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"That sounds spontaneous and fun. Leo and I are in."
"Great. We're going to meet at the boat at four."
"That should work."
"You can invite Joel. Is he back in town?"
"He is. He got back yesterday, but I broke up with him last night."
A silence met her words, then Hannah said. "Oh, I'm sorry. Or maybe I'm not. How do you feel about things?"
"I feel relieved and free. It wasn't working. I got stuck in the idea that he was Mr. Right, but he wasn't right, at least not for me."
"How did he take it?"
"Remarkably well. He knew it wasn't working, either. And he's going to be moving back to New York."
"It sounds like it was for the best. If Joel is out of the picture, maybe you want to bring Decker."
"Maybe," she said.
"Interesting. I was expecting you to say no."
"Well, let's just say that I've decided your advice about having fun for now isn't the worst idea. I'll see if Decker can come, but he's with Joel, so I'm not sure what their plans are. If he comes, don't push us together or make a big deal. I don't want it to be awkward. And no one really needs to know anything right now."
"Got it. I won't say a word. I'll see you later, Chloe."
"Later." As she hung up the phone, she texted Decker with the invitation, hoping he would come.
Decker's watch buzzed with Chloe's text as he followed Joel along a lakeside bike path that climbed high into the hills. His legs were burning, and his breath was coming fast. He'd have to answer her text when they stopped.
A few minutes later, Joel pulled over at a vista point.
Decker hopped off his bike, breathing hard as he soaked up the amazing view.
"Was it worth it?" Joel asked, waving his hand toward the deep blue waters of Whisper Lake.
"Absolutely," he said. "Although that last incline was a killer."
Joel leaned his bike against the concrete wall and took off his helmet. Decker did the same. He needed to talk to Joel. When Joel had suggested a bike ride, he'd quickly agreed, happy to postpone the upcoming awkward conversation as long as possible, but it needed to happen, and now was probably the best time.
"I'm going to miss this place," Joel said with a sigh, then turned away from the view to look at him. "I'll wrap things up this week, hand over the reins to my project manager, and then head back to New York." He paused. "I'm sorry to bail on you. You came here to visit me, and now I'm leaving. But if I don't go back, I'll lose the company, everything I've been working so hard to get."
"I understand. You have to do what you have to do."
"I know there are other options. I could work for myself. I could break away from my family's company, but it doesn't make sense to start over when I already have a great company to run."
"You just have to run it from New York."
"Yeah. No idyllic small-town life for me."
"Are you sure that's what you really wanted?" he challenged. "You don't seem that unhappy to be leaving."
"I have mixed feelings. I realized when I got back to New York that I'd been kidding myself. As much as the city and my family make me crazy, they're also invigorating and exciting. So is Sylvie. We talked a lot and realized that we were both being stubborn and unwilling to see the other's point of view. I wanted to feel like I was living my own life, and Sylvie thought I was just running away from who I was. She wasn’t completely wrong. I still want to have my own life, but I don't think Whisper Lake is the answer I thought it was."
"I don't, either. But, hey, you can always have a vacation home here."
"I will definitely look into that." He paused. "Chloe broke up with me last night."
