“Love is not enough!” Her heel slamming into the deck floor freezes my hand gripping the handle. “It’s foolish to think so.” Her voice goes soft. “Like I did. I’m trying to protect you.”
When I see her reflection through the glass, I’m met with a vulnerability looming over her that I hadn’t noticed before. The way the corners of her eyes crinkle with concern tells me she’s running out of cards to play.
I face her. “You know what hurts the most?” I search my brain to string together the right sentences in language she’ll hopefully understand. The only words remaining are the ones in my heart. “You betrayed my trust in the most unimaginable way. Not only as my mother, but as my colleague. How could you expect me to speak to you, let alone still want to work for you after this?” I scoff. “You didn’t call to check on me, only your precious legacy. You haven’t once asked me what I want or even apologized for hurting me.”
“Give me a chance and I will apologize.”
“Okay.” I pause, waiting for her to say the magic words, as if saying “sorry” will open a portal for us to travel back in time.
Seconds go by, and nothing. This time, I’m not waiting for her to speak. It’s futile anyway. “You might as well leave. I’m not flying back home with you, Juliette.”
“I’ll be downstairs when you change your mind.”
“I won’t.”
Thankfully, she leaves without fighting for the last word. After slamming the front door for the second time today, I crawl into bed, feeling more lost than I have in years. I know she was attempting to help in her own twisted way, but I’m sick and tired of her projecting her failed marriage onto our family.
Then again, I know she’s not entirely wrong. Love isn’t enough…but what is?
I’ve invested so much of myself into a wine business that I don’t even know if I truly want it in my life now.
Then again, maybe Mother is right: Maybe if I go back to reality, these feelings will fade. After all, what about Lynn and Mae? And I can’t leave my family business and all the opportunities waiting for me back in Seattle. Plus, this promotion is everything I’ve been working toward, and now it’s mine.
A part of me despises the thought of working for my mother, but I know long-term, the business will be there. Love may not.
I’ll lie here a while longer before joining my mother downstairs to fly back to Seattle. I squeeze the pillow, and Caroline’s scent engulfs my entire being. I hate that I miss her already. But I do.
CHAPTER 26
CAROLINE
The Tiki Tacoisn’t crowded this morning. There’s no Akari, either. As much as I appreciate her exuberance, I need alone time with a cold beer to wash down the taste of failure from losing Basil and taking a knock to my career in the process.
As a distraction from my thoughts, I’m sitting at the bar watching a couple building a sand castle on the beach. They go from bickering to exchanging high-fives in ten minutes. It reminds me of when I desperately searched for the whistle during Round One of the Sapphic Olympics, determined to prove Basil wrong, and then of us celebrating her tying the Gladiator Strike record.
None of that matters anymore. Maybe coming to Sapphire Isle wasn’t the change in scenery I needed. Moving to a new city will be. It’s what always works at the end of the day. I can already hear Kaydence’s disappointment-laced tone. She’ll probably tell me I’ll be leaving Seattle for the wrong reasons—running to escape my problems—and she’ll be right.
A familiar laugh interrupts my train of thought. I peek over my shoulder and sure enough, Lynn’s coming my way, wearing a tank top and shorts, no scarf around her neck.
With a grin as bright as the sun, she looks at me, then around the bar, and asks the obvious question. “No partner in crime today? Mine got an early start at the office.”
“Not today…” I trail off, unable to meet her eyes when she sits on the barstool next to me. This time, I’m somewhat relieved by her presence. “Maybe notever.”
“Uh oh. That’s not good. Did you two get into a nasty argument?”
That, and I’m an idiot. I exhale and unfold my hands, then rest the bottle opening on my bottom lip before tipping it for a swig. “Yeah, you could say that.”
My eyes remain fixed on the beer label. I can sense the wheels churning upstairs as she assesses me, her weighted gaze strengthening with each second. Without another word, she looks away and orders a drink.
During our silence, the bartender sets a cold beer on the bartop in front of Lynn. She shifts her body toward me. “You know, it’s not uncommon to have a heated argument during your honeymoon. There can be a lot of pent-up residual emotions from the wedding chaos.” She chuckles. “Mae and I didn’t talk to each other for half a day after a quarrel over me not acting romantic enoughduringa scuba diving excursion.”
The image of Lynn alone in a wetsuit elicits a tiny laugh from me. Appreciating her effort to cheer me up and out of genuine curiosity, I ask, “What brought you two back together?”
“A good dose of courage and even better timing. We received some of the finished pictures from the wedding. I got them laminated, then jumped into a tank filled with sharks and held them up for the world to see.”
Her tone warms as she smiles. “All our memories served as a reminder of how far we had come and promised a future worth taking more pictures of. Mae was so gorgeous in her wedding dress. I was a mess when I first saw her. The photographer said she’d never see anyone cry as much as I did. What I’m saying is, it doesn't mean the end of your relationship. It’s just a good excuse for more kissing and making up later.”
Unfortunately, time isn’t on my side. I pull my bottom lip between my teeth in thought. “I don’t know if there’s anything that could save us. Plus, we’re taking separate flights back to Seattle. I screwed up pretty badly.” That’s an understatement.
