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“Eduardo?” Nan asked.
I nodded. “He would be so honored and will make it magical for you, Nan, I know it.”
“Sounds wonderful, my darling. Now, please, let’s talk about you.” She reached for my hand and rubbed her thumb over the top slowly. “How does this all sit with you? I know you came back to help me when I needed it, but I want you to be honest with me now when I ask you if you’re comfortable living alone at the cottage?”
“Yes, Nan, of course. I’ve been alone in the cottage for the last five mon—”
“Let me finish, please, my lovely girl.” She gave me that stern look of scolding I’d known for years. “I’ve discussed it with Herman and he would love to welcome you to live with us in his home if you want to.”
She was worried about me living alone in the cottage, afraid I wasn’t ready to handle the isolation. Yet. But she didn’t need to be. I craved it actually. It was exactly what I needed.
“You two are so adorable, and I thank you for the kind and generous offer, though I wouldn’t dream of intruding on newlyweds who’ve waited a lifetime to be together. I will be perfect in the cottage by myself. It is perfect for me.”
“Then it is yours, darling. Herman will see to it the deed of trust is transferred into your name.”
“Already in the works, my dear.” Herman winked. “You own a piece of the island now, Brooke.”
“I do?” I felt tears welling again.
“Free and clear,” he said. “The property value has increased quite a bit from when your grandfather bought it forty years ago, obviously. The house is small, but the view is what counts and you have a beauty up there on the hill above the Fairchild Light.”
“I love the view so much,” I whispered, suddenly at a loss, and completely overwhelmed.
“It appraised at just over two million, but with some renovations that would increase nicely, depending what you want to do with it, of course.” Herman nodded his head, happy to be the bringer of good news.
“Two—two million dollars?”
Herman laughed and patted my hand. “Two point two five to be precise.”
“You’ve both shocked the hell out of me—in a good way mind you—but I had no idea about any of this. I’ve been so worried about the money I was going to ask you, Herman, about taking out a loan on the equity to pay medical bills.” I was light-headed with relief.
“That’s not your worry anymore, my dear. Everything is paid in full, and my Ellen is going to ma
rry me,” he said, before giving Nan another kiss to her hand, and making her blush beautifully. “It’s only about thirty-five years too late but I will take it gratefully.”
What a wise man Herman Blackstone was. Take your happiness when it comes. It was good advice I mustn’t forget. When . . . If happiness graced my life again. Possibly not of the romance variety for quite some time, but that was okay. Time on my own was exactly what my heart needed. Joy instead of sadness.
I’d been so worried about Nan being alone. But I didn’t need to worry about her anymore. I could focus on getting my life back. It felt like a huge weight was lifted from me, and I barely knew what to do with such a light heart.
“Dinner is served,” Lilah announced as she rolled a cart into the room, breaking the spell of disbelief that had me wondering if I would wake up from this dream any moment and be thrust back into the cold harshness of reality.
Apparently not, because Lilah told us what we were having for dinner, and it struck me as absolutely hilarious. Spaghetti and . . . meatballs.
Of course I immediately thought of Caleb and the flowers he’d sent to me. But more so my very rude rant when he’d called me to flirt. He had been flirting with me. I knew it, and I shut him down anyway. I’d been rather a bitch to him, and Caleb had been nothing but nice to me.
I pulled my phone out of my purse and took some pictures of Nan and Herman first, because they were adorable and so happy together it was a must. Then I arranged my plate of spaghetti and meatballs for a photo op and snapped some foodie pics.
“What on earth are you doing, Brooke?” Nan asked me.
“I’m taking pictures of your engagement dinner, Nan. Every woman should be so lucky to have spaghetti and meatballs when she gets engaged.”
I left Nan and Herman after dinner and took myself home to the cottage. Home to my cottage. Now, that little idea was going to take some getting used to, but I felt confident I could manage it. How did I go from paranoia about money to owning a two-million-dollar cottage on Blackstone Island in the space of an evening? How was that even possible? My nan was marrying her long-lost love, Herman, who just happened to be the mayor. They were getting married in exactly one month and I was planning it with Eduardo, who didn’t even know he’d been commandeered into service.
God.
I wanted to do a bit of research tonight, and make some notes on ideas for the wedding, so I could be ready to begin full speed ahead with the actual plans in the morning. Only a month’s time to prepare. I knew it would be a challenge, but I’d make sure it was special for Nan and Herman if it killed me.
The first thing I did whenever I got home was change out of my work clothes. By the end of the day, I was beyond ready to ditch leather leggings and boots after nearly twelve hours of wearing them. The bra, too. Nothing felt better than to exchange the pretty stuff for cozy flannel pajamas and warm socks that maybe weren’t quite so pretty.
