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CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

SUTTON

Sutton:

Come to the cottage when you get home.

Laurel:

Why are you at the cottage?

Daddy Grump said it’d be another six weeks at least.

Sutton:

I’m not here because it’s finished.

Laurel:

???

Sutton:

I moved back.

Laurel:

You WHAT?

Sutton:

Atlas and I had a fight.

Laurel:

Whatever happened he was definitely in the wrong

Obviously

But please I’m begging you do not make me move back into that cottage in its current state.

Have you seen my bedroom in his house?

It has its own bathroom!

And a huge walk-in shower!

It feels like I’m washing my hair in a rainstorm!

Have I mentioned the heated floors?

Sutton:

I’m not saying you have to stay here while it’s still a construction zone, but you will eventually.

I’m just saying I couldn’t stay.

Laurel:

Cami’s bringing me home, be there in five.

It was actually less time than that when my daughter came strolling through the front door of the cottage, her face displaying her disgust at the living situation.

“Lawn chairs? Seriously, Mom?”

“Well, it’s no twenty-thousand-dollar couch, but on the plus side, there are no dumb boys over here.”

She blew out a heavy sigh, walked straight for me, and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.

“What the hell happened?”

“You should sit down for this.” I gestured to the other lawn chair next to mine.

“It’s kind of a big deal.”

“Oh shit. Are we moving again?” she asked, the distress in her voice surprising.

“I don’t know,” I said honestly.

I thought I’d had it all figured out, and that had only blown up in my face.

“I got a job offer yesterday. For that position in Boston you wanted me to take.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. I asked for a little time to get back to them, and then I went to talk to Quinn. About making my position here permanent.”

“Like… permanent , permanent?”

“Yep.”

“As in, we’d stay here, and I’d graduate from Starlight Cove High?”

“Yeah. I wanted to talk it over with Atlas first—and you know how that went,” I said, gesturing to me sitting in a lawn chair in the half-finished cottage.

“And you, of course. What do you think of Starlight Cove? And don’t pull your punches now.”

“You know I never do.” She was quiet for long moments as she studied me.

“I hated it when we first got here.”

“I remember,” I said dryly.

“But now…” She blew out a sigh.

“I don’t know. It’s different than we’re used to. Everyone knows everyone, and I thought I’d hate that. But I actually sort of…like it? And the friends I have feel like actual friends, you know? Ones I can count on, not just people I hang out with.”

I felt similarly about Quinn and the women she’d introduced me to.

Her sisters-in-law and her other friends.

The pool of people in town was small, but it was a tight-knit community that looked out for its own.

And it had started to feel a little like Laurel and I were included in that.

“Plus, I like hanging out with you more. And how happy you’ve been here.” She poked my foot with her own.

“Tell me what happened with Atlas.”

I exhaled a heavy breath, my chest squeezing painfully all over again.

“He saw the emails about the Boston position and assumed I’d take the job. Told me it was a great opportunity and not to worry about the lease here.”

“Okay, but he, like, talked to you about it, right?”

“No. He texted me what amounted to see you around and then went to One Night Stan’s and didn’t answer my calls or texts.”

“Oh my god . Seriously?”

“Yep. When he finally showed up at home, we got into it. He said what we had was fake. That it was never supposed to be real.”

Her mouth dropped open as she stared at me.

“What a dick .”

“Not the worst thing I’ve called him in the past twelve hours.”

“You know what’s going on, right?”

Yeah, I knew what was going on.

I’d fallen for the one guy who was more emotionally unavailable than I was, and look where that had gotten me.

“What’s going on is I’d begun to think what we had was real, and he’d been banking on it being fake the entire time.”

She huffed out a breath and shook her head.

“Not even a little. That man is terrified to lose you.”

“He didn’t lose me. He pushed me away.”

“ Because he thought he was going to lose you. I’ve seen this play out in, like, a hundred romance books. The brooding hero who pushes the heroine away because he’s afraid of getting hurt? Then, eventually, the big, dumb dummy realizes what an idiot he was and grand gestures the hell out of her.”

I shot her a small smile.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s going to be a grand gesture this time. Our life isn’t a romance book.”

“Isn’t it? We’re basically living in a trope factory over here—grumpy/sunshine? Fake dating? Forced proximity? Hello ?”

I laughed, unable to stop myself and looked over at my wise-beyond-her-years daughter.

“You’re pretty smart, you know that?”

“I do,” she said solemnly.

“I’ve clearly spoiled you with my intelligence, so you’re not used to having to deal with people who fuck up. And—to be clear—he definitely fucked up.”

“No argument from me.”

“But I also get why he was running scared. And I think you do too.”

I did.

Especially knowing what I did about his father and what he’d done to Atlas and his family.

But that didn’t stop the fact that I refused to be with someone who wouldn’t fight for me or what we had.

Who spent the entirety of our relationship waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I wanted someone who was completely invested, without exception.

“So, are we staying in Starlight Cove or not?” she asked, her tone tentative.

“I had to override your vote on the last move because I didn’t have a choice. I don’t want to do that this time. So, you tell me…do you want to stay in this tiny town with too many festivals and without a mall for that future point in time you might like to go to one? Or do you want to head to Boston, where you begged to go in the first place?”

She sat quietly for a few moments, no doubt weighing the pros and cons of each.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but…I want to stay. I like this town with goats that roam across the street and old ladies who peddle me smut.”

“Mabel?” I asked.

“Mabel,” she confirmed with a nod.

I blew out a laugh and squeezed her hand.

“Does your answer change if Atlas isn’t in the picture?”

“No. Same answer with or without him. But for the record? I think he’s going to come around.”

“Don’t hold your breath, Lolo.”

She pressed her lips together like she had more to say but was holding it in.

Eventually, she said, “You didn’t tell me what your vote is. Are we staying?”

Pushing down the uncertainty that had been simmering under the surface for weeks, I took a leap that was equal parts terrifying and exhilarating.

“We’re staying. I’ll let Quinn know I want to accept the position and tell Boston Medical Center I’m no longer interested.”

A huge smile swept across her mouth, and the sight made the ache in my chest recede just a bit.

“This is, like, a huge step, Mom.”

“I know. We should celebrate tonight with some PB&J’s because that’s pretty much all I have over here.”

She laughed.

“Deal. Should I tell Atlas that we’re sticking around? I mean, I'm going to be staying at his house until this place is finished, so it’s not like I can avoid him.”

“You don’t have to lie to him if he comes out and asks, but I’m not volunteering the information. He needs to figure this out on his own.”

She stood and grabbed her bag before pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “And you need to have a little faith that he will. Be back later for dinner.”

I wanted to have as much faith in Atlas as Laurel seemed to have, but I couldn’t. Not when I’d been a front-row witness to just how easily he’d cast me aside.

If he wanted me like she claimed, he’d have to show me that. Prove that he wanted a life with me—with us—and that he was willing to go all in. To put his heart on the line because I was worth it.

But I wasn’t going to sit around and wait, hoping he’d figure shit out. I was going to continue building the life Laurel and I deserved here in Starlight Cove. With or without him.