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Izzy took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders as she kicked her unpainted toe in the sand. “Listen, about this morning at the market…”

Kiera hesitated, feeling the weight of everything unspoken between them. "I get that things are still weird," she said quietly. “You don’t have to be nice to me just because I’m going through something right now.”

Izzy’s gaze lingered on her for a moment before she looked away, focusing on the waves. "Everyone screws things up, Kiera. But some things are harder to forgive than others. The question is whether you’re willing to do the work to fix it and prove you’re not just going to repeat the same mistakes."

The words stung, but Kiera nodded. "I am," she said simply. "But we all?—"

Izzy held up a palm to stop her. "None of that. Own it."

Kiera took a deep breath, nodding. "I own it. I did the wrong thing. And because of that, everyone hates me.”

“No.” Izzy's short blonde hair ruffled in the ocean breeze as they watched one another for a long moment. Kiera could have sworn Izzy’s gaze dropped to her mouth. Izzy’s light blue eyes looked up to meet hers as she bit her lip, self-conscious. “I don’thateyou, Kiera.” Her voice was soft as she said it, a gentle, chiding reminder that it didn’t help anything to be hyperbolic in her shame.

“Okay.” Kiera smiled faintly, grateful for the small olive branch.

“Okay,” Izzy said with finality. She turned toward Danica, who was now grimacing as one of her turrets was swept away in the current of her moat. “Need help, Danica?”

“God, yes. Please. Why are sandcastles so fucking difficult?” Danica looked up, a dejected frown on her face. Izzy sighed and pulled herself up from the sand, taking a step toward the castle.

Even Kiera couldn’t help but laugh at the pained expression on her friend’s face. A tiny bit of hope bloomed in her heart that she and Izzy could fix their friendship as she walked behind her. She missed that, the ease of familiarity between them. The weight on Kiera's shoulders lightened, however slightly, for the first time in ages.

CHAPTER 6

Izzy

The long,golden rays of the setting sun bathed the beach house in a warm glow as Izzy and Pete stood alone on the deck. Maggie and Kiera were calling their kids while Danica finished up dinner. She'd fired them as sous chefs after Pete had sliced the cherry tomatoes incorrectly. Pete leaned against the railing, her cheeks sunburnt, her fingers idly tracing the weathered wood, while Izzy swirled her glass of wine, her gaze fixed on the horizon.

“What were you and Kiera so heatedly discussing at the beach earlier?” Pete asked.

“Just the usual. She said she’s trying not to screw things up again, which is just…” Izzy let out a long exhale, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

“Kiera is definitely trying,” Pete said after a long pause, her voice low but deliberate. “You can see that, right?”

Izzy sighed, setting her glass down on the railing. “Trying doesn’t erase what she did. She invited Eddie to Telluride after they’d already broken up. Who does that?”

Pete’s jaw tightened, and she glanced toward the sliding glass door. “I’m not saying it wasn’t messed up. Believe me, I’ve had my own share of choice words about it. But Danica wants to move past it. So I’m… following her lead. I love that you’re my tiny bodyguard but it’s okay. You can calm the ferocity down.”

Izzy turned, crossing her arms as she studied Pete’s profile. “She didn’t just hurt you and Danica. Her meddling ruined the trip.”

“Meddling,” Pete snorted in amusement. “You sound like Maggie.”

Izzy chewed her lower lip.

Pete’s voice pitched lower. “What else is going on?”

Izzy hesitated, her fingers curling around the edge of the railing. “Nothing.”

Pete watched her with a bored expression. “Mmhmm. Sure. Spill it.”

Izzy rolled her shoulders. “Fine. You know, back in college, when we kissed, I thought maybe… I don’t know. I thought there could have been more to it. But I never let myself believe it. And then in Telluride there were a few times we were alone, skiing or on the lifts or at the house, and it seemed like... I don't know. It's stupid."

Pete turned to her, an eyebrow arching. “Isabel Tierney, have you been harboring feelings for a straight woman all this time? You saucy little minx."

“No,” Izzy said quickly, shaking her head. “Not feelings. Just… She's...” She ran a hand through her short hair, tapping her Chacos against the railing. "Straight."

“And newly-divorced.”

“Yep.”