For years it had felt like an anchor. Lately it felt more like a reminder.
Lauren had loved the harbor. That didn’t mean he was supposed to spend the rest of his life standing in it alone.
The truck rolled through town.
Harbor’s Hope appeared ahead. The marina. The boardwalk. The familiar rooftops.
Margot shifted beside him. Her hand rested on the bench seat between them. Palm up. Casual enough that nobody else would notice. Intentional enough that he did.
The knot in his chest loosened. Slowly. Carefully.
He placed his hand over hers. She didn’t look at him. Didn’t say a word.
Her fingers slid through his. Warm. Certain.
Like she’d been waiting for him to decide.
They drove the rest of the way that way.
The mystery unresolved. The ornaments still missing. The gala waiting ahead.
None of it fixed. None of it finished.
But for the first time all day, Evan was looking forward instead of back.
Whatever came next, he wasn’t planning to let it pass him by.
Chapter thirty-six
One More Day
Theresortwasinchaos when they arrived.
Margot reminded herself, for perhaps the tenth time that day, that she wasn’t in charge anymore. Jolene was running the expo. Margot was supposed to stay out of the operational decisions while Harker’s investigation played out.
She was benched. Then her phone lit up with three emergency messages in less than thirty seconds.
Dana’s van.
Lou’s cake.
A threat against the gala. A typed note left at the front desk: CANCEL THE GALA OR SOMETHING WORSE HAPPENS.
And just like that, every professional instinct she’d spent years developing took over. Benched or not, she couldn’t stand in the middle of a disaster and do nothing.
She walked through the damage.
Dana was standing beside her van in the service lot, arms wrapped around herself, staring at four flat tires.
“My supplier is in Raleigh.” Dana’s voice was controlled, but her eyes were red. “Even if I call now, they can’t deliver until tomorrow afternoon. The gala is at eight.”
“What do you have on hand?”
“Greenery. Some hydrangeas from the morning arrangements. Nothing gala-worthy.”
“Greenery and hydrangeas with Christmas lights and ribbon. That’s not nothing. That’s coastal Christmas. We’ll make it work.”
Dana looked at her. A sliver of hope crossed her face. “You really think so?”
