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“Man, I love you,” I say, pulling back.

Her smile is bright, and it sparks something inside me, a kind of desire that is so pure and honest, I’m pretty sure I’ve never felt it before.

“Well, I’m glad you finally figured that out,” she says, grinning.

I laugh and place a soft kiss on her forehead.

“All right,” she says. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way . . . we’ve got crap to do.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Hattie

Today’s the day.

All this build-up has led us to this moment.

It’s Friday morning, and after months of preparation, it’s here. I wake up, a little nervous but mostly excited, because even if something goes wrong, I’m not doing this by myself.

I never really was.

The initial idea was mine and I made the biggest financial investment, but the way my family stepped up to help make it a reality is humbling. They showed me they believed in me without saying a word.

Actions speaking, and all that.

The entire experience has me thinking about my job at the resort. A job I really like but don’t love. A safety net in case I can’t make a go of the lodge.

But I don’t want a safety net anymore. I don’t want to think small, same way I don’t want to live small. Not in my work or my relationships.

I want to go all in.

Noble’s face appears in the mirror behind me. “Your mom just texted. Finn and Raya are at the main house and breakfast will be ready in ten minutes.”

I turn around. “I’m going to quit my job.” My mouth is full of foam, but he must understand me because his eyes go wide.

“Oh, wow, okay, just jumping right in this morning, are we?” he says.

I spit out my toothpaste and rinse out my mouth, then flip the water off and turn back around. “I’m going to go all in on the guest lodge. I think I can do it.”

He reaches for me, and I move into his arms. “I know you can do it,” he says.

I intend for my kiss to be quick and light, but he clearly has other ideas. Before I let myself get caught up in the swoopy stomach of it all, I push him back. “Finn! Raya! Ten minutes!”

“Fine.” Then, after a beat, he says, “What brought on this decision? It’s kind of a big one, no?”

I shrug. “I want to let myself take risks again. Be a little more like the fearless Hattie you used to know.”

“So many versions of you for me to love,” he says with a smile. “Maybe I’ll quit my job too.”

I watch him for a beat, then tilt my head. “You’ve been thinking about it.”

“Yes, but it’s a longer conversation than we have time for right now.” He claps his hands. “We’ll talk about it soon.”

“Promise?”

Another quick kiss. “Promise. Now hurry up.”

I watch him go, then change and pull my boots on. We make our way up to the main house. There are a few rental cars outside, and I can see a small crowd gathered in the yard behind the house. Everyone is wearing sweaters and jackets, and Rowena’s even got gloves on, the big baby.