20. Hadley #2
“That sounds fake.”
A tired laugh escapes him.
There he is.
Only for a second, but I’ll take it.
I set the takeout bags on the bench beside us, then lean against the railing.
The marina glows around us beneath the fading light. Warm wind moves across the bay, carrying the smell of saltwater and fuel and whatever someone is grilling farther down the dock.
Usually, Nolan looks like he belongs here so completely that it’s impossible to separate the man from the place.
Tonight he looks like he’s carrying every square foot of it on his back.
“What happened?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
He looks across the marina before answering.
“They want to expand.”
The heaviness in his voice tells me this isn’t the good kind of expansion.
“What does that mean?”
“Luxury condos. Private club access. More tourism.”
Every word sounds wrong here.
I picture gated docks and polished buildings replacing the weathered charm Nolan worked so hard to preserve.
The charter captains pushed out by private boats.
Families priced out of the summers they’ve spent here for generations.
The marina becoming impressive and completely unrecognizable.
“And what do you want?” I ask.
“This.” He gestures around us. “The charter guys. The old slips. Families bringing their kids here every summer.” His voice roughens. “I don’t want this place to become something cold.”
Emotion presses against my chest.
Of course he doesn’t.
Nolan has spent months restoring the marina’s structure without stripping away its character.
He didn’t buy this place to replace it.
He bought it to save it.
“You already love it like it’s yours,” I say.
He looks at me, then back toward the water.
“It is mine. That’s the problem.”
The confession settles between us.
I understand what he means.
The marina belongs to him legally, but that isn’t what scares him.
He belongs to it now too.
To the people who depend on it.
To this town.
To the life he’s building here.
I move closer and slide my hand into his. His fingers close around mine.
“Nolan.”
“I know.”
His voice is quiet.
And I do know. This isn’t really about development plans or investment percentages.
It’s about roots.
Nolan spent his whole life avoiding anything that could make leaving painful, and now he’s accidentally fallen in love with an entire town.
A marina.
A future.
Me.
“I got scared today,” he admits.
My fingers tighten around his.
“Why?”
He stares toward the darkening bay.
“Because for the first time in my life, I realized I have something people could take away from me.”
The honesty in his voice makes my chest ache.
He isn’t only talking about the marina. I can see that in the way his eyes flick briefly toward me before returning to the water.
He finally has a life he wants badly enough to fear losing.
Something cold moves through me at the thought of him carrying that fear alone all afternoon.
I turn fully toward him.
“You know what I think?”
He shakes his head.
“I think you’re finally building something worth protecting.”
His gaze snaps to mine. Emotion moves openly across his face before he can hide it.
For so long, Nolan has treated attachment like a weakness. As though wanting something gives the world another way to hurt him.
But standing here now, I see it differently. His fear doesn’t mean he’s weak. It means he cares. Deeply enough to fight for what he’s created.
I step between his arms, my back resting lightly against the railing. His hands settle around my waist as naturally as breathing.
“You’re not losing this,” I whisper.
I can’t promise what the investors will decide or what challenges the marina will face later. But I can promise he won’t face any of it alone.
His face contorts, a familiar emotion flitting across his features. He wants to believe me.
I slide my hands along his chest.
“This place is yours because you made it matter again,” I tell him. “An investor doesn’t get to take that away just because they show up with money.”
His thumb moves along my side.
“They could make everything easier.”
“Would it feel like your marina afterward?”
His jaw tightens.
“No.”
“Then it wouldn’t be easier.”
The answer settles into him. I watch it happen. The slight release in his shoulders. The way his grip on me changes from instinctive to intentional.
He lowers his forehead briefly toward mine.
“You make everything sound simple.”
“It isn’t simple.”
“No?”
I shake my head.
“It’s terrifying. You have money tied up in this place. Employees counting on you. A town with opinions about everything.”
One corner of his mouth lifts faintly.
“Accurate.”
“But you already know what you want.” I brush my thumb along his jaw. “The hard part is trusting yourself enough to choose it.”
He goes quiet.
The last of the sunlight fades across the bay while the dock lamps glow brighter around us.
For a few seconds, all I hear is water moving beneath the boards, then his arm tightens around my waist.
“You know what’s dangerous?” he murmurs.
“What?”
“I think I’d burn the whole investor deal to the ground before I let anybody ruin the life I’m building here.”
Warmth spreads through me so quickly it nearly steals my breath.
I rise onto my toes and kiss him beneath the marina lights and darkening Virginia sky.
His hand slides along my back, pulling me closer as the tension finally begins to leave his body.
When I draw away, his eyes remain closed for one brief second.
“You feel better?” I ask.
He opens them and looks at me with an affection so open it makes my chest ache.
“I feel less like setting fire to a conference room.”
“Progress.”
“A little.”
I smile and reach for the take-out bags.
“Good. Because I brought food, and it’s getting cold.”
His hand catches mine before I can move away.
“Hads.”
The softness in his voice stops me.
“What?”
He studies me for a second, as though he’s trying to find the exact words, then he pulls my hand against his chest.
“Thank you for coming.”
His sincere look causes a tremor within me.
I squeeze his fingers.
“You don’t have to thank me for showing up.”
Something vulnerable flickers behind his eyes. Maybe a part of him still believes he does. Maybe it will take time before he fully trusts that loving him means showing up without needing to be asked.
So I step back into his arms and let him hold me for another quiet moment.
The investor meeting still happened. The decision still waits. Nothing has magically become easier. But standing there with Nolan beneath the dock lights, I know one thing with absolute certainty. Whatever he decides, he won’t have to protect this life alone.