“Yeah, fuck. This should be fun…”
I stared out at the ocean that’d been our backyard my entire life. This had been my home for thirty-two years, but it hadn’t felt like it until Everly had come into my life. She’d brought sunshine and happiness andhope. And I would do anything to keep her.
“You sure you want to enlist the dictator with this?” Ford asked.
“Could possibly be my worst idea ever.” I stood, offering Ford a hand to help him to his feet. “But I don’t think I have a choice.”
* * *
Everly
I’d always beenlucky in my life in that things tended to come easily for me. Or maybe it was just that I tended to choose the path of least resistance. From the time I was little, I didn’t usually put up a fight. One, because most of the time, it wasn’t worth it. But probably even more so because I didn’t want to give anyone a reason to discard me or write me off.
I already felt like I was on uneven footing, even though my parents had never done anything to make me feel that way. I’d gotten it in my head from a very young age that the way to be the best daughter—the best person—I could be was to just go along with it. If I was served something I didn’t like, I ate it with a smile because I didn’t want to be any hassle. If I was put in an extracurricular activity I didn’t enjoy, I stuck it out without a peep. I’d never pushed back on anything in my life. And I’d enjoyed that life. It was nice, and I didn’t have many complaints.
But what would my life be like if I wasn’t so busy pleasing everyone else other than myself?
I’d had a glimpse of what that would be like since I’d moved here. Because although the reasons I’d come to Starlight Cove in the first place were based on someone else’s design of my life, my life here wasmine.And for some reason, Beck had been the one person I’d been completely and totally myself with. I didn’t sugarcoat anything with him. If I had a bad day, he saw it. He knew I hated brussels sprouts and I secretly loved raunchy comedies and that I loathed softball even though I’d played it all through high school at my parents’ urging.
From the beginning, we’d had a connection. Even when he’d spent the majority of the time responding to me in nothing but grunts, I’d just felt like there was something there.
But now, when everything else was crumbling, it felt like even we were on rocky ground. I was basically living with him, but even still, there were some days when I didn’t see him until he crawled into bed next to me. I knew this was just a phase like anything else, but I hated it.
He was busy helping with the Cupcake Festival, which was apparently something that happened every year at this time. That meant this would be my third, and yet I had no recollection of it at all. Maybe Ash really was onto something when he said I was oblivious.
One thing I couldn’t miss was how weird everyone had been acting lately. People were actively going out of their way to avoid me when they saw me around town, and it was getting harder and harder to convince myself that this was where I belonged.
I unlocked Beck’s apartment door and strode inside. And though I knew it would be empty, it still sucked to have that confirmed when Chuckanut was the only one greeting me. Well, that and a shit-ton of Post-it notes.
Beck and I had seen each other so little in the past week and a half that we’d taken to communicating through them. They were scattered around the apartment, most of his reminding me to eat or lock the door or turn off the stove. And mine to him revolved almost entirely around how cute his butt was because I figured it’d make him smile since I wasn’t there to do it in person.
He’d left me three tonight, all of them arrows pointing directly to the fridge where he’d left my dinner, complete with reheating instructions like the saint he was.
I didn’t know how such a huge shift in our relationship could have happened in such a short amount of time. Had it really only been three weeks ago when I’d been living on my own and totally unaware of how amazing my best friend was?
But no…I hadn’t been unaware of it. Iknewhow amazing he was. I just hadn’t known how amazing he was forme.
I’d just settled in Beck’s chair with my plate full of deliciousness when my cell phone rang, my mom calling right on time. She hadn’t missed a day since the fire. Hadn’t missed a coercion attempt to get me to move home either.
I hated that my stomach was in knots every time I saw her name on my screen. Hated the thought that she obviously wasn’t happy with my life here. Hated the thought of disappointing her.
I took a deep breath and answered. “Hey, Mom.”
“Guess who’s back in town?” she said without preamble. “Mallory’s son, you remember him? Mark? He’s a few years older than you…adoctor…and he’s looking to settle down.”
I closed my eyes with a sigh and pressed my head back into the chair. “That’s great, Mom, but he sounds a little young for you. And there’s that whole you’re already married thing to worry about.”
My mom gasped. “Heavens no, Evie. I mean foryou.”
“Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Mark, so I can’t be sure, but I’m guessing he’ll probably want a local wife.”
“That’s why it’s so perfect! It’s just one more reason for you to move home.”
My stomach churned, but I couldn’t tell anymore if it was over the thought of staying or leaving. “I’d really like to talk about something other than me moving, so why don’t you tell me what’s new? How is quilting club?”
After I steered her in the direction of one of her favorite topics, she prattled on for ten minutes, barely taking a breath as she detailed their upcoming projects for the children’s hospital.
And though I’d asked her if we could stop talking about my moving back, she couldn’t help but drop one last comment as we were saying our goodbyes. “I know Ash told you about that house on Maple Street that went up for sale. I just drove by it today, and there’s a price reduced sticker on the sign!”
