“I didn’t do that much.”
“You did everything.”His voice was quiet, serious in a way that made her heart skip.“Cassidy, about last night?—”
“Mr.Wilde’s here to see you.”
Cassidy turned to find Jan from Harbor Brew approaching, her expression carefully neutral.“He’s waiting by the parking area.Says it’s urgent.”
The bottom dropped out of Cassidy’s stomach.
Bryan’s face shuttered closed.“Your boss?”
“I didn’t know he was coming,” she said quickly.The words tumbled out too fast, too defensive.“I didn’t ask him to?—”
“It’s fine.”Bryan took a step back, creating distance that felt like miles.“You should go talk to him.”
“Bryan—”
But he was already turning away, heading toward a group of volunteers struggling with a collapsed awning.Cassidy watched him go, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.
She turned and walked toward the parking area, each step feeling heavier than the last.
David Wilde stood beside a sleek black rental car, looking like he’d stepped out of a boardroom and directly into the wrong century.Pressed charcoal suit.Expensive leather shoes.Phone pressed to his ear as he gestured impatiently at whoever was on the other end of the call.
He spotted Cassidy and ended the call abruptly.
“Finally.”He looked her up and down, and his expression flickered through surprise, disdain, and settled on disgust.“Cassidy.You look ridiculous.”
The words landed exactly as she’d known they would, sharp and cutting, and designed to make her feel small.
A month ago, they would have worked.A month ago, she would have immediately looked down at herself, cataloging all the ways she’d failed to maintain the polished exterior that David valued.
Now, she just felt tired.
“What are you doing here, David?”
“What do you think?I couldn’t wait for an answer.”He gestured toward the festival grounds, his lip curling.“I needed to see what could possibly be more important than your career.”
She followed his gaze.The muddy field.The sagging tents.The volunteers in their work clothes, hauling debris and wringing out decorations.She tried to see it through his eyes with all the chaos, disorder, and the complete lack of corporate polish.
She couldn’t do it.All she saw was community.Purpose.People who showed up for each other when it mattered.
“This is important,” she said quietly.
“This?”David laughed, the sound sharp and dismissive.“Cassidy, this is a small-town fair in the middle of nowhere.The account I’m offering you is worth millions of dollars.Do you understand what that means?Do you have any idea what you’re throwing away?”
“I’m not throwing anything away.”
“Then prove it.Get cleaned up, and let’s go.I’ll book the tickets.”
He said it like it was already decided and her compliance was a foregone conclusion.Like the past month had been nothing more than an extended vacation, and now it was time for her to come back to reality.
She looked at him—really looked at him—and saw herself reflected back.The version of herself she’d been before Starlight Shores.Always moving, always producing, always terrified that slowing down meant disappearing.She’d thought David was successful.She’d wanted to be him, to earn his respect and prove she belonged in his world.
When had she stopped wanting that?
“I need more time,” she said.
David’s expression hardened.“I flew down here personally, Cassidy.Do you know what that cost the company?What it cost me?”
