Chapter 27 #2
“How when we were younger, if you had fries, you’d give me some.
If you had ice cream, you’d let me have a lick.
If you had a Coke, I’d get a sip. If I was down, you’d make me smile.
You’d sing to me. You’d tell jokes. You’d dance.
We’d laugh. We’d stare at the sky. We’d swim.
We’d read. We’d talk about our dreams and our goals.
And you supported me every single time, no matter what.
“You have always been there for me, Mia. You have always supported every single selfish thing I’ve done, and you’ve never asked for anything. And I’ve always had you there, and I’ve always known I’ve had you there. And you’ve been the best friend I could ever ask for.
“And I love you. I love you to the very depths of my being. And that means I have a responsibility to show you that I will always be there for you, come hell or high water.
“You can come to me for anything. You can tell me anything. You can be anything.
“I’m not going to leave you right now. I’m not going to leave you ever.
“You are the best listener I’ve ever met, and you’ve made me a better listener, but I realize I could do better. Because I know I said you could come to New York, and you’ve already told me you don’t want to come to New York, and you don’t want to go to England.
“Coconut Beach is your home. It’s our home.”
I grab her hands and squeeze them. “I’m not leaving, Mia.
I’m not leaving you. I’m not leaving Coconut Beach.
I’m moving back.” I’m not sure how I ever thought there was a possibility that I wouldn’t move back.
Not knowing how badly I missed being around Mia, every single day that I’d been away.
Coming back to Coconut Beach had been like ripping a bandaid off.
Seeing Mia every day, being next to her, laughing with her in person.
It had reminded me of just how much distance had taken from me.
There was no way I could go back to the friendship that had existed when I’d been in New York.
“You’re moving back?” Her jaw drops and I can see the genuine shock in her eyes, but then it’s followed by something that resembles hope and that makes my heart thud.
Mia is excited about the possibility of me being back home.
She’s not hiding how happy the idea makes her.
My heart soars as I stare into her open and trusting eyes.
Eyes that had always been a beacon of warmth and comfort to me.
“But you don’t want to be here. You love New York. You—”
“I never loved New York more than being with you, Mia.”
“But you left. You left me behind. You moved on with your life.” My heart drops at her words. Had she really thought that? How could she think I’d moved on with my life?
“I never wanted to leave and stay gone. I have loved you since I was a teenager, and I was scared that it would break my heart, being here, not being able to have you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I never thought that there was even a possibility of you loving me. And if I’m being really vulnerable and honest with you, a part of me stayed away because I couldn’t face the reality of loving you and wanting you and needing you and you being with someone else.
It would’ve broken me every single day.”
“But I didn’t even know you had those feelings for me.
” Her eyes search mine and I watch as she swallows hard.
There’s a lump in my throat as I wait for her to process everything that I’ve told her.
I’m glad to finally let it all out. It had been a burden carrying my love for her without being able to tell her.
It had been a burden having that weight on my shoulders, wanting so much more from her and being scared to lose her if she knew the truth.
In fairytales, the prince always gets the princess and they always live happily ever after.
But I wasn’t Prince Charming and she wasn’t Cinderella.
There was no guarantee that she’d love me back.
There was no guarantee that I wouldn’t ruin everything.
There was no guarantee that I wouldn’t live my life wishing I’d never told her.
Though, I suppose fear had made me miss out on what could have been years of happiness. My fear had paused life.
I never wanted to pause life again.
“I know. I wasn’t brave enough to tell you.
I was scared. But somehow, some way, we figured it out, and we are here together, and we love each other.
” My words don’t seem adequate. I want to explain to her that she means the world to me, that life for me doesn’t exist without her, but I don’t know if she would think I was being hyperbolic.
“You know you can always tell me anything, Luke.” There’s an ethereal softness to her words that hits me in the gut in the most beautiful way. This woman is my woman. Has always been my woman. Would always be my woman.
“I guess I’m finally strong enough to admit that it’s always been you.” I grin. “Who needs all the billions I make in New York, any way?”
“And who knows? Maybe if we find the hidden treasure at Hidden Cove, we’ll be billionaires anyway.”
“I already have a lot of money, Mia. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“But if I find you a treasure, I will also have a lot of money,” she says, laughing. “I don’t want you thinking I’m with you just for your money.”
“I would never think that, Mia. You know that.”
“I know,” she says, reaching up to touch me on the side of the face, reassuring me that I’ve haven’t made her feel like a gold digger. “I think I got caught up in my feelings as well.”
My phone rings again and I want to ignore it, but the familiar twitch of my brain makes me look down at the screen.
“Oh no. Is it your office again?” There’s a note of despondency in her voice as she looks to the side and I stroke the side of her arm as I look down at the screen.
“No, it’s my grandma. I’m going to get it.”
I answer the call and put it on speakerphone. “Hey, Grandma. What’s going on?”
“Hi, darling. I’ve got you on three-way. I have Mia’s grandma on the line.” I look over at Mia and she shrugs. She has no idea why I’m receiving this three-way call, either.
“Hi Luke, it’s me, Lucille. Mia’s grandma.”
“Hi, Lucille. How’s it going?” I laugh at her greeting. Like I had no idea who she was. What on earth is going on here?
“We wanted to tell you two kids that there was just notification that a storm might be coming, okay? And we just wanted to tell you that you’re not to go to Hidden Cove today, okay. The drive might not be safe.”
“Okay … did we say we were going to Hidden Cove?” I frown as I glance at Mia. Had Mia texted her grandma and told her?
“I think I heard you talking about going to get the treasure,” my grandma says, clearing her throat. “From the clues, Mia’s been getting.”
“Oh, yeah. I guess we’ll wait to go tomorrow then.” I look over at Mia and mouth. “Did you tell them about the clues?” She makes a face and shakes her head.
“You don’t have to go at all,” Lucille says quickly. “There’s no treasure.”
“Wait, what are you talking about?” I demand to know to Mia takes a step closer and stares down at the screen.
“What on earth?” Mia whispers. “Grandma, what are you saying? How do you even know about the clues?”
There’s silence on the other line. Which tells me that something is a brewing because Lucille and Bitsy are not known for their appreciation of quiet time.
“I suppose we should tell them now,” my grandma says and from her tone, I can tell she doesn’t really want to say anything.
“Tell us what?” I ask suspiciously.
“If you think so, Bitsy,” Lucille must be in her kitchen because I hear the rattling of glasses in the background.
Mia frowns at me. “What are you talking about, Grandma? You’re confusing Luke and I.”
“Oh, just a little thing that Bitsy and I did.” The voice is far too innocent. Far far too innocent.
“What did you guys do?” I ask, prodding her to actually reveal what is going on.
“Well … we might or might not have sent the treasure hunt notes to Mia so that you two could solve them together.”
“What? Did you bury a treasure or something?” I am so confused. “I hope neither one of you buried any real gold or anything. That would be so irresponsible.”
“No, not quite,” my grandma says and giggles. “There is gold at the end of the journey, but not bullion.”
“What?” I am starting to grow annoyed.
“Grandma, explain in better detail please.” Mia demands.
Lucille starts giggling nervously. “Mia, darling, it was my idea.”
“What, Grandma? What’s going on? What was your idea? Luke and I have no clue what you’re talking about right now and it’s driving us both crazy.”
“We wrote the notes,” she admits like it’s no my big deal. “Rex has no clue that you even got those notes. We wrote the notes on the back of your and Luke’s invitations.” She explains again. “Pity you don’t have a date.”
“What?” Mia looks shocked. “What are you saying?” She grabs the phone from me. “Let me get this straight,” she continues without letting them speak again. “You sent that rude note to me and the one to Luke? They weren’t from Rex?”
“Technically, we never said they were from Rex.” Lucille sounds guilty. “We never signed any name to the notes.”
“But you knew we’d think they were from him. Why on earth would Andi write us anything?”
“It wasn’t intended to be malicious, darling, we just wanted to start the train to get it to the station.”
“What are you talking about grandma? You made me think everyone in Coconut Beach was going to be talking about my years pining away for Rex.”
“But you weren’t pining away for him, Mia.”
“Yes, but no-one knows that.”
“I knew that and of course, Bitsy knew that as well.”
“Grandma, I can’t believe you did this to us. Do you know what you did?”
“Bring you both together?” She responds smartly.
“Grandma.” Mia’s voice is weak and she just shakes her head as she gazes at me.