Reclaimed Hearts: A second chance, forced proximity romance

Passing Storms

Normally, I had no issue talking to guys. Or to anyone, for that matter. Creating conversation was an art form I excelled in, which worked to my advantage as a waitress.

However, Declan Storms had rendered me speechless for the second—or was it third—time.

“Declan! Nice to see you. Did you have a reservation? Are you waiting for someone?” Emma asked, jogging up to meet him and bring him down to the tables in the sand.

His eyes never left mine, and when he approached, he handed the bouquet to me and said, “I’m here for the birthday girl.”

Emma’s jaw dropped. She stumbled over a few words before clearing her throat. “Birthday? Who’s birthday?” By the tremble in her voice, and the way her eyes sliced over to mine, she knew exactly whose birthday she forgot. She cringed, and I could almost see the expletives rolling through her mind.

I gasped, air finally filling my lungs again. I didn’t know what it was about Declan Storms that made me incapable of breathing, thinking, talking, or moving, but I stood there frozen, unable to stop what was happening.

I hadn’t mentioned my birthday to Emma. By now, I wanted the entire day to just be over and forgotten about. Even before we learned about Eleanor, the crash itself was enough to make me want a do-over.

Besides, I couldn’t handle the pity. The inevitable looks of sorrow and sadness that came when a friend forgot something as important as their friend’s birthday. The endless apologies that followed. I didn’t want it. Nor did I want to embarrass her for forgetting.

It was only seventeen. It wasn’t a huge deal.

But now, here was Declan, making it sound like the hugest deal of all time. His bronzed, chiseled face twisted into a look of annoyance as he stared at Emma.

“Marlowe’s birthday,” he stated confidently, shoving his hands in the pockets of his well-worn jeans. He stood a foot taller than her, his shoulders straight, his chest puffed out slightly, like he was challenging Emma to come back at him and say something.

I grimaced, feeling the temperature rise in my cheeks. So far, he was the only one that really acknowledged my birthday. And he hadn’t even known it was today until a few hours ago.

“So…,” he said, turning his attention back to me. “I took a shot in the dark. Are you done working, by chance?”

I nodded, my grip on the flowers so tight, the tiny, prickly hairs on the stems tickled my fingers. A bead of sweat slid down the back of my neck, pooling on the hem of my teal Seaside Cafe tank top.

That’s when I realized what a mess I looked like. Running back and forth between the restaurant and the beach tables made me sweaty and gross. My hair stuck to my skin, getting caught more than once under my armpits, and there was sand in places I really didn’t want there to be.

With Declan randomly showing up like this, I didn’t even have a chance to run to the bathroom to fix things.

“She is. And we were just about to celebrate! You’re right on time. Why don’t you two take a seat, and I’ll be right back!” Emma exclaimed, like she didn’t just make that up on the spot. She gave both of us the fakest smile I had ever seen.

I scrunched my face, in an attempt to silently grab her attention, but she bolted away and ran into the restaurant.

Declan gestured to the closest table. “After you. I mean, I thought about taking you somewhere nice for your birthday, but I don’t want to interrupt whatever you had planned already.”

His words struck me. Somewhere nice? Did he think that the Seaside Cafe wasn’t good enough? It was such a Baysider comment, and it definitely rubbed me the wrong way.

All the sudden, his mention of ‘see you later’ had context. Was he planning this the whole time we stood in the street, his hands on my waist, blood dripping down my legs? Or was this a random, spur-of-the-moment idea?

I didn’t get answers to any of it, though, because before I could ask, Emma reappeared, her tray full of lemonade and an appetizer.

“Start with these. The treat is still to come,” she stated before rushing back off. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what she was planning. When Emma got an idea in her head, it was better to let her run with it.

“So… working on your birthday sucks, huh?” Declan said, picking up an onion ring and examining it like he had never seen one before in his life.

Which I knew to be false, because the cafeteria served them almost every day.

I wasn’t hungry, though, so I pushed the plate closer to him and rested my elbows on the table instead, setting my chin on my fists. “Yeah, kinda does.”

“You having a party or something? Beach bonfire? Isn’t that what most Gennies do?” The wicked little smile that accompanied his statement made me tilt my head.

I wouldn’t have classified beach bonfires as something ‘Gennie’s did’ often, but it was an option. We didn’t have private beach access like the Crescent kids or a good number of Baysiders, but we knew how to party with what we had.

“Um, no. Nothing planned besides work.”

He reached across the table and grabbed my hand. “It’s a good thing I showed up, then, huh? Looks like your coworkers were planning something, but what’s a birthday without a celebration?”

He winked at me as if he was the most thoughtful person in the world.

Truthfully, it did mean a lot to me that he made an effort. Even though his path and mine hadn’t really crossed over the years, he had still known my name and went out of his way to do something nice for me.

It was more than anyone else had today. I needed to be grateful and get my attitude in check. I couldn’t let the day get me down, and right now, it was looking up anyway. It was time to roll with it.

I plastered on a smile, trying to muster up some of the sunshine I usually had.

“There it is! That’s more like it. You can’t be sad on your birthday. It’s, like, against the law or something,” Declan declared with a grin.

“Did you hear about Eleanor Covington?” I blurted out, knowing that was what was still upsetting me.

Declan shrugged and took a sip of his soda. “Yeah, a little bit ago. My mom was all upset about it, but Eleanor was like, what, a hundred right?”

I wanted to correct him. I wanted to say she was only ninety-five, that she was the last granddaughter of Charlotte Covington, and one of the last remaining Covington’s on the entire island.

The Covington family tree was enormous, but only a handful still lived here. A few branches of the tree had stayed on the island, including Mia and Isla Covington. They were cousins, the same age as Declan and I, and Crescent kids.

With Eleanor being the oldest Covington, she lived in the Covington Mansion, where she had her entire life. I wondered who would move into the mansion now. A Covington had always occupied it. Other family members lived in property on the estate, or along the Crescent.

Maybe Eleanor’s will would leave it to the town. Maybe it would only be kept open for tours and events.

Eleanor had never married, and she had no kids. She treated all the kids on the island as her own, though, always opening her doors and providing what was needed whenever she could. She thought of herself as the entire island’s grandmother, and there was no better description for her, especially to those of us that knew her personally, like I did.

But I didn’t correct Declan. I let it slide, not wanting to bring the vibe of this afternoon down.

If Declan came all the way out here to celebrate with me, then that’s what we would do. I would look on the bright side, and celebrate not only my birthday, but Eleanor’s amazing life as well.

“Thanks for coming,” I said with another genuine smile. “Really, I appreciate it. Today was… not the best,” I admitted. “But definitely better now.”

Declan flashed me one of his signature megawatt grins, and my flip-flopping heart went into overdrive.

Emma showed up a minute later, with two slices of our famous cheesecake in her hands, one with a sparkler on top.

“Couldn’t find a candle,” she admitted as she put the plates on the table. “But happy birthday, Marlowe!”

I gave her my thanks, and we waited for the sparkler to die down before I removed it. Declan lifted a piece up on his fork, waiting to cheers with mine.

“To Marlowe on her birthday. May it be a fantastic year,” he said, his whole face lit up with excitement.

I grinned right back, feeling happy for the first time today.

When we finished, Emma shooed us away, saying the food was on the house in honor of my birthday. I thanked her, grabbed my belongings and an extra bag of food from the kitchen, and headed toward the door with Declan.

“I don’t understand you. I practically ran you over this morning and you still came to do such a nice thing for me. It means a lot,” I said, placing my stuff in the basket of my bike. It was a bit dented from this morning’s crash, but it worked fine.

Declan shrugged. “Everyone deserves a second chance, right? Have a great night, Marlowe. I’ll see you around…”

And with that, he took off, and left me with a million more questions, just like earlier today.