Page 149 of At First Catch

I watch him disappear toward the parking lot, his words settling somewhere deep in my chest. I’d spent weeks wondering whether I was good for Hadley, so hearing it from her twin made me believe it a little more.

Chapter Nineteen

NOLAN

The first time somebody refers to Hadley as my girlfriend in front of me, I nearly have a full spiritual crisis in the middle of the marina.

“She around today?”

I glance up from the fuel dock invoices spread across the marina counter—one of the many invoices that sit on the corner of my desk longer than they should. Lumber costs are up again. Insurance premiums jump another eight percent. Individually, they’re manageable. Together, they’re beginning to stack higher than I’d like to admit.

Walter Greene stands beside me holding coffee and absolutely no respect for boundaries.

“Who?”

Walter stares at me for one long-suffering second.

“Your girlfriend.”

The breath catches unexpectedly hard in my lungs.

Girlfriend.

Jesus Christ.

The word shouldn’t affect me this much.

“Oh, that’s real bad,” he says with a chuckle.

“I hate this town.”

“No, you don’t.”

I lean back against the marina office chair, scrubbing one hand down my jaw while sunlight spills warm across Back Bay outside the windows.

The marina’s busy this morning.

Charter groups moving between slips. Families wandering the docks. Workers hauling fresh lumber toward the final renovation phase near the restaurant building.

The whole place feels alive now.

Walter sips coffee casually. “You gonna answer the question or keep having an emotional awakening?”

“She’s at the bookstore.”

“Hm.”

I narrow my eyes. “You’re not allowed to ‘hm’ me anymore.”

Walter ignores me completely.

“You look happier.”

Sunlight glitters against the bay outside as Walter studies me carefully for another moment.

“You staying in Coral Bell?”

“I finally made an offer on the old Dawson place next door.”