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Rita’s Bar& Grill is moderately busy, but I still manage to get a seat on the covered patio near one of the heat lamps. I order a burger and a beer and let the cheerful atmosphere soak into my pores. Across from me, my brother David leans back in his chair.
“House is finally sold, huh. I never thought you’d go through with it. That house was a big deal when you bought it.”
“First thing I did for myself,” I agree.
“The Webbers happy?”
I think of the joyful look on Mr. Webber’s face when he and his wife signed the papers. “Ecstatic,” I tell David. “They finally have a home to call their own.”
“And you’ve cut your final tie to this place.” His smile is understanding. “I think it’s a good thing. Have you told Mia everything went through?”
I grimace. “I haven’t actually told her about the sale.”
“You haven’t told her at all? About any of it?”
I shake my head. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”
David blows a raspberry, then lets out a chuckle. “Not how I would have done it, but you know the woman best. She’ll be pretty happy when she finds out.”
I shove my fingers through my hair just as the waitress drops the burger and beer in front of me.
My house was the last tie I had to this town. The last chain to break so I can finally move on and find somewhere I can truly call home. The money cleared from the escrow account this morning, and I called my grandmother right away. She said she’d already done the paperwork on her end, so now I’m finally ready to start my new life in Heart’s Cove. Finally ready to show Mia how important she is to me.
A wriggling earthworm of worry tunnels its way through my heart at the thought. What if this is a mistake? What if I was too impulsive? What if this all blows up in my face?
I take a bite of juicy burger, chew, swallow, and finally admit, “She hasn’t called.”
David glances up from his own food, brows arched. “Since you left Heart’s Cove?”
I nod.
“So you haven’t talked to her at all? Why didn’t you call her?”
Sighing, I wash down my food with about a quarter of my beer. I’ve spent my entire life feeling like I’m on the outside, never belonging, and I just can’t bear the thought of being that pathetic, clingy sod who doesn’t know when he isn’t wanted.
I left Heart’s Cove so quickly, resolving to give her some space…but was that the right move? Did she need space, or did she need affection? I’ve been so focused on proving myself that I haven’t stopped to wonder if I’m going about it all wrong.
After another bite of my hamburger, I finally answer David’s question with one of my own: “Why didn’t she just tell me her ex-husband was staying in town? She had the chance. We were in the barbershop together and I asked her what was bothering her.”
David lets out a long sigh. “How did the conversation go? Maybe you missed something.”
I take a gulp of beer and stare at the condensation on the side of the glass, replaying our final conversation over in my mind—and realization hits me.
She didn’t tell me, becauseI said I was leaving. I thought she needed space, but she really needed reassurance.
I sit up straighter, meeting my brother’s gaze. “Oh, shit,” I whisper. I messed up—bad.
“What?” He sips his beer, frowning.
“I was so focused on this stupid plan being a secret until it was done—and then I was angry about her ex sticking around—that I didn’t realize when she went cold on me.” Horror spreads through me like ice forming on the surface of a lake. Slow, inexorable, undeniable. “She didn’t tell me because she thinks I’m not coming back.”
“What?” David looks shocked.
I fumble for my pocket, and—“My phone’s dead.”
“Use mine.”
“I don’t know her number!” I shout the words, half-standing. “I don’t know anyone’s number! Everything’s saved in my cell phone! The only number I know by heart anymore is our old landline from when we were kids.”Fuck. Oh, no. I need to talk to Mia.Needto talk to her, explain that the whole reason I left town was for her. For this stupid surprise that I don’t even know if she’ll want.
