“I appreciate the offer.I really do.But I’m not coming back to Chicago.”The words felt strange in her mouth, both terrifying and liberating.“I’m staying in Starlight Shores.”
“Cassidy, don’t be ridiculous.You can’t just?—”
“And yet, I can.”
David looked startled, and she took the opportunity to move past him, putting distance between them.
“You’re making a mistake,” he called after her.“You think this town wants you?You’re a project to them.A consultant they’ll use until the novelty wears off.Then what?You’ll come crawling back to Chicago, but the opportunity will be gone.Steve will have your office, your accounts, and your future.”
She paused and looked back at him.The man who’d once represented everything she aspired to now looked small and petty against the backdrop of the festival and the life she was choosing.
“Maybe,” she said quietly.“But I don’t care.I know I’m making the right choice.”
She walked away without waiting for his response.
The festival had transformed in her absence.The boat parade was forming up in the harbor, with vessels of every size decorated with strings of lights that glimmered in the deepening twilight.Families clustered along the waterfront, and children perched on parents’ shoulders to get a better view.The air hummed with anticipation and joy.
Cassidy found her mother near the quilt display, standing beside Winnie and admiring an intricate wedding ring quilt.
“That was quick,” her mom said, studying Cassidy’s face.“Everything okay?”
“I quit.”
Winnie’s eyebrows rose, but she said nothing.Her mom’s expression shifted from surprise to pride.
“No job, no plan,” she continued, the words spilling out faster now.“I have no idea what I’m going to do for work or where I’m going to live when my rental ends or how any of this is going to work out.But I couldn’t get in that car.I couldn’t go back to being the person I was in Chicago.”
Her mom pulled her into a tight hug.“I’m so proud of you.”
“I might have just ruined my entire career.”
“Or you just saved your life.”Her mom pulled back, keeping her hands on Cassidy’s shoulders.“The details will work themselves out.They always do.Right now, I think there’s someone you need to talk to.”
She nodded toward the dock where Bryan stood alone, checking the moorings one final time before the parade began.He hadn’t changed from his work clothes, still wearing the faded shorts and Sandpiper t-shirt he’d had on all day.His hair was disheveled from running his hands through it, a habit she’d learned meant he was worried.
He was strikingly handsome.
“Go,” her mom said gently.“Winnie and I have quilts to admire.”
Her feet carried her toward the dock before her brain could catalog all the reasons this was terrifying.Bryan looked up as she approached, his expression cautious.
“Hey.”His voice was careful and guarded.“Festival’s going well.”
“It is.”
They stood in awkward silence.The easy partnership they’d developed over the past weeks felt fragile now, full of everything unsaid between them.
She took a breath.“I quit my job.”
Bryan went very still.“What?”
“David wanted me to leave tonight.Fly back to Chicago.”The words tumbled out faster.“I told him no.I’m not ever going back.I’m staying here.I don’t know for how long or what I’m going to do, but I’m not leaving.Not yet.Maybe not ever.I know that’s crazy and impractical and probably the worst career decision I’ve ever made, but?—”
“Cassidy.”
She stopped, breathless.
He took a step closer.Then another.In the fading light, his eyes were impossibly warm.“Cassidy, stop for one minute.Please.I just have to tell you something.”
