Chapter 37
TAYLOR
He was staying in Pine Harbor.
‘You think you’re going to buy it?’ I asked, to clarify. ‘Or you are going to buy it?’
‘I am going to buy it.’ He nodded, a slow grin dawning on his face. ‘That’s the first time I’ve said the words out loud. I’m going to buy The Cozy Catch.’
‘Did you just decide that right now?’
He nodded. ‘Pretty much. I mean, obviously I’ve been thinking about it.’
‘That a pretty big, life-altering decision to be making on the spur of the moment,’ I said cautiously. ‘Maybe you should take some time to think about it.’
‘No.’ He shrugged. ‘It feels right.’
‘I don’t think bank managers usually recommend buying a business based on a feeling.’
‘Maybe they should.’
‘At the risk of sounding patronizing, maybe you should do some research. Weigh up the pros and cons. Make sure it’s a viable business decision.’
‘Don’t forget, I’ve been running the business for the past seven months,’ he pointed out. ‘I know all the ins and outs, and what I don’t know, I’ll learn.’
‘You make it sound simple.’
‘I know it’s not, and I know you’re just trying to look out for me.’ He gave me a look. ‘But hey, you run your own business. Did you know everything there was to possibly know about business management before you took it on?’
‘Not really,’ I admitted. ‘Like you, I worked there for a while first. Did tattooing by day and painted at night. Then Pete, the owner, told us he was selling and, well, I liked the location, I liked the staff, and I liked turning up there every day. It was a no-brainer for me. Plus, I’d always thought it would make a great art gallery as well as the tattoo side of it, so it gave me a place to showcase my work, as well as other local artists.
I had to get a business loan and Adam was not happy about that.
There were a lot of long days and sleepless nights, worrying about whether I could repay the loan.
But I did it. I worked my ass off. It helped that I have great staff.
The best. Reputation is key, and word of mouth, especially on social media, can do more for advertising than actual paid advertisements can. ’
‘Well there you go. The Cozy Catch already has the best staff anyone could hope for, and with all the tourists it makes a tidy profit. I really don’t think it’s too much of a leap of faith to take it on.’
I held my hands up. ‘At the end of the day, it’s not me you need to convince, and it sounds as if you’ve already convinced yourself.’
Someone cleared their throat discreetly behind him. ‘Excuse, me, Jack?’
Jack turned to look over his shoulder. ‘It’s ready?’
Fiona beamed at us. ‘It sure is.’
‘Thanks. I owe you one.’
He stopped dancing and took my hand, giving it a light tug.
‘What’s going on?’ I asked. ‘Where are we going?’
‘Not far.’
‘How far?’
He smiled. ‘Come with me and you’ll find out.’
I allowed myself to be led. He was right.
It wasn’t far at all. Just underneath one of the big oak trees on the outskirts of the green, where the grass started to slope into a little hill, with the children’s playground on the other side.
A cozy, pale-blue picnic blanket had been laid out, with a couple of scattered cushions.
In one corner there was a basket, and next to it, a mason jar with fairy lights inside.
A few scattered pink peony flowers completed the scene.
Jack gestured for me to sit, then sank down to the blanket himself, awkwardly tucking his long legs underneath him.
‘You arranged all this for us?’ I asked, as he opened the basket and peered inside.
‘I did. Although Fiona has outdone herself with the little touches. The lights and flowers were not my suggestion.’
‘If I didn’t know any better, I could swear you were trying to be romantic.’
‘Is it working?’
‘Maybe.’ I gestured with my chin. ‘What’s in the basket?’
He lifted out a container. ‘Oysters, for starters. Don’t worry, they’re fresh and they’ve been on ice.’
‘Not exactly typical picnic fare.’
‘I beg to differ. If you haven’t been served oysters on a picnic before, then you’ve been attending the wrong picnics.’
‘What else is in there?’
He pulled out two wine glasses and a bottle of chilled wine.
‘From a Midcoast vineyard,’ he said, holding it out for me to check the label. ‘I hope you prefer crisp and dry over sweet.’
‘I do.’
He poured me a glass. ‘Here.’
‘Thanks.’ And I really meant it.
I took a sip. It was delicious, and just what I needed after a busy few days. I moaned loudly as it slid down my throat, refreshing, and started a warm glow in my chest.
‘Steady on,’ Jack teased. ‘We haven’t even had the oysters yet.’
My eyes narrowed. ‘Wait, is that why you chose them? Because of their reputed aphrodisiac effects?’
He grinned. ‘No comment.’
‘You don’t need to feed me oysters to get me in the mood,’ I told him, feeling my heart swell at the sight of him.
This big, strong wonderful man sitting on a picnic blanket in a park, wearing the expression of someone who was as proud as punch of his efforts, as well he should be.
‘This whole thing,’ I said, gesturing around us, ‘it’s unbelievably sweet.
The sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me, in fact. ’
He shrugged. ‘What can I say, I’m a sweet guy.’
‘And so, so modest.’
‘Jokes aside,’ he said, his face turning serious.
‘This is the bare minimum you deserve, Taylor. You deserve to have romantic picnics, candlelight dinners, movie nights on the couch, boat rides at sunset, campfires on the beach, fireworks on your birthday… You deserve to be made to feel special every single day.’
‘I feel like it might be unsustainable to expect that kind of romance every day,’ I told him, though I felt tears brewing at his words.
He scooted over on the blanket, reaching out to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear.
‘Stay with me,’ he blurted. ‘Here in Pine Harbor. Stay with me, Taylor.’
The intensity in his eyes made my breath catch. ‘I thought you weren’t going to ask me that.’
‘I’ve changed my mind.’ He shook his head. ‘Since the moment we met I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. You’re the first woman I’ve ever felt like this about.’
I swallowed hard, overwhelmed by his declarations. By the way he was looking at me. The way his touch felt. ‘Like what?’ I managed to say.
‘Like I’ve met my match. The person I’ve been waiting my whole life to find. I’m not going to say my life was on hold until I found you, because it wasn’t. I’ve lived a full life. But everything I’ve done, every step I’ve taken, it’s all been leading me here to you.’
I opened my mouth to speak but he shushed me with a finger against my lips. I was too shocked and outraged in that moment to argue.
He grinned. ‘I know you’re mad at me right now for shushing you, and you can kill me for it soon, I promise.
But I need you to just listen for a moment.
I know that you don’t believe in love at first sight and I’ve never personally experienced it, so I can’t say whether it’s real or not.
But what I can say is that I’ve felt something for you since the moment we met.
Even when I could barely see you in the dark, I felt a connection. ’
I pulled a face.
‘Yes, cheesy I know. But give me a break. I’m an ex-cop, current restaurant manager, soon-to-be restaurant owner, all going well. I’m not a bloody English language professor. I’m doing the best I can with the words I know.’
‘You forgot superhero,’ I murmured against his fingertips. ‘You literally save lives. I think you can add that to the résumé.’
‘Buff superhero,’ he corrected.
I nipped his finger lightly with my teeth and he yelped.
‘See what I mean?’ he said, nursing it. ‘You surprise me, all the time. Every time I think you’re going to react one way, you do something else altogether. I love that.’
I sucked in air sharply. Stared at him.
‘Yes, I said it,’ he said, his face serious again.
‘I’m falling in love with you, Taylor Calderwood.
If someone had asked me six months ago to describe my perfect woman, I doubt I would have had the imagination to say a dark-haired, brown-eyed, extremely sexy, coffee-and-cheesecake-loving woman, who swims under the stars, rides a motorbike in a leather jacket, tattoos her art onto other people’s skin, bickers with her uncle constantly, stands up in town meetings and argues for what she believes in, not to mention forgoes her own safety to hang off a cliff to comfort another human in their time of need.
You are kind, and funny, and caring – stop me if you’ve heard all this before. ’
I shook my head, unable to say anything.
He smiled. ‘And you dropped everything to come all the way home to look after your uncle so your mother could still have her holiday. That tells me everything I need to know about you right there.’
I blinked at him, feeling emotional. No one had ever made feel so seen.
‘You’re everything I never knew I wanted, or needed,’ he continued softly.
‘And now that I’ve met you, I can’t bear the thought of losing you already.
Yes, it’s sudden. And yes, I know we haven’t known each other for that long.
But it feels right. And it feels good, and I want to feel good, Taylor.
I want to feel like I do when I’m around you, every day.
But…’ He exhaled slowly. ‘If being in the city is what’s going to make you happy, then I’ll accept that.
Somehow. I want you to be wherever makes you smile. You deserve to be happy.’
I reached up and touched his cheek. ‘You make me smile, Jack. I—’
I heard a gasp, and my voice trailed off as a figure standing behind him came into focus, just over by the tree. It was Hannah, staring at us, her hand over her mouth.