Page 181 of At First Catch

I type three different responses.

Delete them all.

Me

Investor dinner tonight. Might run late again.

Again.

I hate the word the second I send it. Lately there’s been a lot of again.

Late again.

Busy again.

Meetings again.

Sorry again.

None of it is intentional, but it’s still enough to create distance.

Hadley’s response takes longer this time.

Hadley

Okay. Let me know how it goes.

My chest tightens. That question mark hurts more than it should.

I can feel her carefulness through the screen. Her restraint. The way she’s trying not to push too hard when all I’ve done lately is make her feel like pushing is necessary.

Me

I will.

I stare at the message afterward, knowing it’s too little. Knowing I might not. Knowing part of me is already preparing to carry the meeting alone before it even happens.

Outside the office windows, the clouds gather darker over Back Bay.

And for the first time since Hadley and I fell in love, the future between us stops feeling guaranteed.

By eight that night, the storm finally rolls into Coral Bell Cove hard enough to rattle the restaurant windows.

Thunder shakes the glass while rain lashes sideways across Main Street, scattering tourists beneath awnings and sending waitstaff rushing to pull outdoor chairs beneath the patio roof.

The investor dinner takes place in a private room at one of the nicer restaurants near the waterfront.

White tablecloths. Expensive wine. Polished people using words like opportunity and optimization as if they aren’t talking about carving the soul out of the marina I’ve spent months putting back together piece by piece.

I sit at the end of the table with my hand wrapped around a glass of water I haven’t touched in twenty minutes.

Richard Hale keeps talking.

He’s good at that.

Smooth voice. Tailored suit. Smile sharp enough to draw blood if you look too closely.

“We understand your concern about maintaining local identity,” he says, sliding another packet across the table toward me. “That’s why we’ve adjusted the proposal language.”