Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
ELI
I held my breath as Mom’s gaze swept around the table, a lifetime of shared history evident in her softening expression.
“This whole process has forced me to face a lot of fears I preferred to bury. It brought up a lot of old trauma, but the last few months have shown me other things too. That my kids are all adults now. How trust can be rebuilt, even in unexpected ways. And most of all, that maybe clinging to old fears is hurting us more than taking a calculated risk with someone who is nearly a son to me too.”
A smile rose on her face as her gaze settled on Chase. “We’ll need to hash out the details, of course. But… welcome to Sunset Siesta, partner.”
The room erupted in cheers and laughter. I whooped, pulling Chase into a seated bear hug. “You sneaky bastard. Why didn’t you tell me?”
He grinned, clapping me on the back. “And ruin the surprise? Where’s the fun in that?
” Then he flushed, that shy look coming over him again.
“I told you I’ve been getting itchy feet at my current job.
The more I thought about it, investing in Sunset Siesta seemed like a perfect first job for Ashworth Architectural. ”
I nodded. “Nice name.”
He laughed. “That just popped into my head. I’ll probably change it three times before I actually hang out my shingle. God, now I sound like Lacey.”
Harper had reached over and touched Chase’s hand. Just a gentle touch, fingers barely brushing the back of his hand, but Chase’s head whipped around, his entire focus suddenly laser-locked on her. Just like that, I might as well have been wallpaper.
“Thank you,” Harper said softly. “I hope you know what you’re getting into.”
His cheeks took on a tinge of pink. “All kidding aside, I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I’ve got money to invest, and a big project would really help get my new firm off the ground. I know all of you, not just Helen, were reluctant to go into debt. This arrangement works for all of us.”
Harper’s eyes swept around the happy room, and she barked a laugh. “I have a feeling something new is starting in this room.”
Chase continued his now very credible imitation of a ripe tomato. “So do I. I can’t wait to get started.”
After darting my eyes to Jules, I drummed both hands on the table until everyone quieted and looked at me. “One other thing. Once we’re established and the bottom line is looking less crimson, our accountant here is more than overdue for a new computer. The museum called and wants that one back.”
Still smiling, Jules cocked her head at me as Harper nodded firmly. “Absolutely. You’ve been more than patient, Jules. We’ll make sure it happens.”
The conference room buzzed with energy as Brenna handed me a piece of cake, then passed out more to the rest of us.
We broke into smaller groups to chat. Braden was already pitching potential craft beer collaborations to Chase, while Austin and Ben quietly conferred with Mom, probably discussing logistics.
I made my way over to Harper, who was positively glowing.
“So,” I drawled, “how long have you and our new business partner been cooking this up?”
Harper’s eyes widened. “What? No, I had no idea—”
I cocked my head to one side. “Really? You two looked chummy. Let me remind you that he’s my friend, not yours.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, keep your fat mouth shut or you’ll chase him away and he’ll change his mind.”
“Not a chance,” I said with a wide grin. “Chase is one of those guys who means what he says. He’s kind of like a dull, boring rock like that.”
She just stared at me. “It is an absolute mystery to me how you have any friends at all.”
“Aw, you’re just jealous.” I laughed, relief from the meeting coursing through me. “Besides, I don’t need to worry about you poaching him from me. I told him years ago that I’d kill him if he went near either of my sisters. He’s a man of his word, my Chase.”
I went to grab a glass of sparkling cider from the bottles that had appeared out of nowhere and caught Jules’s eye across the room.
She was beaming, her eyes sparkling with a mix of professional satisfaction and personal joy.
I wanted nothing more than to sweep her into my arms and kiss her senseless.
Instead, I mouthed thank you to her. She gave me a small nod, her smile softening. For the first time in weeks, I felt like we were on the same page, moving forward together.
I made my way over to her, weaving through my celebratory family members, and handed her a glass of cider. “So, accountant extraordinaire, think we might actually pull this off?”
Jules lifted her glass, her eyes dancing. “Well, Mr. Coleridge, I’d say the odds are looking better than they were a month ago.”
I bowed. “High praise indeed.”
“Chase coming on board is a great idea.”
“The old boy is full of surprises, isn’t he?”
She laughed and nodded as everyone else slowly filed out of the room. Mom and Chase walked out side by side, and she touched his arm as she laughed at some remark he made.
“Thank you for asking about a new computer for me. That will be heaven when it happens.”
My eyes snapped back to Jules. “Of course. I have to say these things publicly, so you don’t get out your red pen and axe yourself again.”
Our eyes held for a moment that stretched into eternity. Until Jules blinked and said, “Thanks again. I’d better get back to work. See you later.”
Then she was gone.
The door clicked shut, leaving me alone in the sudden, echoing quiet.
A ghost of Jules’s smile lingered in the air, the brief spark of connection we'd shared still warming my chest. For that instant, seeing the approval and maybe something more in her eyes, everything had felt right.
Possible. Like we were a team again, even without saying a word.
I sank back into my chair, thoughtful. The successful outcome of the meeting should have left me elated.
Chase onboard as a partner, a viable path forward for the resort, Mom actually embracing change…
it was everything we’d hoped for. There was cake, for crying out loud.
I should have been popping champagne or at least cracking open one of Braden’s celebratory IPAs.
Instead, the silence pressed in, amplifying the contrast. The resort's future looked brighter, but mine? It was shrouded in the fog of my own making. That brief moment with Jules just highlighted the chasm between the progress we’d made professionally and the stalemate we were trapped in personally.
My thoughts drifted back, inevitably, to that morning on Mom’s patio. The sun on the water, the scent of coffee, the weight of her question hanging between us. Are you in love with her?
The memory wasn't just painful now. It was clarifying.
Today Mom had accepted Chase and taken that leap of faith despite her deep-seated fears about finances and outsiders.
It threw my own failure into sharp relief.
She could overcome her past pain when faced with solid commitment and a clear path forward. Chase offered that for the resort.
And what had I offered when asked flat out about my feelings? Hesitation. Deflection.
Your hesitation tells me you're not there yet, Eli.
The realization washed over me and left me numb. It wasn't just about a rule. It wasn't just about Mom's fears, valid as they might be. It was about me.
A sickening certainty washed over me and left me numb.
Suddenly, all this dancing around the damn resort policy looked like nothing more than a smokescreen.
And Mom's fears? Deep as they ran, rooted in real pain I couldn't deny, even they weren't the ultimate roadblock.
No. The real problem, the anchor dragging us down, the reason Jules and I were stuck in this miserable limbo.
.. stared right back at me if I only had the courage to see it.
Me.
My inability to stand tall and claim the most important feeling of my life because I was still chained to the ghosts of my parents' failed marriage, still terrified I was doomed to repeat it. The fault wasn't a rule, or a ghost from the past. It landed squarely in my lap.
I dropped my head into my hands, the smooth wood of the table cool against my forehead. The warmth from Jules's smile moments ago evaporated, replaced by a chilling self-awareness. Mom hadn't blocked us. I had. And only I could fix this.
I love her.
The truth screamed silently in the empty room.
I loved Julianne Verne. I loved her intelligence, her ridiculous organizational skills, her hidden adventurous spirit, the way she made me laugh, the way she made me better.
Loved the way she looked at me, like she saw something worth holding onto beneath the jokes and the laid-back facade.
And I had failed her. Failed myself. I hadn't been able to give Mom the certainty she needed because I hadn't fully embraced it myself, hadn't trusted myself not to screw it up.
A surge of something hot and sharp—anger mixed with shame—flooded me. Anger at my own cowardice. Anger at the past that still held me hostage. Anger that the one time something truly real came along, I fumbled it because I couldn't conquer my own demons.
I pushed back from the table abruptly, the chair scraping loudly against the floor. I stalked to the window, staring out at the familiar vista—the pier, the dive shop, the endless blue horizon. My world. My cage.
If I couldn't prove my commitment here, within the tangled web of family history and resort expectations, maybe the only way was to break free entirely. It felt drastic, terrifying, like cutting off a limb. But if I needed to make a display of my feelings, I couldn’t think of a stronger one.
I could get a job anywhere. Calypso Key, maybe.
Start fresh. Prove to Jules, prove to myself, prove to the goddamn universe that I was all in.
That my love for her was bigger than my fear, bigger than this place, bigger than the ghosts of the past. It wouldn’t be easy, leaving behind everything I’d ever known.
But I didn’t have a choice if I wanted to be with Jules. And I wanted that more than anything.
“If this is how it has to be,” I said to my reflection in the window, “so be it.”