5. Linda
LINDA
The dining room bustled with low, serious murmurs for a few more minutes as the group continued to discuss and make the final preparations to end the war at Hearts Hotel. It really did feel like a war, Linda thought.
She sighed. It would be over soon, and even though Darius hadn’t been truthful with her right from the start, Linda felt grateful for his help now. And honestly, it wasn’t hurting to have a giant like him with the force of the Wayne Group behind him.
Linda’s mind reeled with everything that had happened from the time she’d left Miami to arriving home in Sweet Blossom Bay.
It hadn’t been that long, but it already felt like months.
She turned to watch as Darius said a few last words, then made sure everyone knew what they were to do.
And most importantly, he stressed the importance of remaining exceptionally vigilant and hyper-aware of their surroundings right now.
Darius and Baxter were going to continue playing their parts to ensure they got the Winebergs put in their place and pushed back to South Carolina once and for all, protecting both Gill’s family’s property in Charleston and Linda’s family’s precious Hearts Hotel legacy.
She let out a breath of relief as her brother and friends got up to start leaving.
“Do you need me to take you back to the hotel?” Michael asked Linda, who was standing back in the hallway as the rest of the people filed out into the sun.
“No, Darius and I still have some things to discuss,” Linda told her brother truthfully and gave him a big smile. “I’m glad to see how yours and Maggie’s relationship is progressing in such a short time.”
“Well, we’ve known each other our entire lives,” Michael reminded her, kissing her forehead. “We’ve loved each other since we were teens.”
“Have you made it official to Ryan, Brooke, and Lily yet?” Linda asked about his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter.
“No,” Michael admitted. “But I know Lily already knows.” He grinned. “And I’m sure she would have told on us to her mom and dad by now.”
“Not Lily,” Linda said with a big grin. “She’d never betray her grandfather.”
“I think someone did,” Michael told her. “Brooke kept hinting when they phoned yesterday to speak to Lily and me.”
Linda’s cheeks pinkened, and she gave him a sheepish smile. “Okay, that may have been me.” She pulled an oops-type face.
“Ahhh,” Michael said with a nod. “So my own sister betrayed me?” His smile was teasing.
“I was just so excited that you and Maggie had finally gotten together,” Linda told him. “But I didn’t say you were in a relationship; I said there were hints that you may be drifting that way. I’m telling you, both Ryan and Brooke were so excited for you and Maggie.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Michael breathed a sigh of relief, and it was then that Linda realized what he’d done.
Her eyes narrowed accusingly at him. “You were hoping I’d be the one to tell your son and his wife about you and Maggie!”
“I… uh…” Michael swallowed. “Well…” He fiddled with the collar of his shirt. “I was uncertain how to approach Ryan with the news.”
“Coward!” Linda scoffed at her big brother who towered over her, all broad-shouldered muscle. He made people cower and weep in courtrooms but was scared of having a conversation with his son and daughter-in-law.
“I was just worried about how Ryan would react to me being with someone else,” Michael admitted.
“Ryan is an adult with his own family,” Linda pointed out. “He would understand, and just a few months ago, he actually said to me that he worried about you growing old alone. Ryan knows it was not something his mother would’ve wanted for you.”
“Thank you,” Michael said softly, kissing her forehead once again.
“And I think Evelyn would’ve been happy that your second chance at love was with Maggie,” Linda’s voice was filled with emotion.
Michael cleared his throat and then went to catch up with Maggie.
Linda watched her brother go, stepping out onto the porch to stand right beside Darius.
As the taillights of the cars flickered through the palms and pulled away from the driveway, she was struck by how right it felt to be standing there next to him like that.
She froze for a split second, the sudden realization making her breath catch, before she gave herself a firm mental shake.
Don't get ahead of yourself, Linda, she told herself, forcing a quiet pep talk to steady her racing thoughts. Good grief, one kiss and you’re fawning like a teenager with her first crush.
Darius turned toward her, and her heart gave an unruly stutter. His eyes locked onto hers, deepening with a quiet, intense emotion as a slow, warm smile spread across his face.
"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Darius asked softly, his voice held a husky tremor. "We can order something in from the village and..." He gestured with an open hand for her to precede him back inside the house. "...carry on talking. Getting to know each other."
"I'd like that," the words slipped out of Linda’s mouth before she could even think to stop them.
An hour later, the quiet comfort of the beach house had wrapped around them.
They were sitting close together on the soft cushions of the sofa, each holding a glass of white wine after finishing a wonderfully relaxed seafood dinner they'd ordered from the local grill down the road.
The high-stakes corporate tension from earlier in the afternoon had vanished, replaced by the gentle, steady sound of the gulf waves rolling onto the sand outside the open windows.
They had spoken about their childhoods, and Darius had opened up even more about his marriages. He’d surprised her by telling her that his one regret was not having children and that’s why he tried to be there for Emma as much as he could.
A comfortable quiet settled between them for a few moments as Darius swirled the wine in his glass, his expression turning thoughtful.
"Okay, so you know all about my marriages," he told her, his voice low and inviting. "May I ask about yours?"
Linda looked at him for a few seconds, her fingers tightening slightly around the stem of her wine glass.
Usually, whenever anyone brought up the topic of her past, her first instinct was to offer a polite, generic answer and quickly fob off the question.
It wasn't that she harbored any lingering resentment or bitterness toward her ex-husband, Richard.
Those painful, raw feelings had long since died away, leaving nothing but distant gray ash.
Instead, it was a nagging, heavy sense of failure that she hated facing whenever her mind drifted back to those years.
It wasn't that she felt she had failed as a wife or failed to keep her vows; rather, it was the stubborn sting of knowing she had failed to choose the right man to be her life partner in the first place.
She had given decades of her life to a phantom relationship, and the only truly beautiful, lasting things to come out of that entire chapter were her wonderful son and her precious grandchildren.
Linda stared down at the pale gold wine in her glass, watching the light catch the swirling liquid. She ran her finger slowly around the smooth rim, letting the quiet hum of the surf outside fill the silence before she finally spoke.
"When Richard and I first met, he was incredibly charming," Linda said softly.
"He had this way of making me feel like the center of the universe.
He completely swept me off my feet, and before I knew it, we were planning a future together.
We had a beautiful, big wedding right here at the Hearts Hotel.
I remember standing at the back of the aisle, looking down at all the decorated chairs, and feeling so incredibly loved.
Both Uncle George and my stepfather, Tom Reilly, walked me down the aisle together, one on each arm. It was perfect."
Darius listened quietly, his thumb still tracing a comforting, slow circle over the back of her knuckles. He did not interrupt, simply offering his silent, steady presence as she opened up.
"For a long time, we had a good life," Linda continued, her gaze drifting toward the darkened window.
"We were happy, or at least, I truly believed we were. We built a home, raised our son, and settled into a comfortable, normal routine. But then, he hit what I suppose you’d call a mid-life crisis.
He hired a new assistant at his firm, and almost overnight, the life we had spent decades building together simply didn't seem to appeal to him anymore. "
She let out a dry, humorless breath and took a small sip of her wine.
"Before I even realized what was fully happening, the cracks began to show," she told him, finding herself sharing details she had never whispered to another living soul, not even to her closest family.
"Richard started traveling constantly. He began taking his new assistant on these lavish, extravagant trips, claiming they were strictly for business.
But then I noticed the withdrawals. He was paying for her flights, her five-star hotel rooms, and expensive gifts directly out of our joint accounts. "
Darius’s jaw tightened slightly, his dark eyes locking onto hers with a fierce, protective warmth, but he kept his voice gentle. "How did you find out?"
"The bank statements," Linda said simply, shaking her head.
"But the worst part was what came next. When the guilt of the affair finally caught up with him—or at least, that’s what he blamed it on later—he turned to gambling to escape.
He started spending hours at the tables, trying to chase the losses, and the downward spiral just took over. "
She paused, her fingers tightening around her wine glass as the old, familiar sting of the betrayal flared up briefly before settling back into quiet acceptance.
"Next thing I knew, our financial security was entirely gone," she confessed, looking directly into Darius’s eyes.
"The savings we had spent our entire lives putting away, along with a significant portion of the inheritance I had left from my parents, was drained.
I had to use every spare cent I had left just to bail him out of his debts and keep the creditors from his door.
We had to sell the family house—the only home our son had ever known, the place where he took his very first steps. "
"I am so sorry, Linda," Darius murmured, his voice rich with genuine empathy. "You shouldn't have had to carry that burden alone."
"We separated for about six months after that, and then we finally pushed the divorce through," Linda said, her voice steadying as she reached the end of the long road.
"The house sale was officially finalized just a month ago.
I stood in the empty entryway, looked around at the bare walls, and closed the front door for the very last time.
I locked it, handed the keys to the realtor, and drove straight home to Sweet Blossom Bay. "
"It's funny how life works," Darius said, his voice quiet as he leaned back against the sofa cushions, looking at the ceiling.
"We spend our entire youth pushing so hard to get older, just so we can finally do all the things adults do.
Then we spend our younger adult lives trying to cram as much into every single day as we possibly can, trying to stave off time so we don't get old too quickly. "
Linda gave a soft laugh, the sound warm and easy in the quiet room. She took another slow sip of her wine, feeling a deep, heavy sense of relaxation settle over her shoulders. "While we look back and wonder why the heck we wasted our youth in such a hurry to begin with."
"Yes," Darius murmured, a nostalgic, gentle smile tugging at his lips. "Youth is definitely wasted on the young."
He turned his head to look at her, his dark eyes soft in the dim light of the living room. "So, you're definitely staying here in Sweet Blossom Bay for good?"
Linda looked down at her glass for a moment, then set it down on the wooden coffee table. She reached for a chilled bottle of sparkling water, her fingers wrapping around the cool glass as she poured herself a splash.
"I am," she replied softly. She held the glass in her lap, her expression turning distant and thoughtful as she searched for the right words to explain the feeling.
"You know that feeling of moving to a big city for the very first time?
Or just the day you finally pack up your car and move out of your parents' home? "
Darius nodded, his gaze locked onto her face, deeply attentive.
"You have all this ambition, this endless adventure, and a spark in your chest that makes you feel like you're going to ignite the entire world," Linda said, her eyes shining slightly with the memory.
"Then, your life is just all go, go, go.
You're running on adrenaline until you finally hit that plateau where everything settles down.
The routine kicks in, and before you know it, there's a family.
There are school functions, exams, sports games, and the endless, beautiful family drama. "
She let out a long, slow breath, her shoulders dropping slightly.
"And then comes the heartbreak of when your baby finally packs their own bags and sets out on their own journey," she whispered. "The house gets so incredibly quiet."
Darius smiled, a warm, incredibly fond look entering his eyes as he thought about his family.
"I can relate to all of that. Even the school runs and the kid stuff. Helping Isabel raise Emma... it felt a lot like that. One minute she was this tiny force of nature running around with sand on her knees, and the next, she’s growing up so fast."
"But then the rug gets pulled out from under you," Linda’s voice dipped, the warmth fading into something more serious.
She stared at the bubbles rising in her water glass.
"It’s bound to happen eventually. No matter how you lose them, the loss of a loved one just completely upends your world.
It forces you to stand up and walk into a totally different phase of your life, whether you're ready for it or not. "
"Yes," Darius agreed softly, his hand finding hers again on the sofa. He squeezed her fingers gently, his touch firm and reassuring. "I know that part of the road all too well."
"And then it hits you," Linda told him, turning her head to look directly into his dark eyes, finding a rare, comforting safety in his gaze. "This sudden, overwhelming longing for the very place you started out in."
"Going the full circle," Darius uttered, his voice barely more than a whisper.
"Yes," Linda nodded, a soft, peaceful smile finally returning to her face. "That is exactly where I'm at right now. It just feels right, Darius. This is where I'm supposed to be right now, and... I think this is where I'm going to stay.”