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"Maybe you should leave, Dale," Miles suggested through gritted teeth, his eyes never leaving his former friend.
"Fine," Dale snapped, jaw clenched in frustration. In that instant, Dale's face contorted with a mix of fury and heartache as he stared at Miles. The tension in the workshop was palpable, like an invisible thread stretched to its breaking point. He cast a final glance at Ariel before storming out of the workshop.
The workshop door slammed shut with a resounding bang, rattling the windows and causing a fine dusting of sawdust to rain down from the rafters. Ariel stared at the empty space where Dale had stood just moments before, his face contorted with anger and hurt, and she felt her heart sink like an anchor into the depths of her chest.
"Are you happy now?" Miles asked, his voice taut and strained as he turned away from her, his gaze fixed on the sailboat that had become both his solace and his obsession in recent months. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, the lines of tension etched into the stark planes of his face.
Ariel swallowed hard, fighting back the sting of tears that threatened to spill over. "I didn't want this, Miles," she whispered, her voice trembling.
Miles let out a shuddering breath, turning to face Ariel with an expression she couldn't quite decipher. "What were you thinking, bringing him here?"
Ariel hesitated, her fingers twisting together as she struggled to find the right words. She wished desperately that she could turn back time and undo this awful mistake. But perhaps it had been too much to hope for, to think that the rift between them could be mended.
"I just... I wanted to help," she murmured, her voice cracking under the weight of her emotions. "I didn't want you both to keep living in the past. I have no idea what happened, but I thought it was something that could be solved…"
"Sometimes the past needs to stay there," Miles replied, his voice heavy with regret. He ran a hand through his hair, visibly upset by the unexpected confrontation. "Some things can't be forgiven, Ariel. You should have known better than to meddle in something you don't understand."
As she struggled with what had just transpired, she became acutely aware of the sounds around her: the distant crashing of waves against the shoreline, the mournful cry of a gull overhead, and the relentless ticking of the clock on the wall. Time marched forward, unforgiving and indifferent to the turmoil unfolding within the workshop's wooden walls.
“I thought I did understand it, and that what you said—about the old brotherhood, about missing the Christmas tradition—meant you were missing someone in your life the way I was missing my dad.”
Miles sighed, his anger subsiding slightly as he studied Ariel's distraught face. "I'm not saying I don't appreciate your intentions, but you can't force people to forget."
"I thought... I thought it would be good for both of you. That you could find some sort of closure or resolution."
"By ambushing me with someone I never wanted to see again?" He shook his head, his expression one of disbelief and betrayal. "You have no idea what you've done, do you?"
She reached out tentatively, wanting to comfort him, but he shied away from her touch, his eyes filled with a stormy mix of anger and pain. The distance between them suddenly felt immense, as though the gulf that had opened up in the wake of Dale's departure was far wider than the few feet that separated their bodies.
Ariel hesitated, torn between the desire to defend her actions and the realization that she had made a grave mistake in trying to force a reconciliation that neither man truly wanted – or was ready for. As the wind picked up outside, sending a flurry of snowflakes dancing through the air, she couldn't help but feel as if she had inadvertently unleashed something wild and uncontrollable.
"Maybe I was wrong," she admitted, her voice barely audible above the whistling of the wind. "But I did it because I love you, Miles."
He didn't respond for a long moment, his gaze still fixed on the sailboat. When he finally spoke, his words were measured and deliberate, each syllable laden with the weight of unspoken emotions.
"Sometimes, Ariel, the past is best left buried and forgotten."
With those words hanging heavy in the air, he turned and walked away from her, leaving her standing amidst the sawdust and the memories that clung to the walls of the workshop like ghosts. As she watched him go, her heart aching with regret and uncertainty, she couldn't help but wonder if their love would be able to weather the storm she had unwittingly set into motion – or if the damage done might prove too great to overcome.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A soft dusting of snow covered the ground outside Leeside B&B. Inside, the warm light of the kitchen flickered against the darkened windows, offering solace from the chilly winter air. Ariel Hawthorne stood by the counter, her fingers wrapped tightly around the handle of a chef’s knife. The prep work she had been doing for dinner service was all but forgotten. She stared off into the distance, her mind far away from the cozy atmosphere of the B&B.
"Hey, Ariel," called Darcy, her sous chef and confidant, as he wiped his hands on his apron. "You've been pretty quiet since you got back from your walk. Everything all right?"
Ariel sighed, her breath hitching slightly. "Not really, Darcy. Miles and I had a fight."
"Ah, that's rough. What happened?" Darcy leaned against the counter, concern etched onto his face.
She hesitated, delicately probing the tender thoughts that threatened to unravel her composure. "It's complicated. I wanted to do something nice for him – a surprise for Christmas – but it turns out I didn't know the situation as well as I thought I did."
Darcy frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Remember when he was at the bar that morning, talking about that old friend of his?" Ariel glanced at Darcy, her eyes filled with guilt and confusion. "Well, I found him. And I took him to see Miles. It turns out that friend was the one who embezzled from Miles's first business and ruined his life."
"Yikes," muttered Darcy, his eyebrows knitting together in sympathy. "No wonder Miles was upset."
"Upset doesn't even begin to describe it," Ariel said, setting aside the knife and rubbing her temples. "He was furious. And I feel so guilty for not knowing about it. How could I not have known something so important about the man I'm going to marry?"
