Chapter 45
Angela
I wish I could say Vision Enterprise accepts their loss gracefully, but they do not.
They threaten with lawyers and legal action.
We follow suit—and our lawyers are better.
Garrett receives a formal notice of termination as well as the threat of a lawsuit against him, but, after several nasty conversations and too many emails to count, we sever all ties with the company.
And good riddance.
Garrett’s proposal for moving forward is simple. He wants to pool his money with ours to buy back the debt on the hotel and offer us an obscenely low interest rate in exchange for stakes in the company. He’ll then help us broker a new loan to finish construction in Bliss.
It’s a big risk. One I’m surprised he’s willing—and able—to take.
Not only was I unaware he had that much money, but knowing he’s willing to risk it all for me, for my family…
it takes me back to that day in Bliss, standing at the construction site, waiting for Garrett to arrive.
A feeling of inevitability, or momentum, of good beginnings saturated that moment, and now, this one as well.
There’s discussion after discussion, negotiation upon negotiation, as the men in my life get to know each other. With the entirety of Garrett’s fortune tied up in our future, it’s important that everyone knows, trusts, and believes in each other.
“Have you ever thought about buying a boat?” Garrett asks, one night in late October. We’re on my back porch, snuggled into the wicker furniture, him sipping whiskey and me with a gin and tonic. “You have this great dock, this amazing view, but no boat.”
Fluff is curled on my lap, with Orange purring between us. I never intended those non-names to stick, but after using them for so long, I couldn’t call my kitties anything else. Besides, the names make Garrett laugh, and I think that’s therapeutic for him.
“I’ve thought about it,” I say, leaning my head on his shoulder, “but being out on the water alone never really called to me.”
He bobs his head. Twines his fingers with mine. Presses a kiss into my hair. “I’ve always wanted a boat.”
Later that night, we lay in bed, breathless, panting, satisfied. My head is on his chest and his hand is on my back and the thought of him leaving sours my stomach. “Do you have to go back?” I whisper.
I used to ask if he had to go home, but somewhere along the line, I realized his home is with me.
Garrett nods. “I do.”
“I get so tired of missing you.” My voice is low. Old Garrett would shy away from this kind of honesty. New Garrett is surprisingly sweet about it.
“Do you still sleep with my pillow when I’m gone?” There’s no hint of laughter or judgment. No worry that he’ll call me ridiculous for dreaming about a happily-ever-after. Just acceptance that I’m head over heels for him.
I curl my arm around his head to play with his hair, burrowing deeper into his chest. “It smells like you, so I close my eyes and pretend you’re here. And then, in the mornings, I drink from your favorite mug…because I’m more of a hopeless romantic than I originally thought.”
After months of Garrett living half his life with me and the other half in Wildrose, you’d think I’d be used to the pattern. But I’m not. I don’t think I’ll ever be. Every time I look at what lies ahead for me, he’s there. Scowling, grumpy as ever, but there.
“Do you think about the future?” Garrett’s voice is soft as it rumbles through his chest.
“All the time.”
“Am I in it?”
I smile to myself. It’s like he’s reading my mind.
“In my happy daydreams, yeah. You’re in it.” I breathe him in, inhaling deeply as if I can store up his scent to keep with me when he’s gone. “What about you? Do you see me in your future?”
“You are my future.” Garrett shifts, pushing onto his elbow, sitting up just enough to meet my eyes. He stares for a long moment, his jaw clenching as he thinks.
“Everything okay, Gare?”
“So okay. Beyond okay.” He pushes a lock of hair out of my face. “Hear me out on this before you say anything.”
He’s so charged, so tense, so typically unreadable, I get nervous.
“I’m not sure this sounds like everything’s okay.”
“I want to live with you.” A smile quirks his lips. “I don’t want to travel back and forth anymore. I don’t want to miss you or know you’re missing me. So…I was wondering…since most of my stuff is here already…”
“You want to move in with me?” My heart thunders in my chest, tap-dancing a happy yes, yes, YES!
“If that’s okay…”
“Okay?” I sit up, beaming. “I would love that. I’ve been wanting that, but was trying not to push too fast. Oh my God.
When? And what are you going to bring? Do we need to start talking about furniture or…
” I’m out of bed, too excited to sit still.
“I already made space for you in the closet, but I can—”
Garrett takes my hand and pulls me in for a kiss. “Breathe, Angel. We’ll work out the specifics after I ask you this other thing.”
“What other thing?”
“I want you to come to Wildrose and meet my family.”
Excitement spins through my stomach and I’m grinning, pushing out of his arms to pace the bedroom because how can I be still after news like this? “Really?”
“It’s Charlie’s birthday and we’re throwing her a giant party. I can’t imagine it without you there. And we can take stock of my stuff and decide what comes and what goes.”
“You want me to meet your family? And you’re moving in?”
“You’re my home and every day without you reminds me why I lost my faith in humanity. Besides, I met your family months ago. It’s time I return the favor.”
Garrett’s waiting for me as I step out of the airport into a frigid November day.
He leans on the wall, a black peacoat making his strong bone structure all the more striking.
When his gaze lands on mine, he straightens, shoving his hands in his pockets as he grins.
I huddle into the parka I bought for the occasion as a blast of wind freezes my face.
Fall might be beautiful, but I am not made for it.
Give me heat, humidity, and a bright sun in a blue sky any day.
Garrett wraps me in a hug, and all is right with the world again. He flew up last week to get his affairs in order and the house felt so empty without him. But the part of my life where I spend days and weeks missing him is over. We’ll be flying back together.
To our home.
“You are a sight for sore eyes, my Angel.”
“That’s a big ditto on that one.”
Laughter rumbles in his chest. “Did you just call me a big dildo?”
“No, I said ditto…” I pull back and find him smiling down at me.
“Joking, Angel. Just a joke.” He takes my suitcase and throws an arm around my shoulder as we head for the car.
“I didn’t realize that was something you did.” I laugh, leaning into him. “I thought you were too serious to tell jokes.”
“No one can believe it, but I smile now and everything. All because of you. Just don’t let it go to your head.”
“I might let it go to your head.”
Garrett stops. Looks down at me. Frowns. “I don’t…was that…?”
“I was trying to insinuate I’ll give you a blow job later.” A cold breeze slices through my coat and I shiver, burrowing into him.
“Cold?”
“How does anyone survive in this climate?”
“If you think this is bad, wait until we come back for Christmas.”
I stop in my tracks. “Christmas?”
“Well, yeah. It’s Mom’s favorite holiday. If you think we won’t be making the trip every other year, then you better think again.”
How is this my life? Standing in an airport parking lot, freezing my ass off, grinning from ear to ear while we talk about holidays and family gatherings? I shiver again, though I couldn’t say if it’s from excitement or because the weather is a cruel beast.
“Let’s get you in the car and I’ll crank the heat.
My family is dying to meet you.” Garrett puts my bag in the trunk, then climbs into the car and takes my hand.
We chat on the drive and from the warmth of the car, I can appreciate the glorious colors of autumn in New England.
It’s almost as beautiful here as it is in the Keys—if you don’t mind living in a freezer.
Garrett turns onto a street lined with quaint shops and people hanging around on the sidewalk, talking to each other like old friends. A couple waves as we drive past and Garrett snorts a laugh.
“That’s Toby and Melissa Hinkle,” he explains. “I’ve known them since I was a kid. They’re awful, just so you know. And that, right there,” he says, slowing as he points out a store, “is my mom’s shop. Charlie works there now and will probably take over at some point.”
I turn in my seat to get a better view of Woo-Woo Wildrose.
If the window display is any indicator, I’m going to love meeting Garrett’s mom.
“Just tell Charlie it’s important to read the fine print of any contract she signs.
” I grin, hoping he gets the joke. “Even if she’s confident she knows everything’s on the up-and-up.
I hear things can get pretty sticky otherwise. ”
“I wouldn’t dare tell Charlie anything.” Garrett widens his eyes like my suggestion could lead to his death. “She’s not good at being told what to do.”
“Must run in the family then.”
He gives me the side-eye, then turns off Main, narrating the landmarks of his life as we drive. When we finally pull to a stop in front of a stately house, he kills the engine.
Red oaks line the drive leading to a giant brick home with white columns standing guard on the porch. “Wow. This is… Did you grow up here?”
“We lived in a smaller house when I was a kid, but Mom’s friend, Evie Prescott, sold her this one after she married Dad.” Garrett unfastens his seatbelt, then pauses. “You know Evie met your Aunt Harlow years ago? Her husband got them together to talk about books.”
I turn to him, eyes wide, jaw dropped. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. It’s the reason we visited The Hutton Hotel in the first place.”
“Remind me to thank her husband, then. Sounds like he’s the catalyst that brought you and me together.”