Chapter 28
Isla sat outside on the porch, staring at Nolan’s house. She wanted to talk to him, but she hadn’t been able to bring herself to go over there. She felt like such an idiot for jumping to conclusions again. When he had first moved back, she wanted to convince him that she’d changed. That she wasn’t the girl he’d left behind, but instead she wound up proving that she was exactly the same girl.
Despite being able to finally go through Grandma’s things, fix a pipe and paint a wall, she hadn’t changed at all. She wanted to, though. She wanted to put her complete trust in Nolan because she did trust him. She trusted him more than she trusted anyone.
Her insecurities were her own, and she accepted that, but with a guy like Nolan it was hard to believe that he could love someone like her, even though he proved to her time and time again that he did. She could be crazy, and her brain could be over imaginative, but he had loved her despite it all.
And if by some miracle, he still loved her — God, she hoped he did — she wouldn’t for a second think any differently. She would cherish his love, trust him completely, and be grateful for her chance at happiness.
She heard Nolan’s front door open, and her attention swung to it. Nolan stepped out, donning a pair of navy shirts and a white t-shirt that made him look too damn good., and he was holding a duffel bag…
No, no. He can’t be leaving. Not yet. Not before she had a chance to talk to him.
She swore she heard Grandma yell go to him ! But she was scared. What if he rejected her? What if he was done with her nonsense? She hadn’t exactly made it easy to love her.
With his cellphone pressed against his ear, he made his way to his car. She shifted to listen.
“All right, I’ll see you on Monday, George.”
Oh God! He was leaving. He was going back to Seattle, and she might never see him again. Was he even going to say goodbye? Her heart plummeted to the ground.
She couldn’t let him go without saying everything that she’d been holding in for the last three years. If there was any time to find her courage, it was now.
She ran off the porch and straight to Nolan. His body jolted in shock as she came to a stumbling halt in front of him.
He grabbed her elbow and steadied her. “Isla, are you okay?” His eyebrows pinched together above the bridge of his nose. Concern etched in his features and she found comfort in his reaction.
“Don’t go!”
“Huh?”
“Don’t go back to Seattle. You belong here in Morgan’s Bay with your friends and with… me.”
He rubbed at his chin and shook his head. “I’m not going back to Seattle. At least not permanently.”
She blinked up, meeting the memorizing blue of his eyes. “What? But I thought… You have a duffel bag, and I heard you…”
“Morgan’s Bay is my home. For three years, a part of me has been missing, and now that I’m back I realized it’s because I wasn’t where I belonged. I belong here… with my friends and with you.”
She pushed back the tears of joy that were fighting their way to the forefront. “So, you’re not leaving?”
“Only for the weekend. I told George I’d fly out, help him get a few things figured out and map out a plan going forward. Took me forever to find a flight with all the cancellations. Anyway, he’s going to take me on as a consultant, so I can work from here, and I’ll only have to be in Seattle for any big meetings.”
Her heart practically jumped with glee. “You’re staying then. You’re really staying.” He wasn’t leaving her after all. He was staying because of her.
He nodded, and a sweet smile curved his lips. “I was going to talk to you on Monday after I figured this all out.”
Isla didn’t need any more time. They’d wasted enough time between them. She flung her arms around his neck and crashed her lips to his. She kissed him with everything she had left, giving it all to him — a silent promise that she’d always give him her all.
She pulled back, and he rested his forehead against hers, his hands securely wrapped around her. It felt so right, being in his arms.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “For everything. For the radio show, for not trusting you, for thinking you had someone else in Seattle.”
“I’m not going to lie, it hurt.”
She met his eyes, needing him to see how truly sorry she was. “I wish I could take it all back. Because I would. My biggest regret is calling that stupid radio station. If I would have just talked to you.”
He ran his finger along her jaw and stopped under her chin, tilting her head up. “We both made mistakes. I could’ve made more time for you. I should have made more time for you. Instead, I was so focused on my career and making money that I let you doubt us.”
“You were just trying to do the right thing. I get that now.”
“I need you to believe me when I tell you that there is no one else for me, Isla. It’s you, it’s always been you, and it will always be you.”
“I feel the same way. I mean with you. There’s never been anyone else. I love you, always have, and always will.”
Nolan closed his eyes and inhaled. “I missed hearing that. I love you, too.” He bent his head and captured her lips in a sweeping kiss, sealing his declaration, forging their past with their present, and making Isla believe in fairytales once again.