“Thanks.” She paused as if collecting her thoughts. “What about you, Slater? Is this really what you want to keep doing? Are you going to be okay moving on from here and working at another adventure tour company and then moving on to something else a year or two later? Because…it’s okay if that’s changed. You don’t have to stay locked into some decision you made at eighteen.”
The mirthless laugh was out before he could stop it. “That decision was essentially made for me.”
“No, it wasn’t,” she said firmly, leaning forward almost menacingly. “Here’s the thing: everyone is capable of change. That old saying, ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks,’ is total bullshit. You can change your trajectory, Slater. You don’t have to be like either of your parents.”
“Nora…”
“I’m serious! It’s not easy; I know it’s not going to be easy. But you deserve to be happy, and you can’t tell me you were actually happy before you and Evie got involved.”
He shrugged. “I was just fine. Working here with the guys has been a blast. Rebuilding the resort was so much more than I thought it would be. I was…fulfilled.”
“That’s not the same as being happy,” she countered. “I see the way you are with her, and it’s killing me how you’re going to just let her go.”
“She hasn’t asked me to go with her,” he said miserably, and immediately wished he could take it back. It made him sound needy and vulnerable; two things he hated.
“The two of you need to sit down and have a conversation. Soon. Now,” she said with a small laugh. “We talked about this at girls’ night last night, and I am typically not the person who goes around meddling, but the two of you desperately need someone to meddle.”
“Why…?”
“She has feelings for you, Slater. You have to know that. And from what I can tell, you have them too. Don’t let her leave because of some weird notion in your head that you can’t commit to anyone.”
“I never have.”
“Maybe because the right woman hadn’t come around yet.” She smiled softly. “And now I think she has.”
He thought that too.
“But you have to get your head out of your ass and do something, or she’ll leave here thinking she’s doing the right thing and then you’ll both be miserable.”
“I know,” he murmured. “I just…I don’t know how to change how I think, Nora. It’s not like there’s a switch I can just turn off. I’ve known my whole life that I took after my father and that meant being shitty to women. The more they care, the more I’ll screw up.”
For a moment she simply stared at him. Until…
“Wow. I always thought of you as brave and intelligent. I never realized how utterly wrong I was.”
His eyes went wide. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” Shaking her head, she looked at him like he smelled bad. “For a guy who makes a living doing extreme sports and taking risks, I can’t believe you’re actually afraid of taking one that would seriously make your life better.”
“Nora, spare me the dramatics, okay? I’ll admit that I have feelings for Evie, the kind that I’ve never had before. But that doesn’t mean things are going to work out and we’re going to live in some damn fairytale. It doesn’t happen like that.”
The snort was super loud and, he thought, overly dramatic. “Look around you, dude! Look at all of your friends! Hell, look at me! No one’s path has been easy in relationships. Jayce and Kelsey hadn’t seen each other in fifteen freaking years and they’re making it work. Walker and Harlow were enemies fighting over this very resort. Axel grew up with nothing and ended up falling in love with a freaking heiress, and they’re like sickeningly in love. Connor and Lexi each dealt with failed marriages and his snooty-ass family, and yet now they’re married and having a baby.” She was practically breathless, but managed one last obvious example. “And then there’s me and Milo. So opposite that it doesn’t even make sense. Opposite sides of the country. Opposite ways of looking at life.” She shrugged. “We’re making it work. Do you know why?”
Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, he asked, “Love?”
“No, dummy,” she huffed. “Well, sort of. There is definitely love, but it’s work, Slater. We’re all putting in the work. Love doesn’t make everything easy; it just makes all the hard stuff worth it.”
Honestly, he had no response to that. He wasn’t even sure there was one that wouldn’t have her verbally attacking him again.
“Evie’s an amazing person, and I think you’re good for her. The life she has in Seattle is comfortable for her because it’s all she’s ever known. For all you know, she’s looking to see what else is out there for her.”
“Are you actually encouraging her to leave Milo?” he asked with amusement.
“Not intentionally. I just believe that sometimes people refuse to believe they can do something different from what they’re currently doing. I know there’s going to come a time when I’m going to have to decide where I really want to be. Milo’s life is back in Seattle even though he’s got his little remote office here. But once we’re married and start a family, we’re going to need to settle somewhere, and it might not be here in Harbortown.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to make a snarky comment about not coming back here to cover for her, but he knew she was being serious.
“You take risks for a living, Slater. What’s one more?” she quietly urged.
