Page 52 of Best Laid Plans (Rock Harbor #1)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

ELLE

E lle was hungover. Badly. The type of hangover where the existence of the bright, early morning sun was an affront to her, personally.

And the only comfort that she could find in the situation was that now instead of feeling awful because of Cam, she felt awful because of too many mixed drinks, whose names had all blurred together after the third round.

At least, after Elle’s third round. Becca, like a true friend, had alternated hard seltzer and water, watching her with sympathetic eyes while Elle had cycled through the stages of grief. Multiple times.

By midnight, Becca had poured her into bed. Elle’s lonely, sad, built-for-one bed.

This morning, she’d woken up in the depression stage, which she hoped meant that acceptance was again just around the corner.

The last time she’d been hungover on a Monday morning… had probably been never. She’d been focusing on academics and tennis since she’d been fourteen. How did people get up and go to work like this ?

Elle groaned and rolled over in bed at the same time there was a knock on her bedroom door.

She wiped at her dry eyes. “Come in.”

Her dad opened the door and walked into the room, dressed in his non-Pierce’s clothes. She’d likely have to get used to seeing that look a lot more.

He sat down on the edge of her bed. “Morning, honey. What time did you get in last night?”

She squinted at him. “Midnight?”

“Ahh, to be young again,” he said with a laugh as he patted her comforter-clad foot.

“It’s not funny, Dad.” She hoped that he wasn’t going to bring up Friday at Wyatt’s house, which she was never going to be willing to discuss with her parents.

Her dad had been at the restaurant all weekend, along with her mom on Sunday. It had been a brief respite from the reality of acknowledging what had happened, even if it had given her way too much time to lament about Cam.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to pester you about your love life.

I’m sure you’ll talk to me about it when you’re ready.

” Elle’s dad had always been able to read her, and thankfully, this morning was no different.

He gave her a thoughtful look, his brows drawn together when he spoke again.

“You weren’t exactly honest about why you came back to Rock Harbor, honey.

That’s what I was hoping that we could talk about. ”

Elle’s mouth tasted sour, and she scrunched up her face in response to his words. Right–the whole losing her job and her apartment thing. It felt like forever ago now. “I didn’t want to worry you and Mom.”

He gave her a thoughtful smile. “Seems to be a lot of that going around in our family these days.”

Elle crossed her arms. “Wonder where I get it from?”

“I am sorry that I didn’t tell you about my health issues. And I’m sorry that I made a choice on your behalf that wasn’t mine to make. I’m even more sorry if that choice made you think that we felt like you couldn’t handle it.”

Wow. This sounded embarrassingly like the talk she’d given to her brother a few days ago. But still… “It did hurt, Dad. A lot. I’m a Pierce, too. Even if I live in Boston. Even if I’m not overly involved like Wyatt. I still want to be here for you and Mom.”

“I knew that you would come running back to town in a heartbeat, honey. I’ve never doubted how much you love us or what you would do for us.

I didn’t want you to have to make that choice, but I now realize that was wrong of me.

I really am sorry, Elle.” Her dad was looking at her with so much softness that Elle felt it in her bones.

She’d never doubted his love for her, not really.

She just hated feeling on the outside. Like there was some invisible line that she’d been placed beyond, where information had been pre-filtered instead of having the full picture. It had felt awful, when she’d realized.

Suddenly, she felt a lot more sympathy for her brother. “I love you, Dad. I just hate thinking that I could have done something to help.”

He nodded and squeezed her foot. “Not everyone is like you. They don’t know what they’re going to do immediately. Don’t confidently have the best answer slot into their mind. Everyone is simply making the choice that they think is best at the time.”

“I’ll have you know I do a ton of research to make decisions.”

Her dad laughed. “You really are so special, Elle. But always remember that it’s okay to be confused. And it’s okay to be scared. It’s the hard stuff that really makes us grow. A lump of coal doesn’t become a diamond until it’s put under pressure.”

Elle rolled her eyes but smiled, in spite of how corny her dad was being. “Are you trying to spin me losing my job and apartment in a positive light?”

“We’ve always told you kids that happiness is a choice.

I really do believe that. There are so many things happening all the time.

Bad things are everywhere. But good things are everywhere, too.

It really depends on what you’re open to seeing.

” She managed a dubious eyebrow raise, but her dad pushed on.

“You came home. You got to spend time with us and your brother. You reconnected with Becca. You and Cam–”

“Let’s put that last one on the back burner, yeah?

” she cut in quickly, even as a lump formed in her throat at hearing his name.

But she understood what he was saying. Becca had said something similar.

It was only when she’d let go. Only when she didn’t have things so clearly planned out that it felt like her life–her whole world, really–had opened up into something new and unexpected.

He nodded. “Sure, honey. In the spirit of you wanting to be relied on more, I was also hoping you could do me a favor today.”

She sat up straighter in bed. “Anything.”

“I was going to take your mom on a little day trip up the coast, but we have a delivery coming at eleven a.m. today. Would you be able to sign for it and let them into the building?”

It wasn’t lost on her that they hadn’t talked about the future of Pierce’s, but she was trying to take a page out of her dad’s playbook and stop holding on so tightly to everything.

She looked down at her watch. It was still before nine o’clock. “Sure thing. I can do that.”

Her dad stood up. “Thanks, kiddo. Your mom and I are heading out soon, but I left breakfast for you downstairs.”

Elle’s mouth watered. “If you keep feeding me, you’re never going to get rid of me.”

Laughing, her dad stopped in the doorway. “As long as you stop trying to move the furniture around, you’re welcome here as long as you want.”

And then her dad was gone, as Elle relaxed back against the pillows.

Her heart still hurt, along with her head after last night, but for the first time since Friday, she was feeling more optimistic.

Because her dad was right. There was good everywhere, and even if she couldn’t see the forest through the trees right now, it didn’t mean it wasn’t there.

One of her dad’s delicious breakfast sandwiches and a shower had done Elle wonders.

The sun was still a little aggressive as she pulled into the Pierce’s Lobster Co.

parking lot a few minutes before the delivery was scheduled to arrive, but, she reminded herself, most people shelled out exorbitant amounts of money to spend time in the place that she called home.

The first thing she noticed when she unlocked the front doors to the restaurant was that the lights were on. The second thing was the aromatic smells of seafood wafting from the kitchen.

Her heart instinctively did a stutter-step, realizing that there was only one person who’d be at Pierce’s on a day when they were closed. Cam.

Only, why hadn’t he called her? Or let her know that he was back in town? Which meant that she immediately assumed he was avoiding her, hoping to drag out how soon they’d have to have a conversation.

Her stomach was in knots. She didn’t have a plan for how to talk to Cam. For how to be in the same room with him and pretend like everything was okay.

But life didn’t care about whether she was ready or not as Cam popped his head out of the kitchen. He was dressed in a black Pierce’s Lobster Co. t-shirt that contoured a body she’d grown to know intimately, his stubble well-defined on his jaw and drawing her eyes to his gorgeous smile.

Was he trying to kill her? Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long to find out.

“You’re here,” Cam breathed, quickly covering the dining room area with long, purposeful strides. It was then that she noticed one of the tables had the chairs set on the ground, a single place setting laid out.

She wrapped her arms around herself. It hurt, being this close to him. Knowing how close they’d come to something truly incredible. “My dad wanted me to sign for the delivery. Which seems unnecessary, given that you’re here. Why are you here, by the way?”

Several beats of silence followed, which Cam finally filled. “I wanted you to be the first to try the new menu.”

A strange feeling bubbled up in Elle’s chest. Hope mixed with anxiety mixed with a healthy dose of confusion. “New menu?”

Cam nodded and took another step forward, though they were still at least a foot apart. She could smell his clean scent, could see the flecks of gold in his green eyes. “You’re the reason that it’s going to exist. Seemed only fair.”

Elle braced her hand against the chair back. Her heart wasn’t prepared to deal with this. “Cam, what’s going on?”

Another small step forward. “Elle, you were right. You were right about everything.”

And even if hearing that would be music to anyone’s ears, it still didn’t abate the nervous, buzzy feeling whirring through her veins. “I’m not really sure–”

“I was scared. I was holding on so tightly to what was right in front of me, afraid of how things could change, that I didn’t realize the truth.”

“What’s the truth, Cam?” She was breathless, even as she remained unwilling to let her heart skitter into hopefulness until she knew what was actually happening. It was already bruised, and a few more punches could make it irreparable.

“The truth is that I don’t want to be without you.

The truth is that I would burn down the world if it would help you.

The truth is…” Cam paused, and she watched his Adam’s apple bob up -and-down as he took a steadying breath.

“The truth is that I don’t know if I’ll ever feel like I deserve the way you look at me, but I want to spend every day keeping that look on your face. To living up to the man you see in me.”

“Cam…” Her voice trembled, butterflies erupting in her stomach.

He stepped closer, taking her hand in his, at the same time her other hand found its way to his chest. “I love you, Elle. I love your confidence and your stubbornness. I love that you call me on my bullshit. I love how you look at me and how you see all the pieces of me, and I’m still something worthy in your eyes. ”

“You are worthy, Cam. Everything you’ve done. The person you’ve become. You’re a good man.”

Cam looked down at her then, green eyes deep and glassy.

Like it was she who held his heart in her hands instead of the other way around.

“But am I a man you love? A man you’re in love with?

Because I want to build a life with you, Elle.

I don’t care if you move back to Boston.

We can make it work. I’ll be with you as often as you’ll let me.

I can’t…” She heard the catch in his throat, his voice thick with emotion when he said, “I spent three pathetic days without you, and I hated every second of them. I can’t imagine what the rest of my life would be like without you.

So this is me, Elle, telling you what I want. I want you .”

“Of course I love you, you idiot,” she said, eyes full of tears at the same time Cam crushed her against his body in a hug, encircling her.

Their lips found one another quickly then. It felt like coming home, like for the first time in Elle’s life, she wasn’t pushing against the current.

“I’m going to live with my parents for a while,” Elle said when they came up for air, her body trembling with the weight of Cam’s words.

As she tried to accept that this was real.

“I know the commute will suck, but I can pay off my student loans quickly. And, I sort of realized that I love Rock Harbor, so I’d like to stick around for a while. ”

Cam leaned back, expressive eyes scanning her face. “You’re sure? I promise, Elle, I will come to you anywhere. Any city. Any country. Any continent. I will make this work, and I’ll never be the one to clip your wings if you want to go after something bigger.”

Elle scratched his chest with her nails, addicted to the warmth and solidness and sheer comfort that being close to Cam brought her.

And she’d get to experience it forever, she realized as something in her settled.

She’d let go, and in doing so, she’d ended up exactly where she belonged.

“As far as I’m concerned, loving you is going to be the greatest adventure yet. ”