Chapter 36
JACK
It was the final night of the festival. A festival that, according to local gossip, had been a huge success.
Visitor numbers had been reported to be the highest they’d ever been, and although it was too early to talk about money, rumors swirled around town that a predicted tidy profit meant that next year’s festival might not even require external funding at all, something Celia would no doubt be thrilled about.
The Cozy Catch food stand had done extremely well.
We’d even had to order in more supplies out of our normal ordering schedule to keep up with demand, on top of the extra stock we’d already ordered in preparation for the festival.
More than the money made, though, I considered the festival to be a success because of how many more townsfolk I’d met.
Every day, new faces. New stories. New friends.
I finished packing up the last few traces of my stall, helped a few neighboring stalls pull down their gear too, then wandered over to the green where there was a picnic going on.
A band was playing on the stage. People were eating, drinking and dancing.
There was a bittersweet atmosphere around the square, now that the festival was coming to a close.
The smell of kettle corn and cotton candy hung in the air.
Children with faces painted on – lions, unicorns and superheroes – ran around chasing each other and squealing, having the time of their lives.
I watched them, smiling. You didn’t see this back in L.A. At least, I never had.
I’d always wanted a family. Assumed, and hoped, that it would be on the cards for me one day, but it wasn’t something I’d actively chased.
I figured it’d happen when it happened. But it was why I knew I couldn’t go back to being a cop.
Not after what had happened to Alex. I couldn’t put a family through that, even though they were just a wishful thought still.
Someone nudged my hip. ‘Penny for your thoughts?’
I smiled down at Taylor. She looked a little tired and sticky from the heat and a busy three days tattooing half the population of Pine Harbor, but, to me, she’d never looked more beautiful.
Her skin glowed in the fading light of the sun and the lanterns that hung all around the square from poles and trees.
I nudged her back. ‘All packed up?’
She nodded. ‘If by packed up, you mean all thrown into a box to be sorted out and returned to their rightful positions in my mom’s house so that hopefully she doesn’t notice when she returns that I raided her most prized possessions, then yes. I am all packed up.’
‘You’re telling me those adorable little lobster fairy lights that you had draped around the top of the mirror aren’t yours?’
‘Sadly, no. But I’ll make sure to go on to get some of my own.’
‘Good. No self-respecting New Yorker should be without lobster fairy lights.’
‘Right? I’m surprised they’ve let me get away with living there for as long as I have.’
We stood in companionable silence for a while, watching people dance on the grass. The band was playing a slow country song.
I stepped in front of her and held out my hand. ‘Dance?’
She put her hand in mine, smiling. ‘I thought you’d never ask.’
I wove an arm around her waist, my hand on her back, pulling her in against me, and she rested her head against my chest. Her hair smelled like summertime and cherries.
‘I can hear your heart beating,’ she said softly, tilting her face to look up at me.
‘Does it sound like it’s beating fast? Because it feels like it’s beating fast.’
‘It sounds normal.’
‘Are you sure? Because I don’t normally feel it when it’s doing its normal everyday thing. I know it’s working because, well, I’m standing, talking and breathing, but I don’t feel it working. I only feel it when you’re around.’
She smiled.
‘I thought you were going to tell me off for being too cheesy then,’ I said.
‘Nah,’ she replied. ‘I figure you can get away with saying something like that when the whole damn town looks like something out of a Hallmark movie.’
‘It does, doesn’t it,’ I mused. ‘The unbelievably green grass. The trees, with their rustling leaves. The water just there, shiny and sparkly and pretty, with all the little sailboats moored, decorated with bunting and hand-painted lobster buoys. Celia might be an annoying pain in your ass, but I’ve got to hand it to her, she sure can organize a great festival and unite a town.
Who knew places like this really existed? ’
‘I did,’ she said softly. ‘I just forgot.’
I pulled slightly away so I could see her face. ‘Don’t tell me you’re actually feeling melancholic about this place?’
‘Tell anyone and I’ll have to kill you.’
‘Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. I knew that secretly you liked it here, though. That all that hate was just an act.’
‘I never said I hated it.’
‘So,’ I forced myself to sound casual, unbothered. ‘Maybe one day you might, possibly, consider moving back?’
She tilted her head and gave me a look. ‘Subtle.’
I opened my eyes wide, a vision of innocence. ‘What?’
‘Why do you want to know?’
‘It’s called conversational enquiry.’
‘That’s all it is?’
‘What else would it be?’
She rested her head back against my chest. Her hair tickled my chin. ‘I thought you might have been asking because you wanted me to stick around.’
My body stiffened, and I considered my next words carefully, aware the wrong ones now could have the wrong effect. ‘Is that even remotely a possibility?’
‘If you’d asked me a week ago, not a chance in hell.’
‘And now?’
‘Now… I don’t know. I’m confused. These past three days, the festival, it’s been fun,’ she admitted. ‘I’ve actually enjoyed myself, which has been somewhat surprising. And it’s made me think about when the last time was that I had any fun.’
‘And?’
‘Honestly? I can’t remember. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my life in the city.
I like that I can eat a different cuisine every night if I want to.
Can take in a show, or go see a movie whenever I want.
Visit art galleries. Trendy bars. Get dressed up and dance all night with my friends.
There’s a place just down the street from my apartment that has the best coffee in the world. ’
‘Really? The whole, entire world? That’s a pretty big claim.’
‘I’d stake my life on it.’
‘Wow. You take your coffee pretty seriously.’
‘When it comes to coffee, I’m as serious as it comes. And then there’s this place, Veniero’s on 11th Street, that has the best New York cheesecake, it’s seriously to die for. It’s my go-to, whenever I want to treat myself. Or I’m feeling sad. Or tired. Or happy.’
‘So pretty much any time.’
‘Pretty much.’
‘Is cheesecake and coffee enough of a reason to stay living somewhere though?’
‘I guess that’s what I have to think about. I like my life there. I have my work, friends. A great apartment.’
She hesitated.
‘But?’ I prompted.
‘But being back here…’ She looked around. ‘Being a part of this. It’s reminded me that being part of a community isn’t a bad thing. It’s easy to feel alone in the city. I don’t feel that here.’
I cleared my throat. ‘I would never ask you to stay here purely for my sake, but I’d just like to put it on the record that I’d be happy if you did stay. Just something to consider when you’re making any decisions.’
‘You’re not planning on heading back to L.A. any time soon?’
I stared at my feet, suddenly feeling nervous about saying aloud what had, until then, been only a thought in my head. A seed, slowly growing. ‘Actually, I think I’m going to buy the restaurant.’
‘Which restaurant?’
‘The Cozy Catch. Hannah’s decided to sell it and stay in L.A. for good.’
‘Oh!’
I risked a glance at her face. ‘That’s it? Oh?’
‘Give me a second. I’m just processing what you said.’
‘Of course. Take your time. I’m still processing it myself.’
She glanced across the town green to where the restaurant and the upstairs apartment were all lit up. The thought of it being mine, and the potential to make it even greater, gave me bubbles of excitement in my stomach. I hadn’t felt excited about anything in a long time.