“I accept your apology,” she said, finally giving him a small smile. “Because I know you, and because you’re a good man.”
The air left his lungs, and he reached out to take her hand. “I don’t deserve you.”
She scowled, her fingers squeezing his. “Don’t you ever say that again, Nick Slater.”
“I love you,” he said, holding her gaze so she could see how much he meant it.
“Now,thatyou can say alot.” Then she leaned in and pressed her mouth to his.
The kiss was warm, like the sun after a cold spring storm, and he lost himself in it. Somehow this amazing, exasperating woman loved him, and everything felt right in his world.
She broke off the kiss and ran her thumb over his bottom lip. “And I love you.”
“Fair warning, I’m going to tell everybody I love you. I’m going to hold your hand everywhere we go. I’m going to kiss you all over this town.” When she laughed, he stepped back onto the porch so he could hold her close. “I might even post about it in the online group.”
“No,” she said, pulling away. “There’s a guy who won’t stop doing cat puns, and I’m honestly starting to be afraid for him.”
“Yeah, everybody wanting to sink their claws into him should give him paws.”
“No, Nick,” she said, and then she leaned against his chest, her body shaking with laughter.
“I can’t wait to see what we build on our foundation,” he whispered against her hair.
Epilogue
Wednesday is the first day of school! And the lunch special at the Uneven Keel, from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., will be a sandwich of your choice with fries you don’t have to share and a free “fancy shot,” as we like to call them. It’s called the “Forgotten Backpack.” We’ll also be offering a nonalcoholic version—they will be getting off that bus in a few hours—so come on down and fuel up for filling out the exact same school forms you filled out last year!
—Post from Lucy Macauley in the Wayward Harbor Online Community Group
“Whose boat is this?” Lucy yelled, trying to be heard over the ancient-sounding motor. “Are you sure it’s safe to be on the actual ocean in it? This feels more like a boat for a pond.”
Nick laughed and then glanced around before he cut the engine. The sudden silence was a relief, but Lucy wasn’t sure how she felt about the small craft just bobbing aimlessly.
“We’re not going any further out in it, but it’s sound,” he told her. “And it belongs to Cory Weston, a friend of Gray’s.”
“I’ve met Brooke a few times. So this is her ex-husband’s boat?” She frowned, shoving at the hair the wind had torn from her attempt at restraining it in a braid. “Word at the Scuttlebutt is that it wasn’t a very amicable divorce. You’re sure she didn’t drill any holes in it, right?”
“You know, you can just say, ‘Scuttlebutt says it wasn’t amicable.’”
“But I heard it attheScuttlebutt, thank you very much, and it sounds more fun.” She grinned when exasperation got the better of him and he scowled at her. “Wait, are there sides? Gray is Cory’s best friend. You’re Gray’s brother. I live with you. Does that mean I can’t be friends with Brooke? I hope not, because I actually like her a lot.”
“You can be friends with Brooke,” he assured her. “It’s tough on Gray, though. Not you being friends with her, but the relationships in general.”
“Oh, he can’t really be friends with Brooke anymore, I guess.”
“It’s messy. He’s been friends with both of them since they were kids. He and Brooke were actually a thing in high school, but they split and she ended up with Cory.”
“Oh no.”
“Gray got over it. But I don’t think he’s ever gotten overher, to be honest.”
“Thatismessy. Because marrying your best friend’s ex-girlfriend is kinda bad. But hooking up with your best friend’s ex-wife iswayworse.”
Nick gave her a stern look. “That isnotscuttlebutt fortheScuttlebutt, by the way.”
“Of course not.” Lucy sighed and glanced around the vast amount of water they were drifting aimlessly in. “Are you sure this is safe?”
“It’s safe,” he said patiently. “Especially since you’re making both of us wear our life vests instead of just having them at hand if we need them.”