I do trust you, and after Abby told me what you’d done and why she was so upset, Cait took me aside and filled me in on everything you’d done for Abby. I knew in my heart you were a good man. But it was Cait’s sketches that sealed the deal, not those documents.”

  “She could have made up the way I was looking at Abby.” He and Abby had framed and hung up Cait’s drawings. He’d had no idea Cait had captured so many moments between them. They were better than photos, because their love had touched another person so deeply, she’d said she had to put it on paper.

  “No frigging way. Nobody has that good of an imagination.”

  As if she’d been summoned, Cait hurried over and squeezed between them, looking cute in a Bistro tank top and jeans, with all her tattoos on display. She was still figuring out a more permanent schedule between working at Wicked Ink and the Bistro, but she and Abby had hired enough staff to cover the times she went back to the Cape. Tonight she was hostessing, and Aiden had been keeping his eye on several guys he’d seen checking her out.

  “You’d think it was a full moon or something,” Cait said. “All the wolves are out tonight.”

  He followed her gaze to Wells and Brant, talking with Mason and Ben across the patio. Ben was holding his son, Christopher, and Mason’s watchful eyes were on Olive, who was sitting on the beach in front of the Bistro talking with a teenage boy whose father was eating dinner on the patio. Brant’s gaze was locked on Cait. Wells winked in her direction, and Cait’s arm slid across her belly. Brant glared at Wells, then flashed his dimples at Cait. Aiden imagined cartoon sparks appearing beside those dimples. He had seen Wells ogling Leni all night and wondered if his flirting with Cait was more about getting under Brant’s skin than getting into Cait’s pants. But what did he know? He was no expert on love. Although he sure hoped to become an expert on loving Abby.

  Cait scoffed. “Do I have a sign on my forehead that says flirt with me, or have Wells and Brant lost their minds?”

  “I’m going with the latter,” Deirdra said. “Oh! There’s Sutton. I want to talk to her. I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

  “Uncle Aiden!” Patrice, adorable in a pink fluffy dress, ran ahead of Remi.

  The adoption for the girls had been approved two weeks ago, the same day Remi found out she was pregnant. Life was getting more beautiful by the day.

  “Hi, Cait! You’re going to be my aunt one day!” Patrice exclaimed as Aiden lifted Patrice into his arms.

  “I’m looking forward to it.” Cait tickled Patrice’s belly, earning the cutest giggles. “But if you’ll excuse me, I have to go put blinders on.”

  As Cait walked away, Patrice said, “What are blinders?”

  “That’s code for Cait doesn’t want to see guys looking at her,” Aiden said as Remi glided gracefully to his side, gorgeous in a long orange tank dress, with a warm smile in her eyes that never failed to remind him of their mother.

  Patrice wrinkled her nose. “I wish Olive wanted blinders. She hasn’t spent any time with me tonight.”

  “She’s at a funny age where boys start to look like sugar rather than salt,” Remi said. “But don’t worry, peanut. She’ll spend time with you when we leave. She’s already asked if you could stay up late with her tonight.”

  They were staying in a suite at the Silver House. Aiden and Abby were thinking about putting an addition on the house so they would have more room for family and friends.

  “Yay!” Patrice cheered. “Uncle Aiden, Mommy says you’re going to have babies with Aunt Abby, too. Then me and Olive and our new baby will have cousins. But Daddy said not to hold my breath because you want Abby all to yourself for a while.”

  “I think your dad is right, Patty Cake.” Aiden spotted Abby walking through the restaurant, stopping at tables to chat, and his heart thumped harder.

  “That’s selfish,” Patrice said.

  “Patrice,” Remi chided. “Sorry, Aiden. I’m learning that five-year-olds are a little unfiltered.”

  “Actually, sis, Patrice is right. As you love to remind me, it took me almost forty years to find Abby. I want to enjoy giving her my undivided attention before adding little ones into the mix.” Since they’d decided to wait to have a family, Abby had gone on birth control. Their lovemaking had always been incredible, but nothing compared to loving Abby without anything separating them.

  “Olive says you want time to kiss Abby.” Patrice made kissing noises, and they all laughed.

  “I’m not going to lie, Patty Cake. I do love kissing Abby. But it’s also important to me that she has a chance to do all the things she wants to before we have babies, because babies need a lot of love, and they take a lot of time and energy. But don’t worry. One day you’ll have cousins to play with.”

  “Fine,” Patrice said dejectedly. “I guess I’ll wait. At least Mommy’s having a baby.”

  He tapped her nose with his index finger and said, “Thanks.”

  “Maybe Cait or Deirdra will get married and have babies before you and Abby do.”

  “I kind of doubt that,” Remi said. “Cait pays no attention to the guys checking her out, and Deirdra is a tough cookie. She’s all about work, like someone else I used to know. I think I need to send her on a vacation.”

  Abby’s eyes found Aiden’s as she stepped onto the patio, and love filled the space between them like a ribbon drawing her forward.

  Patrice wriggled out of Aiden’s arms. “I want to go see Aunt Abby before she goes back to the kitchen!”

  He watched Abby scoop up Patrice, giving him visions of her holding their children one day. He definitely wanted babies, but he was in no rush to complicate their lives when they’d only just begun to make room for each other. Aiden had met with Ben and Garth and had redelegated much of the work he’d previously taken back, with a promise not to renege again. He’d also worked out a schedule where most of his travel would take pl
ace during Abby’s off-season, when they could travel together. He had no interest in giving up too much of his work. His love of investing would always be his mistress, and Abby seemed okay with that, just as he was with her affair with the Bistro.

  “I’ve never seen you so happy,” Remi said with damp eyes.

  He put his arm around her and said, “Then why are you crying, Rem?”

  “Because you’re in love, and I wasn’t sure you’d ever have your happily ever after, and I’m pregnant, and pregnancy hormones have turned me into a teary mess. And that’s so frigging awesome!” She threw her arms around him and said, “I love you, and I know Mom and Dad are so proud of you, and they’re with us tonight. I can feel them.”

  Aiden’s eyes dampened. “Me too, Rem. Thank you for forcing me to get a life when I thought I already had one.” He wiped his eyes as Abby came to his side, holding Patrice’s hand.

  “Are you sad, Uncle Aiden?” Patrice asked.

  “No, Patty Cake. I’m the happiest man alive because I have all of you.” He drew Abby into his arms and said, “And I get to spend the rest of my life coming home to the woman I love.”

  Long after they’d shared their dessert at their special table and everyone had gone their separate ways, Abby changed into shorts and her CHILL sweatshirt, and she and Aiden took the dinghy out to Lover’s Cove. Abby was still riding high from the grand opening, which had been even more spectacular than she could have imagined. Her life was shaping up just as wonderfully. When she’d quit her job, she hadn’t known what the future would hold, which should have terrified her, given that her mother had just passed away. But she’d somehow known she’d done the right thing. She might never understand why she’d had that level of certainty, but as the brisk air whisked over her skin and the love of her life rowed them to the middle of the cove, she knew one thing for sure. The mother who had taken so much of her childhood had given her another sister and the future she’d always wanted. Coming back to the island to claim that future had blessed her with a career that filled her with happiness, more friends than she could ever hope for, and an unexpectedly glorious love that was more magical than anything she’d ever known.

  Aiden set the oars inside the boat and dragged his fingers in the water. “It’s chilly. You sure you’re up for this?”

  “Yes. At least I think I am.” They were going to scratch skinny-dipping off their list. Abby looked nervously back at the island, where tiny yellow lights shimmered in the windows of cottages and houses.

  Aiden leaned forward and took her hands in his. “Before we do, I brought something for you.”

  “A bathing suit?” she said hopefully.

  “Not a chance, beautiful.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a flat package. “When we had our goodbye ceremony for our parents, we lit paper lanterns and let them float up to the heavens. This was such a big, magical night for you, I thought it might be a nice time to say a private goodbye to your parents.”

  He handed her the package, and she realized it was a paper wishing lantern. A lump clogged her throat. She’d learned that Aiden’s gestures always had deeper meanings than she would have guessed. Like when he’d told her what the colored crystals on their new lights of love symbolized. Green for your eyes, which captured my heart the first time I saw them. Pink for the blush on your cheeks when you called me an underwear model, and blue for the first blueberry Danish we ever shared. She thought of those memories every time she walked into the Bistro.

  “You are the most thoughtful, loving person I know,” she said. “Thank you for thinking of this. Knowing you used paper lanterns for your parents’ goodbye ceremony makes using them for mine even more special.”

  “Why do I hear a but coming?”

  “You know me so well. I’ve been thinking about it, too, and after I read my mom’s letter, I felt so much better and saw myself and my life so much clearer, I’m kind of hoping that when my sisters read theirs, they’ll find the same closure. If they do, then I think it would be nice if we all said our goodbyes together. I know that might take years, because Deirdra is Deirdra, and that’s okay. I’m beyond happy, and I’ve had my closure.”

  “That makes perfect sense.”

  “You’re not upset?”

  “Of course not. I love you, Abs, and I want you to do all the things that make you happy and that feel right to you. I was trying to be supportive, not push it on you.”

  He reached for the package, but she held it tight. “I have another idea I’d like to use this for tonight, if that’s okay.”

  “Anything’s okay. What do you have in mind?”

  “How about instead of using the lantern to say goodbye to our pasts, we use it to welcome our lives coming together and our bright new future?”

  “Aw, Abs. I love that idea.”

  “Yay!”

  He pressed his smiling lips to hers, and they got the lantern ready. Aiden held the lantern up as Abby lit it, and she said, “You’ve become my best friend, the sun that lights up my days, and the fire that heats up my nights. You’re my sounding board, my shoulder to lean on, my dance partner, and my favorite finger foodie. I love you with all of my heart, and I can’t wait to spend forever chasing our dreams together.” And a lifetime of hearing your whispers of love to me when you think I’m sleeping. I treasure each and every one of those heartfelt confessions.

  He was gazing so deeply into her eyes, she was sure he could see every beat of her heart. He swallowed hard, as if he were trying to rein in his emotions.

  “Don’t you want to say something?” she asked, butterflies fluttering inside her.

  “I can’t believe you’re mine. Ditto, Runner Girl, to loving you, chasing dreams, and everything in between.” He released the lantern, took her in his arms, and kissed her breathless.

  He held her as they watched the lantern float into the clear night sky. When it was nothing more than a twinkle in the distance, Aiden turned desirous eyes on her and said, “Ready to get naked, beautiful?”

  She shivered with trepidation and excitement.

  “We don’t have to do this.”

  “Actually, we do,” she said cheekily. “Remi promised to make us another list once we finished this one.”

  He ran his hands over her butt, giving it a squeeze, and said, “I think we can come up with a much better list of our own, starting with making love in Lover’s Cove on a very special night.”

  Her body flamed. “You win!”

  She whipped off her sweatshirt, and they kissed as they stripped naked, shivering against the brisk night air.

  “Ready, sweetheart?” Aiden asked as he took her hand.

  “With you by my side, I’m ready for anything!”

  Just as they’d jumped into their relationship and the Bistro with both feet and eyes wide open, they leapt out of the boat and plunged into the cold, dark water. Aiden found her underwater, his strong arms circling her as they broke the surface, legs kicking, mouths kissing, and hearts beating as one.

  A NOTE FROM MELISSA

  I met Aiden and Remi while writing The Real Thing, the first book in the Sugar Lake series, and I have waited years for him to be ready for his happily ever after. Once Remi found hers (in This Is Love), I knew it was Aiden’s turn. I also knew he’d need a very special woman to accept his quirks and overindulgences. I met Abby and Deirdra through a mention of their mother when I was writing Jock and Daphne’s story, Tempted by Love, the first book in The Steeles at Silver Island series, and I knew after all Abby had endured, she needed Aiden as much as he needed her. I hope you enjoyed their story as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you’d like to get to know the Steeles, the Silvers, and the Remingtons, pick up Tempted by Love. If you enjoyed the Silver Island setting, pick up Searching for Love, a Braden & Montgomery novel featuring treasure hunter Zev Braden and chocolatier Carly Dylan. In Searching for Love you can get to know the Bradens and the Silver Island Remingtons.

  Ben Dalton’s book, along with the books of ea
ch of Ben’s siblings, is available for your binge-reading pleasure in the Sugar Lake and Harmony Pointe series. I hope you’ll also check out the rest of my Love in Bloom big-family romance collection, starting with Sisters in Love, the first book in my beloved Snow Sisters series. Each of my books may be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel. Characters from each series make appearances in future books, so you never miss an engagement, wedding, or birth. A complete list of all series titles is included at the start of this book, and downloadable checklists, free series starters, and family trees are available on the Reader Goodies page of my website (www.MelissaFoster.com/RG).

  Be sure to sign up for my newsletter to keep up to date with my new releases and to receive an exclusive short story (www.MelissaFoster.com/News).

  Happy reading!

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Writing a book is never a solo adventure. I am grateful for the inspiration I receive from fans and friends and to all the kind people who patiently answer my never-ending research questions. Heaps of gratitude go out to Kristen Roberts of Truro Vineyards for her help with vineyard-related questions. As always, I take fictional liberties with my stories and any errors are not a reflection of misinformation provided by others.

  It’s not often that my stories serve as inspiration for other artists, but I am honored that Aiden and Abby’s story was the inspiration behind the song “Billionaire” by Blue Foster. Blue is my youngest son Jake’s professional name. Jake writes his own music and lyrics, and it was thrilling to watch “Billionaire” come to life.