She turned to find Bryan walking across the sand toward her.He’d changed out of his restaurant clothes into shorts and a faded t-shirt.His feet were bare.
They stood there watching the waves roll in.The silence felt comfortable instead of awkward.When had that changed?
“I talked to my mom today,” Cassidy finally said.“Actually talked.For almost half an hour.”
“That’s good, right?”
“I haven’t done that in years.I was always too busy.”She dug her toes deeper into the sand.“She said I sounded happy.And I am.”She glanced at him.“But my sabbatical ends in six weeks.”
“Right.Of course.”He looked out at the water.“Your real life is waiting.You have a career.A successful one.”
“I don’t know about that.I had a breakdown in front of forty people during a client presentation.”The words came out flat.“My boss forced me to take leave because I couldn’t function anymore.That’s not success.”
He turned to face her fully.“What do you want, Cassidy?”
She looked at the lighthouse rising against the darkening sky and the cottages with warm lights starting to glow from their windows.She looked at the man standing beside her with sand on his feet and concern in his eyes.
“I want to finish the festival,” she said slowly.“I want to help make it something the town can be proud of.Something that honors what it’s always been while making it sustainable for the future.”
“That’s five and a half weeks away.”
“I know.”
“And then what?”
The question hung between them like the suspended moment before a wave breaks.
“I don’t know,” she admitted.
Something shifted in Bryan’s expression.Relief maybe.Or hope.He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he just nodded.
“The vendor contracts came through,” he said.“For the food trucks.We’re cleared for six spots along the waterfront.”
“That’s great.”She pulled her professional mask back into place.Easier to talk about logistics than whatever was happening between them.“Did you get the insurance documentation?”
“Sent it to your email an hour ago.”
“I haven’t checked my email today.”
He raised an eyebrow.“At all?”
“At all.”She said it like a confession, like admitting to a crime.
Bryan’s mouth lifted into a smile.“The Harbor Ladies would be proud.”
“They terrify me.”
“They’re supposed to.That’s how you know they like you.”
She laughed.The sound felt easy and natural.
“I should get back,” Bryan said, but he didn’t move.“Early morning at the restaurant.”
“Right.Of course.”
Neither of them walked away.
The sun was almost gone now, just a rim of gold on the horizon.The first stars were starting to appear overhead.
