Taking a deep breath, telling herself there would be other shop locations, even though she knew there would never be another one like this, she opened the door.
“Mr. Kimble?” she called out, then noticed him sitting behind the counter. “Thank you for meeting me here so early. I can’t even tell you how sorry I am about this mess, but I stayed up all night figuring out a solution. And I want you to know that Colin had nothing to do with the problem. It’s all on me. Colin is an amazing man, and I hate that I burned a favor of his so please don’t hold this against him. I reprinted the lease agreement and took Colin off as a cosigner. I have it signed.”
On the way here, she’d stopped at the bank, where she’d started the process to take a home loan on the beach house. Since the house was paid off, it didn’t matter that her credit was toast. Sure, she was given a ridiculously high rate, but she was confident that she could pay it off in three years.
The home loan broke her heart all over again. Rose had left her a house free and clear so that she and the kids would always have someplace to land. Her nonna had been so proud of the day she’d sent in her last payment. Nonna was just one more person she’d let down.
“Even if you don’t want me as a tenant, I will pay you back for every penny you’ve sunk into the remodel. I’m also willing to pay you a year’s rent up front. I’ll do anything to make this right.”
“Anything?” an unbearably familiar voice said. “That’s a pretty broad offer. I think you need to define it for me.”
Her breath caught as Colin walked out from behind the counter. He was in dark jeans and a dark green shirt that matched his eyes, which were impossible to read.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
He headed for her. “I knew you’d come.”
“You’ve been waiting for me?” she asked, emotion pushing up from her chest, stinging her eyes.
“Since five. I know how early you rise.”
“I am so sorry—”
He cupped her hips, silencing her. “You already apologized. Now it’s my turn.”
“What do you have to apologize for?”
He looked her in the eye. “I was so focused on how I’d survive you walking away that I did before you could.”
“I would never walk away.”
“I know and that makes what I did even worse. I said I loved you but I didn’t back it up. You can’t walk away from love. Love is unconditional, and only works when you listen to your heart.”
She swallowed. “And what does your heart say?”
“That, for me, you’re it. You were my beginning and if you say yes, my end. I love you, Teagan. I hope to God you still love me back.”
“My heart says yes, it has always said yes. I was just too busy listening to my brain.”
“And now?”
“Here.” She tapped a finger to his chest—right where his heart was rapidly beating.
“Thank Christ, because I finally found you again, and I never want to let go. So if you could still have this place, would you want it?”
She looked around. “So much, but I don’t want to drag you into my financial disaster.”
“But I have a really good plan. You know how I love a good plan. And this may be my best one ever.”
A bead of hope flickered to life in her belly. “I’d like to hear it.”
“You, Teagan Bianchi, are the smartest, most capable and amazing woman I’ve ever met. And you might not need me, but I need you. If you’re open to sharing this space, with me, I’d love to be your office neighbor. I’ve decided to open my own practice, half vet office, half free animal clinic, where I can live my life listening to my heart and not some rigid formula.”
“As long as I get the kitchen.”
“As long as you promise that after hours is a thong optional time.”
As Teagan went up on her toes and kissed the man of her dreams, she realized that Colin wasn’t just her first or her last. He was her everything.
