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Thankfully, before she could embarrass herself further, Bea came outside.“All right,” she said.“Oh, Harrison is here.”She turned back to the house.“Baby, Harrison is here.Bring another plate, okay?”
Grant yelled from inside, and Cass put more distance between her and Harrison.The world had felt dark and cold since West’s death, but standing so close to Harrison had added a bit of warmth and a whole lot of light to Cass’s existence.
And she had absolutely no idea what that meant, or how to process it mentally and emotionally.Her fall-back for the past many months had been distance and then therapy, and she still did that one of those now.
“I made your favorite,” Bea sing-songed.“Peach pie!”She set the tin down on the table, and a beautifully baked pie looked up at all of them.
“And ice cream,” Grant said, plunking down a huge tub of the stuff.“Howdy, Harrison.”
“Hey, brother.”The two shook hands and did a half-man hug.The scent of Harrison’s cologne settled into Cass’s nose, and she sure did like it.She’d eventually washed West’s things, and the house didn’t smell like him anymore.She had such a hard time calling it “her house,” because that was simply not what it was.
“Harrison was just telling me about a house in his neighborhood,” she said, sliding him a look out of the corner of her eye.“He thinks it might be too glamorous for me.”
“I did not say that,” he said, his voice full of defense.
She smiled in his direction, almost afraid to make eye contact in case she gave away the rioting, almost traitorous emotions spinning through her right now.“He made it sound very fancy.”
“It is,” Grant says.“He lives in the exclusive Gateway Plantation community.”
Harrison growled at Grant, who frowned at him.“It’s not ‘the exclusive Gateway Plantation community.’”
“It so is,” Grant said while laughing.He didn’t seem worried by Harrison’s dark look.“Who’s selling?”
“Viola,” Harrison said.
Grant’s eyes widened, and he looked at Cass.“Oh, Cass, that would be perfect for you.The house isn’t even all the way done yet.”
“It’s not?”Cass took the plate of peach pie and vanilla ice cream Bea had dished for her.“How is that perfect for me?”
“Because you can design the whole thing,” Bea said.“Pick out all the colors.Do the floors the way you want.Hang your art, all of it.”
Cass sat at the table, glad when the pie got served quickly and the others joined her.She liked that Harrison was here, because now she wasn’t the third wheel with Grant and Bea.They’d always been so perfect for each other, and sometimes they could make a person feel left out without meaning to.
Cass felt like that a lot anyway, and she knew the problem was mostly hers.“I do like to design things,” she said.
Bea scoffed.“Like it?Cass, you thrive on picking out a paint color or the perfect tile from a pile of fifty of them.”She gave a mock shudder while Cass simply took a bite of her pie.The creamy vanilla with the warm peaches, the spices, the flaky pie crust… Cass moaned before she could censor herself.
Bea lit up like the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.“How’s the pie?Good, right?”
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” Cass said, already going for a second bite.Moaning right out loud was a touch embarrassing, but then Harrison made an almost identical noise.
Every eye flew to him, but his eyes had drifted closed.He was clearly enjoying the pie too, and Bea should like that.Cass flicked a glance in her direction, and sure enough, she looked giddy.
Harrison opened his eyes and realized they were all staring at him.“Sorry,” he said, dropping his chin to his chest.“But Cass is right.This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”He scooped up another bite, put it in his mouth, and moaned loudly again.
Cass started to laugh, as did Grant and Bea.She needed this camaraderie in her life.She’d left her golden retriever in Texas, and her sister hadn’t sent her daily dog pic yet.
So she needed this laughter.She needed the sound of the ocean over the sound of the wind.She needed a fresh start, and as her eyes met Harrison’s again, she couldn’t help but wonder if he did too.
And…if they could take the first step together.
Cass lookedup at the high ceilings in the house.“It has good bones,” she said.
The realtor who’d accompanied her to the waterfront home said nothing.Cass glanced over to him, and he hugged his portfolio to his chest.She went back to examining the property.She’d been impressed by the entrance—a gate, as she’d assumed.
There’d been a guard house too, with a real gentleman inside, checking credentials.That would likely drive her mad after a few times of coming home, but she did like the security it provided.There was a single road into the community, and one had to exit the same way.Only one road curved along this patch of land, and there were thirteen houses, the realtor had informed her.They’d chit-chatted about Hilton Head, what brought her here, and how she knew Harrison.
She’d given vague answers, because she didn’t need the whole island to know every detail of her life.Not only that, but she barely knew Harrison Tate.He’d come to desserts and drinks a couple of nights ago, and she hadn’t seen him since.
