Don pulled on Asher’s arm and forced him to sit as one by one, the residents of the Palms stood and confessed one secret after another, things that hadn’t even made it into Asher’s grandfather’s files.
“This is the best meeting I’ve ever been to,” Don said with a satisfied smile, as if he were the one who had orchestrated it in the first place.
“It’s my turn!”
Asher whipped his head around so fast at the sound of Eliana’s voice, he might as well have given himself whiplash.
She stood with a confident set to her shoulders. “I’m a content creator who vowed to always remain happily single, but my grandpa told me a very compelling golf metaphor today, and well …” She looked at Asher, and he nearly swallowed his tongue. “I’m madly in love with Asher Brooks.”
White noise filled Asher’s ears as he stared at Eliana, and she looked back at him. Had she just said what he thought she had?
“Go on. That’s your cue.” Don elbowed him just hard enough to cross the friendly-nudge line and border into bruising territory. But Asher didn’t need to be told twice. He nearly knocked down his chair in his rush to make it over to Eliana.
He stopped a foot away from her, wondering if he’d heard her right. Did shereallywant to be with him? Maybe she loved him, but she also loved her job—and she had her book, and perhaps she just meant she loved him, sure, but that didn’t mean she—
She stepped closer and pressed her lips to his, wiping out any other thoughts he had in his mind. He brought his arms around her waist and held her close, coming out of his haze only when he heard Winnie shout over the cheers: “And if anyone posts this on social media—”
Most of the faces stared back at her blankly, but there were a few people, including Walt, who brought their phones down.
Eliana laughed and tugged at her grandma’s arm. “It’s okay, Grandma. I want everyone to know.”
“Onyourterms,” Grandma said stubbornly. “There’s been quite enough of people revealing other people’s secrets to last a lifetime.”
“Amen,” Harry said under his breath.
Asher kept his arms wrapped around Eliana and pulled her close to him as Winnie continued to talk. He didn’t think he could ever let Eliana go. Just one day without her was enough to convince him he wanted her in his life forever. And the idea that she might want him just as much? It was going to take some time to process this.
“On that note,” Winnie continued. She stomped forward and grabbed the gavel out of Mr. Richardson’s hands. He stepped back, just as shocked as Asher and everyone else. Winnie was never this forceful.
“Go Grandma,” Eliana said under her breath.
“We need to forgive Lydia. She’s our friend, and we didn’t see that she was miserable and hurting. I’ve known her a long time, and this is very out of character for her. Would you ever do something like this again, Lydia?”
Tears glistened in Lydia’s eyes. “Never. I can’t express how sorry I am that I hurt so many of you, and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
“No you won’t,” Winnie said. “Because we’re all going to forgive you without prejudice. You can’t spend the rest of your life feeling like you’re indebted to all of us because of one mistake.” She looked out at each of them, and even Asher felt himself pulling his shoulders back, wanting to live up to Winnie’s standards, the way she believed he could. “We’re all going to be a lot kinder and more understanding toward each other. We know things about each other now that we can’t un-know, and we’re going to protect that knowledge, not exploit it.” She looked at the gavel in her hand and then held it up.
“All in favor, say aye.”
“Aye!” everyone called out.
“Anyone opposed?”
The room was silent. Winnie swung the gavel down and hit the lectern. “Then it’s agreed. Lydia is forgiven, and we’re all going to be kinder.”
She handed the gavel to Mr. Richardson, who looked about like a cartoon character did before steam came out of their ears. “If that’s all the business—”
“There is one more thing,” Don said. As he stood, he held out a sheaf of papers he pulled from his backpack. “I hold in my hands the signatures of every single person in the room, agreeing to allow Asher to continue living in Mason Brooks’s bungalow.”
Sudden dizziness swept over Asher, and he held onto Eliana’s shoulders. Her mouth was open in shock as she looked back at him. “How did you know?” he asked Nancy.
She patted him on the arm. “Oh, hon. We know everything that goes on in The Palms. We’ve been covering for you since your grandpa died.”
He blinked, thinking about all the times they’d directed Mr. Richardson away from him or it appeared they hadn’t seen him on the beach. As they added up in his mind, like dominoes falling down, it became clear to him that they’d known this whole time.
“Did they know about you living there?” he whispered in Eliana’s ear. She shivered, and it filled him with a sense of happiness.
“I don’t think so. Perhaps they don’t knoweverythingthat happens here,” she said.
