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He showed Alissa the mockup of the logo. It was bold in its font, but the shade of blue he had chosen softened it. Alissa could easily see it on the front of a magazine.
“I love it. It looks amazing.”
“Graphic design isn’t really my thing, so we can get someone else to make a better one.” Dane’s voice held a sheepish tone to it, his neck flushing above his collar.
“It’s a great start. What else do you have?” Alissa swiped to the next slide.
“This is just a mission statement I threw together.”
Alissa skimmed it. It read,Coastal Views aims to show the beauty beyond the landscape of coastal Rhode Island, highlighting the stories of the people who make this area come alive.
It was perfect—succinct and to the point.
“I love it, Dane,” Alissa said.
“I love it too.” Dane’s smile had an almost boyish quality to it. “Let me tell you about the editorial plan. It’s a mix of your ideas and mine.”
Dane launched into his next slide, which talked about the kinds of articles and the timing of each issue. Then, he moved onto the next slide, which got more technical—print runs, distribution, scaling up, and other things that made it feel like the magazine was really happening. He hardly stopped when Hannah dropped off their surprise sandwiches—a salmon burger with lemon aioli for Alissa and a twist on fish and chips in sandwich form for Dane.
The way he talked about Blueberry Bay and the area overall was so drastically different than it was when she first arrived in town. Back then, Blueberry Bay was almost a place where he had been banished. But now, he saw all of its beauty and all of the unique things and people within it. It was a place that he wanted to highlight instead of a place he just had to deal with.
Whenever Dane spoke about something he was passionate about, he got lost in it, talking with his hands, his words flowing out in a rapid stream. His grass green eyes were bright and she couldn’t have taken her eyes off of him if she tried.
“Is there something wrong?” Dane asked, snapping Alissa out of her daze.
“No, nothing’s wrong.” She leaned across the table and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “I just like listening to you.”
Dane’s cheeks flushed, but he smiled. “I’m glad I’m not boring you with this talk of profit and loss statements.”
“You couldn’t bore me if you tried.” Alissa threaded her fingers through Dane’s. “You’re great at this.”
“Thanks.” Dane squeezed her hand. “You know, I talked to my old boss. The one that I blew up on.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. He emailed me ages ago and I was too worried to open it. I wasn’t as confident in my decision to be here back then,” Dane said. “He basically asked me to come back and help with the paper because I had done so much to keep it going before, but I said no. This is where I belong. Here with you, doing things like this.”
The warmth and affection in his voice made her tingle from the inside out. She was so elated for him—he had found himself just as much as she had, and they had found each other in the process.
“I love you,” Alissa said, the words spilling out of her mouth before she could stop them.
Dane’s smile grew. “I love you too, Alissa.”
He leaned in and gave her another kiss. Alissa’s heart fluttered and flipped in her chest, the amount of affection and excitement almost too big to fit inside of her. Not long ago, she had been sitting in her apartment with a glass of wine, pouring over job listing after job listing that wasn’t quite right.
Now she was here, listening to the man she loved talk about a project that she couldn’t wait to tell everyone about. She had new friends, a job that she woke up excited about every day, and tons of new experiences that she never would have gotten in Denver under her belt.
Fulfillment really came from unexpected places.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
Six Months Later
The flurry of activity at Literary Stays made Dane’s head spin. Monica was rushing back and forth, making sure that all the guests for Alissa’s book signing had wine, beer, or their drink of choice. Hannah and Willis had catered the event, laying out trays of freshly made sandwiches on a long table outside. A gathering of volunteers set out rows of white chairs outside of the inn in intimate rows, close to the podium.
“Need help with the chairs?” Dane asked one of the volunteers.
“Sure, of course!”
