Page 6 of Searching for Sunshine (Crestbrook Cove #1)

STELLA

I blink at him in shock, confident that I’ve heard him wrong.

“What? Us? Get married? I really appreciate you sitting with me while I calm down, but I’m still not really in the mood to joke about this.” I sigh, bewildered by the suggestion.

Wyatt and I spent almost all of our free time together for years during my summer visits, riding our bikes around town and playing volleyball on the beach.

But at the same time, I haven’t seen him in almost ten years.

I didn’t realize how much I’d missed him until now, and I feel a rush run through me as I think about what he’s offering.

But this is silly—there’s no way he seriously wants to get married to me in less than a week.

“I’m not joking,” he says, his eyes serious. “Think about it—we already know each other. I already live in Crestbrook Cove, so my job and family are both here anyway. And honestly, my business thrives on the hotel doing well too. So this could be a win for the both of us.”

“I don’t think you understand,” I insist, desperate not to get my hopes up. “My grandmother made it a stipulation that whoever I marry has to live on the property too. You’d have to move into the cottage behind the Hideaway with me. I can’t ask you to do that.”

He shrugs, looking far too calm for the seriousness of the conversation we’re currently having.

“That’s fine. My lease in my apartment is up next month, and that lets me save some money that I can put toward my business.

My brother and I run Crestbrook Charter Company, and honestly, we’re struggling to keep things afloat at the moment. ”

I stare at him for a second, trying to gauge if he’s really considering this. “You’re serious, huh?”

“Sure, I don’t see why not.”

“Okay, let’s just say for a moment that I’m considering this. Obviously, I know what I get out of this, but what’s in it for you?”

“Well, for one, I actually really loved and respected your grandparents, and the last thing I want to see is the High Tide Hideaway in the hands of someone who only wants to tear it down.”

I think about it for a minute before responding, “I guess that makes sense. But this is crazy, right? We can’t just get married.”

Wyatt smiles, and I take the time to really look at him for the first time now that I’ve calmed down a little bit. Between his long brown hair and his muscular frame, I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t attractive. Can I really live with this man for the next year if it means keeping the hotel?

“I don’t see why we can’t,” Wyatt says, pulling me from my thoughts. “I can call Mary at the county clerk’s office and get the license taken care of, and I’m pretty sure one of my brothers can get ordained in a few minutes. We don’t even have to go to the courthouse.”

“Wyatt, I really don’t think I can go through with this. I think I’m just going to have to tell Mr. Marshall that I can’t make it happen this fast.”

“Is that what you want?” Wyatt asks, and I feel the tears start to well in my eyes again at the question.

“No, but what option do I have? We can’t just get married. We don’t even know each other anymore.”

He’s quiet for a moment before he says, “You’re right.

But I do know this—I know that you loved your grandmother more than almost anything in this world.

If you truly don’t want to get married or you don’t want the responsibility of taking over the hotel, there’s nothing wrong with that.

But if you’re only saying no to this because you’re scared, I’m afraid you’ll always regret it. ”

I feel the tears start to fall again, and I hurry to wipe them. “God, I’m a disaster. But I know you’re right. I just don’t know what to do.”

“I know, and I’m sorry you’re having to make this decision so suddenly.

But if you decide you want to do this, then we’ll make it work.

There’s no pressure. We spend the year as friends who happen to be married, and at the end of the year, we can get a divorce and go on with our lives.

It’ll be like it never happened,” he says calmly, and I realize he’s right.

This isn’t how I saw my life going, but when he puts it like that, I realize this does seem like the best option.

It’s not like we’re gonna fall madly in love or anything.

It’s the equivalent of making any other business decision, except we have to live together.

And the more I think about it, I’d probably feel safer living in the same cottage with him than some random guy I barely know.

We may not have seen each other in a while, but I can tell just by the way he’s treated me tonight that he’s still the guy I was friends with growing up.

Realizing I don’t really have any option outside of selling the Hideaway, I clarify, “Just as friends? No other expectations? And just for a year?”

Wyatt shakes his head. “Yep, just friends. And when all of this is over, we’ll be the most amicable divorced couple this town has ever seen.”

I laugh weakly at his joke, before responding, “Damn it, this wasn’t really what I had in mind when I promised Avery to say yes to everything this summer,” I mutter under my breath, and Wyatt gives me a look of confusion.

“I’ll let you explain that one to me later,” he teases before his face becomes more serious. “So, what do you say? Are we getting married this week, Stella Hale?”

I think about it for a long moment before I take a deep breath. “I guess I’m down if you are,” I say before breaking into a fit of giggles. “Oh my god, this is wild. I can’t believe we’re really doing this.”

Wyatt leans across my seat and grabs my phone from the cupholder.

“My grandmother always said everything’s an adventure with a Hale woman, so it seems pretty fitting.

I’m putting my new number in your phone so you have it, and we’ll work out the details tomorrow when you’ve had a little bit of time to process everything. ”

He looks down at my phone and looks at me in surprise. “Whoever this Avery person is really wants to talk to you. There are at least twenty notifications here.”

I laugh, suddenly realizing I never called her back after I left the law office. “Oh gosh, she’s my best friend. I was supposed to call her as soon as I got done with my meeting. She’s going to kill me. Oh well, I’ll call her back as soon as I get on the road.”

“I figured you didn’t come to this meeting prepared to move your whole life down here. Will you need help moving? I’m assuming you’re still living in Alabama?” he asks as he adds his phone number to my phone before handing it back to me.

“No, it shouldn’t be too bad. I don’t think I’ll have that much to pack.

And yeah, I’m still in Smith’s Valley. I’ll drive back tonight and get all of that sorted out and plan to come back Wednesday night.

I guess we can get married on Thursday since everything has to be finalized by Friday.

You can take your time moving in if you need to, though. ”

“That works for me. Are you sure you’re okay to drive back by yourself? I know today’s been a lot.”

“Yeah, I’m good. I still can’t believe all of this is happening,” I say with a laugh. “Are you really sure you’re up for all this?”

“Yeah, Stella, I promise I’m good with it. Now, go ahead and get on the road, and I’ll see you later this week,” Wyatt tells me.

“Sounds good. Thank you, Wyatt.”

He smiles at me and stands before closing my door and waving at me as I crank my car.

As soon as I pull out of the parking spot, I grab my phone. Preparing myself for Avery’s reaction, I hit her contact and wait for her to answer through my car speaker.

“Stella Elizabeth Hale. What the actual hell is going on? I’ve been calling you for over an hour. I was getting ready to drive down there and check on you.”

“Oh my god, Aves, I’m so sorry. It’s been the wildest day ever,” I tell her honestly.

“First of all, are you okay? I knew I should have come with you,” Avery says.

“I’m okay now. But buckle up, because, girl, do I have a story for you.”

“I swear to god if you don’t spill, Stella, I’m gonna come unglued. What’s the verdict? Are we gonna be sipping champagne in France this summer or what?”

I laugh and shake my head at her antics.

“Not quite. Okay, I’ll be honest: I don’t know where to start but here it goes.

Turns out, Memaw left me the High Tide Hideaway but in order to claim it, I have to move to Crestbrook Cove for at least a year and live on the property.

Oh, and I have to be married too. But don’t worry, I’ve gotten that part taken care of, and the wedding’s on Thursday. ”

The line goes quiet for a moment, and I check my phone screen to see if I lost her. “Avery? You there?”

“What the actual fuck, Stels? You’re joking, aren’t you? I swear if you’re joking I’m hiding your running shoes until you find a way to make it up to me.”

“Aves, I swear I wish I was joking. I told you it’s been quite a day.”

“Okay, wait, you’re serious. I’m gonna need you to rewind this all the way back and talk me through exactly what happened.”

I spend the next twenty minutes telling her about the meeting with Mr. Marshall, Memaw’s last wishes, my panic attack, and Wyatt’s offer.

I lose track of the number of times she interrupts me.

Finally, when she’s completely caught up, I finish with, “So, yeah, this isn’t quite how I saw the summer going, but I guess it’ll definitely be an adventure. ”

“Holy shit, Stella. I didn’t think things like this happened in real life. I’m all for the main character energy you’re channeling right now, but this is wild,” Avery exclaims, and I can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just know Memaw had to be freaking giddy over this last round of shenanigans she orchestrated.”

Avery laughs before agreeing. “Yeah, honestly if anyone could make all of this happen, it was her. So when do we move?”

I blink in surprise for a moment before responding, “We? Avery, I can’t ask you to move to Crestbrook Cove with me. Where will you live? Where will you work? Just because I have to rearrange my whole life doesn’t mean you have to.”

“Babes, it’s really cute you think there’s anything that could stop me from moving with you.

And as for where I’m going to live, didn’t you just tell me you inherited a big-ass hotel?

You can hire me to manage your marketing and event planning, in exchange for a place to stay.

Plus, you know I’ve been wanting to get my art business off the ground, and this will give me time to do that for some extra money. ”

I feel my eyes well in my eyes at her offer and I feel my anxiety lessen a little at the realization that I don’t have to do this all by myself.

“Have I told you lately how much I love you? But really, are you sure you want to do this? From what Memaw told me last summer, we’re gonna have our work cut out for us with this place. ”

“Back at ya, Stels. And yes, I’m sure. Looks like we were right about this being our summer of adventure, huh?”

“God, I’ve gotta say that I think this is a little more than I bargained for.”

“Right? I still cannot believe you’re getting married this week. Don’t think you’re off the hook from telling me more about this Wyatt guy, though,” Avery teases before asking, “how far out are you? You promise you’re still good to drive? I’m worried about you.”

“No, I promise I’m good now. I should be home in about forty-five minutes,” I tell her after double-checking my navigation app.

“Perfect, I’ll order pizza and grab us a bottle of wine. Looks like we’re going to have a few late nights this week. You and I have a wedding to plan.”