“Because you would have denied it.” One side of his mouth quirked into the lopsided smile she had loved. “I knew you better than anyone back then. That’s exactly what you would have done.”

  She exhaled a staggering breath, forcing herself to remember. She did recall the guilt that plagued her every time she thought about leaving her grandmother. She couldn’t abandon the woman who’d taken care of her for so long.

  She dropped her face into her hands. Batton was right. For all these years she’d blamed him for their breakup because he had broken her heart. But when she allowed herself to fall back into the past, she remembered the guilt and worry that she’d been wrapped up in.

  She lifted her gaze back to him, expecting him to be angry, but he only smiled and reached out, pushing away a stray strand of hair that the wind had whipped over her mouth.

  A shiver rocked her body. How could she have forgotten what being around him was like? How whenever they touched, it was electric, and she could never get enough of him holding her hand, rubbing her back or even squeezing her knee?

  “So,” she said.

  “So,” he repeated.

  “I guess that I’ve been blaming you for something that I shouldn’t have. You’re right, I pushed you away because I was worried about her.” It was shameful how she’d blamed him all these years. She felt awful. Shelby shook her head, hoping that the movement would toss the feeling away, but it only intensified. “I’m sorry.”

  He squeezed her shoulder gently. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry for. Your grandmother needed you, and you were right to stay. I’m only sorry that I didn’t fight harder.”

  He would have fought for her? It felt like a giant hand was squeezing every bit of life from her heart. Pain rocked through her body. “It wouldn’t have mattered. I couldn’t leave then, just like I can’t leave now.”

  One side of his mouth turned up slightly. “What do we do?”

  “What do we do?” she repeated as if saying the words would cause them to make more sense.

  He rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze dragging from her and scanning left and right, as if waiting for someone to drive down the road. “What I mean is—we can stay like we are, and you can be mean to me whenever we run into each other, or…”

  “Or what?” she asked, tilting her head to get a better look at him. Those blue eyes were ringed in gold, and when he looked fully at her, the irises widened, their darkness swallowing the blue.

  “Or you can take me up on my offer to go out with me.”

  “Why?”

  “Why not?”

  Because wouldn’t they just wind up at the same place? Him leaving and her staying? “How will it be different?”

  He shifted his weight, which he only did when he was either uncomfortable, thinking or both. “Shelby, I may have left this town, but I never stopped thinking about you. Not once. You were never far from my mind, and yes, I’ve dated since leaving but no one ever compared to you.”

  The last bit of ice clinging to her heart cracked off then, falling into the abyss. She licked her lips, and he watched, his gaze flicking to her mouth before landing back on her eyes. “I…I understand. I know what you mean.”

  Even though she’d had crushes and had dated other men, none of them had ever came close to Batton. Even though she longed for Ted to look at her with something other than sisterly affection, he still wasn’t all that she wanted or even needed.

  “So then how about it?” he asked, his lips tipping into a smile and his dimple winking at her from his smoothly shaven face. “Would you go out with me?”

  Every cell in her body wanted to leap and scream a resounding yes, but her mind took a different turn. “But what about when you leave? Because you and I both know you’re not staying here, Batton. You’re only here to help your family for a while.”

  “Shelby, I’m…not so sure that I’m going back.”

  Her stomach fell. “What?”

  “Yeah, there are things going on, and it might be best if I stay.”

  “What about your job?”

  He shrugged. “I can get another one, or I can start my own firm.”

  “You say it like it’s so simple, to leave a life and start another one.”

  “If there’s one thing I’ve learned,” he said as his fingers trailed down the bare flesh of her arm, “it’s that there’s nothing to be afraid of in life. And if you are afraid, the only thing that’ll lead to is more fear.”

  Batton, staying? There really wasn’t any reason for her not to go out with him. He might remain in town, which would mean that she wouldn’t get attached and then have to deal with him abandoning her and Sugar Cove again. For once Shelby could let her heart go without worrying about whether or not it would get stomped on.

  “Okay,” she said quietly.

  His eyes sparkled. “Okay, what?”

  How adorably annoying. He was going to make her say it. “Okay, Batton, you win. I’ll go out with you.”

  “I don’t want you to say it in order to please me. If you’re going to do it, I want you to do it because it’s what you want.”

  He was teasing her now. She rolled her eyes even though she wasn’t really irritated. “It’s what I really want.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked, rubbing his chin. “Because like I said—”

  She reached out and tickled his stomach, causing him to flinch. “It’s what I want. Now stop asking me or else I might change my mind.”

  A slow smile spread across his gorgeous face. “If that’s the case, how about we go out tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow?” It was so soon. A knot of worry was building up in her throat, but she swallowed, pushing it back down. There wasn’t anything to fear. There was no reason why they couldn’t try again, was there? “Tomorrow sounds good. I’d like that.”

  He started to retreat back to his car. “Pick you up at six?”

  “Okay.”

  “You still living at the same place?”

  She pointed toward the house on stilts. “We sure are.”

  “Then I’ll see you then. Tell your grandmother I said hello. I can’t wait to see her.”

  She laughed. “You’re more excited to see her than me.”

  “Absolutely not. But she won my heart a long time ago.”

  “You’re terrible.”

  “Don’t worry. She could never replace you.”

  With that, she turned and walked toward her house, her heart feeling just a teensy bit lighter.

  GINNY

  “Tell me, Ginny, is Sugar Cove treating you as well as I suspect it is?”

  Ginny sipped the Peanut Butter Bomb milkshake that she’d purchased from the Sugar Shack in Port St. Joe. Her old sorority sister, Molly, walked beside her, sipping her own shake—Oreo. They’d had lunch, brick-oven pizza, at Joe Mama’s and had decided to splurge on ice cream to top off their afternoon.

  “Sugar Cove is treating me better than you suspect,” she confessed, answering her friend’s question.

  Molly sipped her Oreo shake. “This is heaven.”

  “I agree.”

  “So…I hear you’ve been spending time with Aiden Hassell.”

  “Oh?” Her brow lifted. “News travels fast, I see.”

  “He’s a pretty big deal around here.”

  Ginny paused mid-sip. “Is he?”

  They stopped to scan the window of a clothing boutique. Molly nodded. “Hm mm. Everyone knows the treasure hunter. He’s a local celebrity.”

  She couldn’t help but feel her cheeks burn at the mention of Aiden. “It’s not a big deal. We’re friends.”

  “Who’ve gone out a few times.”

  “That’s right. Molly, I’m not sure if I’m ready for anything.”

  “I don’t blame you there. When I got divorced, it took a long time for me to feel like I was ready to even look at another man.”

  She sighed. “I can understand that. I’ve had divorced friends say the same thing. But how do you know about Aiden?”

  Molly shrugged before continuing to walk. “Like I said, news travels fast. A lot of women like Aiden, have been interested in him for ages, but he’s never reciprocated their feelings. So when you showed up and people started seeing him around with you…” Her lips curled around the straw, and she shot Ginny a knowing look.

  “I get it—I quickly became the talk of the town.”

  “That’s exactly right.”

  She wasn’t sure if having that much attention was a good or bad thing. Ginny didn’t want to be known as the woman who was dating Aiden. But if that notoriety somehow got her more business, perhaps it wasn’t completely bad.

  They rounded a corner and nearly bumped into a woman dressed smartly in a light blue dress suit and wearing tall white heels. Her blonde-highlighted brown hair was pulled back into a messy bun, and her face was made up much more than Ginny ever did to her own, with thick eyeliner, dark blush and nude-colored lipstick.

  “Ellen,” Molly said, greeting the woman, “good to see you.”

  “Molly, how are you?”

  “I’m doing just fine. And yourself?”

  Ellen folded her arms, her red-lacquered nails tapping her forearm. “You know, busy. Real estate is booming right now. Everyone wants to move to Florida.”

  “They do,” she agreed. “Have you met my friend, Ginny Rigby?”

  Ellen’s gaze snapped hard on Ginny, so much so that she nearly choked on a sip of her Peanut Butter Bomb milkshake.

  “No, we haven’t met yet.” Ellen extended her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Ginny.”

  She took it and smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

  Ellen stared at her, but it wasn’t the sort of look that was simply curious. No, this woman was peering hard, sizing her up. It was unnerving.

  “I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve to be going,” Ellen snapped. “I have a showing.”

  “Good seeing you,” Molly said.

  Without another word Ellen stalked off, getting into a convertible Mercedes parked on the street. Her tires squealed as she peeled out of the spot.

  “That was…interesting,” Ginny said, not wanting to insult Molly, seeing as she was Ellen’s friend and all.

  “I’m sorry about that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  They continued on before Molly said, “I didn’t think she’d be at the office.”

  She laughed. “What’s the big deal?”

  They reached Molly’s consignment shop just as the door opened and a pretty brunette with a round face and full body emerged.

  “Paige, you remember Ginny.”

  The twentysomething woman smiled at her. “Of course, your sorority sister. Right, Mama?”

  “You got it.”

  “Have y’all had a good time?”

  “We had a nice lunch,” she told Paige. “You look about the same age as my daughters, Chandler and Reece. You should meet them. I’m sure both my girls could use more girlfriends in town.”

  Paige nodded eagerly. “That would be great, but Blake takes up a lot of my time.”

  Molly’s face hardened at the mention of her daughter’s boyfriend. “Honey, girlfriends are often better than boyfriends.”

  Her face fell. “I know. But I like spending time with him.”

  “How long have y’all been dating?” Ginny asked in an attempt to smooth out the tension nearly cracking the air.

  “Three years,” she answered proudly. “Going on four.”

  “That’s great.”

  Molly nodded. “Yes, they’ve been dating a long time.”

  “Mama, not everyone jumps into getting engaged right off the bat.”

  “Four years isn’t right off the bat.”

  Just then an SUV pulled up and the window rolled down. A man with short dark hair called out from the vehicle. “Hurry up, Paige. We’re going to be late. Oh, hello, Molly.”

  “Blake.” Molly’s gaze darted from the SUV to Paige. “You have a date?”

  “It’s a work party,” he told her. “At my boss’s place, and we’re going to be late if Paige doesn’t hurry up and get in here.”

  “Sorry.” The young woman ducked her head in apology. “See you later, Mama. Good to see you again, Mrs. Rigby.”

  Ginny waved. “Bye.”

  As soon as they were gone, Molly took a long sip from her shake until all that was left was the sound of the straw sucking up air. “That man.”

  “You don’t like him.”

  Molly sighed and sat on a bench outside of her shop. “He’s not right for Paige, doesn’t respect her the way that she should be respected.”

  Ginny joined her on the bench and savored the feel of the warm sun on her face and arms. “Have you talked to her about it?”

  “Plenty of times, but she doesn’t listen—or care. She says that’s just the way he is, that I need to get used to it.” Her friend bristled. “I don’t want to get used to it. I want her to find someone else. And don’t even get me started on the whole they’ve-been-dating-four-years thing. Actually you don’t have to, because I’ll go ahead and tell you my thoughts—he’s never once suggested marriage.”

  “Does he want to move in with her?”

  Molly gave her a flat look. “Let me clarify—Blake has never talked about moving their relationship to the next level.”

  “Oh,” she replied, cringing. “Doesn’t sound like he’s interested in doing anything except stringing her along.”

  “That’s what I’ve tried to tell her, but she won’t listen. And worse, I think she feels bad about herself, that she can’t get anyone else. But that’s just not true. There are plenty of men who come into the shop—dragged in with their mothers or grandmothers—who flirt with Paige, but she doesn’t see it.”

  “Sometimes it’s hard to see what’s staring us in the face.”

  Molly nodded. “I know. That’s the problem. I just wish that somehow I could show her that there’s more fish in the sea than Blake, and that she deserves to be with a man who really loves her, who wants what’s best for her and who also worships her.”

  “She’ll find that man.”

  “I don’t know. I’m afraid she’s going to waste her whole life on Blake and will only figure out that he doesn’t want anything more when she’s too old to get those years back.”

  Ginny nudged her shoulder. “Don’t you think you’re being a bit dramatic?”

  “No. Yes. Maybe. I don’t know. I just worry about her, is all.”

  “Sure you do. Paige is your daughter. You wouldn’t be a good mother unless you worried about her. She’s lucky to have you.”

  “Thank you.”

  Time for a change of subject. If Ginny kept Molly on the topic of Paige, her friend would wind up in a funk over it. “You were going to say something earlier, about that woman Ellen that we ran into.”

  “Right.” She winced. “I’m not sure if you want to know this.”

  “What could be so bad that I don’t want to know?”

  When her friend didn’t answer, a tingle of worry snaked down her spine. “Okay. It is bad.”

  “It’s not bad, per se, just something that you should be aware of.”

  “And that is?”

  “Ellen is Aiden’s ex-wife.”

  It felt like the world had fallen out from under her feet. He had told her that his wife still lived around here and worked in real estate, but Ginny never suspected that they would run into each other.

  “I see,” she managed before realizing that her reaction was unfounded. “She’s very beautiful and well put together, but you have to be to work in real estate.”

  “She is beautiful,” Molly said in a hesitating voice.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s nothing.”

  Ginny nudged her shoulder. “Come on. You’re holding back. What do you have to tell me?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve heard through the grapevine that she’s still in love with Aiden.”

  “Oh.” He hadn’t mentioned anything like that to her. “But they’ve been divorced for years.”

  “Apparently she still holds a torch for him. That’s what people say, at least, and you know how tongues wag.”

  “They do wag.”

  “They do.” They were silent for a moment before Molly gently slapped Ginny’s leg. “It’s nothing that you have to worry about. If Aiden was interested in her, he would’ve acted on it a long time ago.”

  “You’re right.” She forced herself to smile. “Of course you’re right.”

  Yet Ellen was beautiful. Any man would want her hanging on his arm. But Molly had a point. If Aiden wanted to work things out with his ex-wife, he would’ve done it a long time ago.

  Even though she knew the reality of the situation, she still couldn’t stop the pang of worry that burrowed itself into her heart—no matter how hard she tried.

  EMMA GRACE

  Diary, I was so ashamed after Papa pulled me away from the fair. I was certain that all was lost.

  I’d never see Jim again, and he would become nothing more than a memory.

  That was until early this morning.

  As soon as the sun’s first rays show up, Papa always goes to bed. I stay up the first half of the night helping him. But after that, I go to bed so that I can be up and ready for school in the morning.

  I had just left the lighthouse when I spotted Jim leaning up against a building, waiting for me.

  My heart jumped up into my throat at the sight of him.

  But then a wall of shame hit me. I ducked my head, not wanting him to look at me, and started to walk around him, but he reached out and grabbed my hand.

  “Stop,” I told him.

  He dropped my hand as I walked past him, and he hurried to keep up. “You don’t want to talk to me?”

  “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

  He jumped in front of me then, facing me and walking backward. “I made you something.”

  I stopped, angry. “Why? Why would you make me anything when my father treated you the way that he did?”

  Jim dragged his teeth over his bottom lip. “Because I wanted to, and because I’m not afraid.”

 

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