Page 26 of The Summer We Made Promises (The Destin Diaries #3)

He thumbed the screen, typed something in, and inched it away, laughing. “Where are the reading glasses when you need them? Oh, here. Check this place out.”

She took the phone and angled it, then gasped at the rambling beachfront home featured on a real estate page. “Oh, that’s gorgeous.”

“Click through,” he suggested. “You’ll love what they’ve done with it.”

She certainly did, getting no further than the entryway when she nearly dropped the phone. “That’s it!” she exclaimed.

“The house you want?”

“The chandelier.” She zoomed in on a pearl shell light fixture in the middle of the image. “It’s exactly what I want for the Summer House for the vaulted ceiling on the first floor. I saw it on a design site and have fantasized about it for a while.”

“Want me to ask where they got it?”

“Yes and no,” she said, smiling at him. “It’s way out of my price range.”

He shrugged. “You never know. My friend is a bargain hunter and might have found a knockoff. I’ll ask.”

“Would you?”

“Of course. If it makes you happy.”

That simple statement did something to her heart—something like skipping a beat and rolling around and maybe cracking a little.

She looked away, her gaze landing on a sky full of stars, realizing the air had cooled. The corner of his phone showed that it was well past eleven, and she’d been here…way too long.

“You know, I better go,” she said, handing the phone back to him.

Danny didn’t move for a moment. Then he stood, too, heading inside with her and helping her pick up her bag and samples, then walking her to her Highlander in the driveway.

“Thank you for dinner,” she said, unlocking the door.

“Thank you for making my loft not look like a frat house.” He angled his head down. “But more than that, for your company. I didn’t realize quite how lonely I was.”

Vivien felt her breath catch. “No one should be lonely,” she managed to say.

“I agree.” He searched her face, his gaze intense. “And I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed someone so much. I really…” He let out a breath that sounded like surrender. “I like you, Vivien. And I want to see you again—not professionally.”

Her poor heart flipped again. “That’s…nice. And unexpected.”

He gave an easy laugh. “Is it? I’ve been attracted to you since the day I soaked you in sprinkler water.”

She laughed, too, at that memory.

“And I’d like to take this…further. That is, if you will give a chance to…what did you call me? The Hapless Handyman?”

She grunted at the nickname. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.” He closed the space between them, brushing her lips with his. “Come back for more long talks and food and…” He sighed into the almost kiss. “Time together.”

Her knees literally wobbled at the warmth of his breath on her lips.

When she didn’t answer, he reached a hand out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his thumb lingering on her cheek for several heartbeats. Then he opened the door for her and gestured for her to climb in.

“Drive safe, Vivien.”

“I will.”

What was she doing? Where was this going? And what about… Peter ?

Somehow she managed to start the car, watching him step back as she pulled out and drove away.

What was happening? She had no idea…but it was the most fun she’d had in a long time.

Vivien closed the Summer House front door behind her, turning the knob to keep it from clicking shut too loudly, grateful they didn’t have an alarm set. Everything was still and hushed, dark except for the glow from the stovetop clock that read 12:17 a.m.

Vivien tiptoed barefoot through the kitchen, shoes dangling from her fingers, getting a punch of déjà vu from one hot summer night when she, Tessa, and Kate had snuck in late and walked right into Maggie.

She hadn’t meant to stay at Danny’s for so long.

But she hadn’t wanted to leave and the time with him had flown by.

Still thinking of his parting kiss, she grinned to herself as she climbed the stairs slowly, slipped into the main suite she shared with Lacey, and closed the door gently and, she hoped, silently.

The room was cool and smelled faintly of her lavender pillow spray and Lacey’s shampoo. The moonlight cast silvery streaks across the comforter. Lacey was bundled beneath it, sound asleep.

Behind the bathroom door, Vivien changed quickly into her pajamas, washed her face, brushed her teeth, and did her level best not to make a sound when she slipped into bed.

“That was a really…long client meeting.”

Vivien sucked in a surprised breath. “You’re awake?”

Lacey turned on her side, but it was too dark to make out her expression. “Kind of hard not to be when you come tiptoeing in like a teenager who just made out in the back of a car.”

Vivien laughed, covering her mouth. “It wasn’t like that.”

“Mm…hmm.”

Vivien giggled, oddly giddy.

Lacey reached for her phone to check the time. “Mom. It’s after midnight.”

“I know. I lost track of time.”

“Is that what we’re calling it now?” Lacey teased. “Losing track of time with a very handsome, rich client who flirts like it’s a sport?”

“Says the girl dating a literal NFL player.” Vivien pulled the covers up and rolled toward her daughter, seeing a smile now. “Do not make me regret telling you things.”

“Did you kiss him?” she asked, a playful note in her voice.

“Kiss…are you…why would I…” At Lacey’s pretend scowl, she gave up the fight. “One teeny-tiny, barely worth mentioning, light as air but still really mind-blowing kiss.”

“Mom!” She shot up, throwing the covers off as if she simply had no words. “You kissed him?”

“To be perfectly accurate, he kissed me .” A beat passed, and then Vivien exhaled. “And, Lacey Knight, I freely admit I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“With Danny?” Lacey asked.

“With Danny. With Peter. With…my whole love life.” Vivien rubbed her forehead. “Not that I expected to have a love life a month after my divorce the year I turn fifty.”

“Well, apparently you do.” Lacey slid back under the covers and snuggled closer, like she did when she was a teenager and came home from a date that had to be hashed and re-hashed. “Tell me everything. I mean, I know he’s hot?—”

“Hot?”

“I guess you’d call it handsome,” she corrected. “And wealthy. And into you. What else did you find out tonight?”

“So much,” Vivien said on a sigh. “He’s fascinating and successful and caring. But…Peter.”

“Yes, Peter.”

Vivien shot her a look. “They’re such wildly different men. Peter is calm and solid and kind. He’s been in my life for decades. He knows my family. My baggage. He wants to move here, Lacey, and, you know, be with me. As a couple.”

Lacey bolted upright again. “Wait, what?”

“He said that a few nights ago when we went to mini-golf. He wants to be serious. Official. Real.”

“Mom, that’s huge. That’s a commitment .”

“I know,” Vivien said softly, tugging her back down. “And he’d be wonderful. He’s the kind of man I could build a life with. But Danny…”

Lacey groaned. “Oh, Danny. Hapless Handy turned Hedge Fund Hunk.”

Vivien laughed. “Danny is magnetic and I’m drawn to him. I don’t know him well, but I feel like I do. Like I could talk to him all night. He makes me feel…I don’t know…like I’m twenty again. Not sure you can actually put a name to that feeling, but it’s really nice.”

“So, let me get this straight,” Lacey said, leaning on her elbow and propping her head on her hand. “You’re The Bachelorette now.”

“Oh, stop it.”

“Should I bring out two roses?”

Vivien jabbed her and made her head fall off her hand, and they both laughed again, then grew quiet as they lay in the dark.

After a minute, Lacey inched closer. “Can I say something? It’s profound.”

“Hit me, baby girl.”

“You’ve spent so much of your life doing what was expected. Following Maggie’s strict rules. Being Ryan’s perfect wife and top designer. And, all the while, right next to me as the best mother in the world. Through it all, you’ve kept yourself exactly dead last.”

Vivien closed her eyes. “That’s not how it felt, honey. I loved all those roles. Well, maybe not being Maggie’s daughter, but it wasn’t that bad. I had Eli and Crista. But I never felt last in life.”

“It’s your time,” Lacey said on a hushed whisper.

“I mean it, Mom. This decade, your fifties? This is when you come first and you get to choose joy now. Whatever that looks like. If Peter makes you feel loved and secure, amazing. If Danny makes you feel feminine and seen, also amazing. You deserve all of it. You deserve happiness.”

Vivien squeezed her eyelids against the sudden tears that prickled behind them. “You’re really wise sometimes, you know that?”

“I have my moments.”

A beat passed. Vivien turned her head on the pillow. “Thank you, honey. I’ll hold on to that advice. Now can I turn the tables?”

Lacey stiffened. “Is this about Roman?”

“Yes. What’s going on there? You’ve seen him several times this past week.”

She let out a long exhale. “Yeah. Well, I’m choosing what makes me happy. It feels…right.”

There was just enough of a defensive note in her voice that Vivien had to wonder if there wasn’t more to this relationship than Lacey was sharing. She knew her daughter…and this one was different.

She just didn’t know how or why.

But she knew one thing. So she reached across the bed and took Lacey’s hand.

“I love you, Lace.”

Lacey squeezed her fingers. “Right back at you, Golden Bachelorette.”

Vivien groaned. “Don’t call me that.”

“You are , though. You’ve got options. Drama. Romance. I’m just waiting for someone to jump in the pool wearing a tux.”

Vivien laughed quietly. “Go to sleep.”

They both lay there in the dark, smiling, hearts a little fuller than before.