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Damn it. She’d made it in time for the camp day. That in itself just made everything so much harder. Marissa wouldn’t have to be disappointed… But how could he hang out with her and act normal when he was so conflicted and torn? Marissa seeing them at odds would only ruin the fun day even more. Not that he’d be having much fun. Having to have a conversation with her about this asshole contacting her would be brutal.
“I’ll let her know you really wanted to be here,” he said quietly. Defeated.
Sarah’s hurt expression tore him apart, but maybe they’d moved too quickly. Protecting Marissa had always been his first priority. It was one of the reasons he’d never gotten into a new relationship. The moment he let his guard down, let someone into their lives, this happened.
It wasn’t Sarah’s fault. He should never have let her talk him into this technology freedom for Marissa when he was against it.
“Tell her I said hi,” she said before turning and walking away.
And as much as he wanted to go after her, for his own sake, his own heart, he was far too conflicted. He had no other choice than to watch her go.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Just forty-eight hours and all of this will be over.
Balancing on the top rung of a ladder, the one that specifically said,Do Not Stand Here, Sarah reached as high as her arm would allow to change a burned-out light bulb in the dining room chandelier. The reunion was the next night, and then she could figure out what she was going to do with the inn and get the hell out of Blue Moon Bay.
The day before had been a disaster. She’d essentially quit her job…or had she been fired after walking out on her boss? Either way, the termination letter she’d received the evening before from Gail had solidified the fact that she no longer worked at Digital Strategies.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about it yet. She didn’t regret her decision walking out on the pitch, but not having a job was slightly terrifying. It had been her life for a long time.
And she thought she was at least trading the stressful workaholic lifestyle for something more…something better, a balanced life with Wes and Marissa in it. But she’d lost that, too.
Wes’s anger the day before was completely justified. She hadn’t even thought about the fact that Marissa was a minor and putting her info online could be dangerous. She dealt with cybersecurity and breach attacks all the time. It was just another element of doing business on the internet for her. But for Wes, this was one of the most terrifying things he had to deal with regarding his daughter.
Sarah had never claimed to have maternal instincts before, but even she’d wanted to find out who that disgusting waste of space who was texting Marissa was and beat the life out of him. She just hoped Marissa was okay. Driving away from the camp gates the day before had broken her heart.
“Sarah!”
Lia’s voice calling her name nearly caused her to fall off-balance. Descending the ladder quickly, she looked for a place to hide. Lia, Malcolm, and his parents had arrived earlier that day from Napa, and the other woman had returned to her unbearable self. Almost as though her bitch switch had been activated by the presence of her perfect husband.
For two people so much in love, the couple had seemed to have an odd tension between them when they’d arrived at the B&B with his parents in tow. They’d been tense and awkward toward each other when she’d shown them to their room for the weekend. She’d shuffled things around to give them the biggest honeymoon suite room. Lia should have been thrilled, but instead she’d just looked slightly terrified.
Maybe it was an in-law thing. Maybe Lia didn’t get along with them, or maybe the pressure of trying to impress them was making her extra controlling.
Either way, Sarah would be happy to see them all leave two days from now. Clearing her head and figuring out next steps for her future was going to require space and quiet.
“There you are,” Lia said, appearing in the dining room dressed in a slim-fitting suit, her hair pulled back in a tight bun. Sarah couldn’t even picture the carefree woman with flushed cheeks and messed-up hair enjoying an amusement park ride a week ago.
“Here I am,” Sarah said. Lia and Malcolm had gone into their room an hour ago. By now, she’d assumed they’d be naked and having perfect, successful-people sex. Apparently not.
“Everyone else will be arriving in the next few hours, and I want to go over any last-minute stuff,” Lia said, checking her to-do list on her phone.
Sarah suppressed a groan. Why, oh why couldn’t she be upstairs making Sarah jealous with sounds of lovemaking coming from the room? It would be easier to take than her micromanaging. “Just about everything is ready downstairs, and the guest rooms are good to go.” She’d finished putting the little boxes of expensive chocolates Lia had custom ordered for the reunion on the beds an hour ago.
“Well, I’m sure we’ve missed something.”
Translation: she was sure Sarah had missed something.
Well, news flash! Planning events wasn’t exactly Sarah’s forte.
“Okay, just give me a sec to put the ladder away and I’ll meet you in the den.” She took her time going out to the shed, going over all the details in her own mind. Everything was covered. Hopefully this tête-à-tête with Lia would be quick and put the woman’s mind at ease. She had her own life to sort out.
In the den, she found her pacing.
“Hey, relax, everything is going to be fine.” It was a family reunion, not a wedding or a funeral. If there was a mishap or two, it wasn’t the end of the world.
“No, Sarah, everything’s not going to be fine.” She sighed. “Malcolm’s grandmother was too sick to travel. A fun fact no one bothered to mention to me when I organized this event, and now the only thing Malcolm and his parents can talk about is how much she’ll be missed, how tragic it is that we’re doing this without her.”
