Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
W hen Palmer’s alarm went off the morning of her party, he practically jumped out of bed. Since he knew he was taking Loki with him to Sophia’s place, he skipped the walk and just let the dog do his morning business before loading him into the truck.
When he pulled up to her house, her brother was already there. Loki let out a happy bark when he saw her brother’s dog, a short-haired chocolate mix that looked like a cross between a lab and a terrier of some sort.
“Morning,” he said when he stepped out with Loki on his leash beside him.
The little brown dog slowly came up and sniffed Loki, who was only a few inches bigger than her.
“That’s Coco. She’s spoiled and gets along great with everyone and everything,” Lucas said, shaking his hand.
“Loki.” He motioned to his dog. “Same, but he’s pretty dumb.”
Lucas laughed as Loki grabbed the leash in his mouth and tried to tug himself free so he could chase and play with Coco.
He bent down and released his dog, and the pair circled and sniffed one another.
“Coco is fixed,” Lucas warned Loki. “So don’t get any ideas.” Palmer chuckled. “We can put them in the backyard while we help set up.”
When he followed Lucas around the side of the house, the dogs came along and then rushed around the grassy yard. Sophia was on the deck arranging chairs but stopped when Loki rushed over to say hi.
“Morning.” She smiled up at him.
“Good morning,” he said, feeling his heart jump in his chest at how pretty she looked without any makeup on. Her long hair was piled in a messy bun on top of her head. She was wearing a pair of yoga pants the color of her hair, which clung to her like a second skin. Her oversized T-shirt fell off one shoulder, and he could see a matching tank top under it.
She looked more beautiful than if she’d been wearing silk and diamonds.
“Where do you need us?” Lucas asked casually, as if the heat shooting between Sophia and Palmer wasn’t physically obvious.
“Chairs,” Sophia said after a moment. “They should be here any minute to deliver the table and chairs. You can unload them and haul them back here. I think we’ll set them up in this pattern,” she said, pulling out a paper and showing them. Just then, her cell phone rang somewhere inside the house, and she had to rush to answer it.
They both looked down at the image she’d drawn just as they heard someone pull up out front.
“That’s probably them,” Lucas said. “We can leave the dogs back here.”
For the next hour, they hauled and arranged and rearranged the tables and chairs. Then he helped Lucas move the fire pit and chairs to the edge of the property.
“My mother had plans to build a gazebo on this spot,” Lucas said once they were done setting the chairs around the fire pit. “I never got around to starting that project for her.”
“It’s a good spot for it.” He looked off over the tall grass towards the beach and wondered if Sophia wanted one built there. Then his mind turned to all the things he could do with her yard to make it more comfortable. She’d talked about having a bigger deck, something large enough for the fire pit and a table and chairs, along with a lounge. Maybe a small kitchen area for the grill? Then the gazebo with the Adirondack chairs to watch the sunset.
As Palmer and Lucas helped Sophia and Juliette hang balloons and smooth tablecloths over the borrowed tables, his mind kept wandering to all the little things he could do around her house to make it more hers.
He glanced around as Sophia adjusted a string of lights near the deck, her brow furrowed in concentration. The house still bore so many memories of her mother. Months had passed, and it was clear that she was struggling to make the place her own. Palmer doubted much had been moved or changed since her mother had passed.
Her brother mentioned that Avery had helped Sophia pack up their mother’s clothes to donate, but that was as far as she’d gotten. Everything else—the furniture, the knickknacks, even the faded photographs on the walls—remained untouched, a shrine to the past.
“Palmer, can you hand me that?” Sophia’s voice broke through his thoughts, and he turned to see her pointing to a roll of tape.
“Got it.” He grabbed it and handed it to her, their fingers brushing briefly. His mind instantly shifted gears as he remembered the other night. He wanted to be with her again so he could tell her how much being with her meant to him.
“Thanks,” she said with a quick smile that lit up his insides and had heat burning in his soul.
He watched her for a moment longer, his chest tightening. She deserved to feel at peace in her own home, not trapped in a museum of memories.
“Earth to Palmer,” Lucas teased, nudging him. “You gonna help me with these flowers or what?”
Palmer shook off his thoughts and grabbed a few vases of flowers that had just been delivered and helped Lucas arrange them on each table.
An hour later, the yard was transformed. The tables were set with cheerful tablecloths and flowers, the balloons swayed gently in the breeze, and he knew that the string lights would cast a warm, inviting glow at sunset.
He watched as Sophia surveyed the scene, her hands on her hips, a satisfied smile on her face.
“This looks amazing,” Juliette said, giving Sophia’s arm a squeeze. “We did a great job.”
“Agreed, it’s perfect,” Sophia replied, her gaze lingering on the setup. “I couldn’t have done it without you guys.”
“Don’t mention it,” Palmer said, wiping his hands on his jeans. “Now that everything’s done, how about we head into town to grab some food before everyone shows up?”
“I could go for some pizza,” Lucas suggested.
“Pizza sounds good,” Palmer confirmed with a nod.
“Have fun showering my wife and baby,” Lucas called as he and Palmer headed towards the driveway.
Palmer glanced back at Sophia one last time before climbing into his truck. He made a silent vow to help her, even in small ways, to feel at home again.
After they’d gotten the dogs into their trucks, he followed Lucas into town and parked next to his truck in front of Baked Pizzeria. The place was bustling as usual, the smell of fresh dough and melted cheese wafting out as they took a seat out front at a free table under the awning he and Parker had installed a few years back. Both dogs settled at their feet and waited for the food to arrive so they could start begging for scraps.
“Large pepperoni, extra cheese?” Lucas asked before a waitress could come over.
“Sounds great,” Palmer said with a grin.
After they ordered, Lucas leaned back and eyed him. “You’ve got a look in your eye,” he said with a grin.
“What look?”
“The one that says you’ve got someone on your mind.”
Palmer chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re imagining things.”
“Sure I am,” Lucas said, smirking. “It’s about my sister and, normally, I’d keep out of her business…” He leaned closer and lowered his tone. “But I’ll get this out of the way. If you hurt her, they won’t find your body.” He smiled.
Palmer laughed. “I’ve been warned. Actually, I was thinking of how we might help your sister to feel more at home in her place.”
Lucas nodded. “There’s still so much Mom there. We’ve tried to convince her to do what she wants, but so far she hasn’t. She is still sleeping in her bedroom. Still using her bathroom.” He shrugged. “I know it might take her a while, but at least she no longer talks about going back to New York.”
Palmer’s eyebrows shot up as his heart let out a little sigh of relief.
When the pizza arrived, they dug in, the conversation turning to lighter topics. But even as they laughed and joked, Palmer’s thoughts kept circling back to Sophia, surrounding herself with memories she hadn’t yet found the courage to move past.
He couldn’t change the past for her, but maybe, just maybe, he could help her build something new.
The following days, he had several meetings with Max. He and Parker measured what seemed like every square inch of the lighthouse and the surrounding buildings.
He spent a lot of his nights sitting at his computer, drawing and redrawing the plans for the changes Max wanted.
He worked out a budget, got quotes, made sure permits were applied for, and spent every free minute he could chatting with Sophia.
She seemed to be on the same schedule as he was recently—working crazy hours and not a lot of free time. She explained that everyone at the restaurant was gearing up for their bosses to have a full month off when the baby came.
Plans for the lighthouse were coming along. They had just finished hashing out the last small details and had agreed to have his workers start the demo process first thing Monday morning. He figured there would be more changes as they worked, but at least the large items were agreed on at this point. Every day after his other work was done, he drove out to the property and went over a handful of changes with Max.
To be honest, Palmer was starting to like the guy. He wasn’t the stuck-up New York director that he’d expected the man to be. He was feeling more at ease around him and even liked the guy’s humor. The more he was around him, the more he could see why Sophia had been so into the guy.
Which made him wonder why Sophia was into him now. They had texted or talked on the phone several times since the other night. They’d even had a few steamy conversations that left him aching to be with her again. But so far, he hadn’t done anything that would make him stand out from the smooth-talking Max.
Flowers.
The thought popped into his head quickly. That’s what men normally got women they were dating, right?
Shit. Were they dating? Did she think they were? Technically, they hadn’t even gone out on a date yet.
What in the hell had he been doing? Winging it with her? Shit.
When he climbed back in his truck to head out from Max’s place, he pulled out his phone and shot a text message to her asking her out on their first official date the next night she had off work.
“Hypothetical question: What’s your favorite restaurant in Edgeview, since you used to live there?”
“Why? Thinking of stealing my spot?” her reply came back before he’d started his truck.
“Nope, thinking of taking you there. How does tomorrow night sound for an official first date? I’ll even let you pick dessert.”
“Hmm… dessert and a say in the restaurant? Hard to pass up. Tomorrow works for me.”
“Great. It’s a date. And just so you know, I take dessert decisions very seriously.”
“So do I. You’ve been warned.” Then she added, “I love Grinaldi’s. They have the best puttanesca and, be warned, it’s a toss-up between their tiramisu and the cherry-and-dark-chocolate crostata.”
“I’ll buy you both,” he replied, then added, “are you working tonight?”
“Until ten.” She added a frowning emoji.
Smiling, he replied, “I might head down there now for some tacos.”
“I’ll save you a spot.”
He was smiling when he started the truck and drove down the bumpy driveway, heading back into town. He was halfway down the long twisting drive when he spotted a black BMW parked along a row of bushes.
He pulled over and spotted a dark figure standing near the edge of the cliff, looking towards the lighthouse.
It wasn’t uncommon for tourists or even townspeople to want photos of the lighthouse at sunset. Tonight, however, there were too many clouds and the fog was too think to even seen the water on the horizon.
Stepping out, he shouted towards the figure, “Can I help you?”
The figure turned slightly towards him, then a flash of something caught his eye just before something solid hit the side of his head and his world went dark.