“Yes.” Maggie sighed, and they turned to walk arm in arm back toward the car.
"So," Maggie said, smiling up at him as they walked. Her eyes held a teasing glint." Does this mean we are… what is the term, going steady?"
Michael laughed. "Do they even call it that anymore?" he asked.
"I have no idea," Maggie admitted. “I’ve been out of touch with the dating world for what feels like an eternity.”
“Me too.” Michael nodded. "Let us call it exclusive," he suggested, “We’re in an exclusive relationship.”
"Exclusive relationship," Maggie repeated, trying the word out. "I like that."
"Good," Michael answered, kissing the top of her head.
As they slid into the car and Michael started the engine, Maggie turned toward him.
"Michael," Maggie said.
"Yes," Michael answered.
"Who is going to tell Linda about us?" Maggie asked.
Michael smiled. "We’ll tell her. Together," he answered. "I think we should do it as soon as we get back to Hearts Hotel.”
“Like now, today now?” Maggie’s brow furrowed, and she looked at him in a slight panic.
“Yes, Maggie,” Michael said adamantly. “I’ve waited long enough to start taking you out and having a real relationship with you.”
“Didn’t you just say you wanted to take things slow?” Maggie argued. “Maybe we should slow down with telling Linda.”
“Yes, but not that slow,” Michael told her. Then lifted a brow and glanced at her. “What if I make you a deal?”
“What deal?” Maggie looked at him curiously.
“I promise to seriously consider telling you what really happened to Salty,” Michael turned the tables on her. “If we tell Linda about us tonight.”
“Well, that’s not fair,” Maggie huffed, then looked at him suspiciously. “You said seriously consider. That’s not a yes or a no; it’s the same as saying, ‘Heads I win, tails you lose.’ It’s limbo.”
Michael laughed. She was adorable, and they were finally a couple. He took a breath and let it out as his heart swelled with joy.
This is going to be the best summer I have had in years.And he drove them home, the thick, suffocating weight of guilt he’d felt over Evelyn faded away, and for the first time since she’d passed away, he felt at peace with her memory.
LINDA
Linda sat at the wide desk in her uncle’s office at Hearts Hotel turning another page of the pool contractor's revised schedule. The work had started early that morning, and it was one less thing to worry about for now.
Linda had watched it from the back lawn with her coffee in her hand. Two crews had arrived. And the foreman, whose name was Ray Beauchamp, had politely brought her his revised project plans, marked every step complete with a proposed timeline.
For the first time in two years, Linda was not the one holding the whole hotel together with her bare hands. It was a strange feeling. She wasn't sure she trusted the feeling yet, but she liked it.
The knock on her office door drew her out of her thoughts.
"Come in," Linda called.
The door opened to show Maggie and Michael, who stepped through the frame and then stood side by side just in front of it.
Linda's eyes narrowed. She took them in suspiciously; something was going on here. She noticed the leather folder under his arm tucked beneath Michael’s arm, and how closely they were standing together. Maggie's cheeks were a bit flushed. Michael had that look about him that said he was hiding something.
"Hi," Maggie greeted her.
