“Mom, you do know I live in Maine, right?”
“Well,nowyou do, but this is just something to keep in your pocket for the future.”
A future I wasn’t so sure of anymore.
After we said our goodbyes, I stared down at the plate full of food I hadn’t taken a single bite of. In the twenty minutes we’d been talking, I’d lost my appetite. But Beck had worked so hard on my dinner, so I forced myself to eat a bit before I covered the plate and put it back into the fridge.
Chuckanut was curled on the ostentatious bed Beck had purchased her, dead to the world, and it was too quiet in the apartment without his presence. Wanting to feel close to him, I climbed out on the roof and sat, my knees tucked up to my chest, and I listened to the waves against the shore.
I didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know if I should stay or if I should go. I couldn’t even parse my feelings on it anymore, half of me yearning for familiarity and the comfort that I knew home would provide. And the other half of me wanting to explore this new side of myself, this newfound life that I’d built all on my own without anyone’s input. One that included Beck.
Still, my mom’s words rang in the back of my mind as I pulled out my phone and searched for the house I’d loved for years. It was still as gorgeous as I remembered, a single story in a soft, cheery yellow with white shutters, flower boxes under the front windows, and a porch swing I’d always pictured I’d sit on with my future husband.
Except I couldn’t picture that anymore. Now, it was just me, there by myself.
With the price cut, it was now just under the amount the insurance adjuster quoted me. Maybe that was a sign to move back home. Maybe it was meant to be.
But there was only one problem with that. Beck wasn’t in Washington. And I wasn’t so sure I could live without him.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
BECK
I couldn’t believewe’d pulled it off. In less than two weeks, we’d put together a fully functioning festival, complete with vendors, entertainment, and even an auction to raise funds. And all of it was going to Everly. As soon as I’d enlisted Addison’s help, it’d been a whirlwind. She’d whipped the town into a frenzy, and everyone had been all too ready and willing to do whatever was needed to help Everly, exactly how I knew they would. I just wished she could see it.
If these past ten days had taught me anything, it was that I couldn’t handle being away from her, and yet I was still getting my fix every night. There was no way I was going to let her move to Washington. At least, not without me.
Yes, this festival was to show her all of Starlight Cove adored her, and yes, I’d had plans drawn up for a house-slash-business—that just so happened to fit perfectly on an unused section of the resort property—but in the end, it was her choice. If she decided to take the money and move back to Washington, I wasn’t going to stop her.
But Iwouldbe going with her.
There was no me without Everly.
She’d brought out the best in me, found a crack in the wall I’d surrounded myself with and slipped inside. Then sat right down beside me like she’d always been there.
I was tired of living in fear. Tired of perpetually anticipating the worst-case scenario—and not just preparing for it, but counting on it.
Everly was the best this world had to offer, and somehow, some way, she’d become mine. And tonight, I was going to lay that all out for her.
“I really can’t believe I’ve never heard of this festival before.” Everly leaned close, her hand encased in mine as she glanced around at the Cupcake Festival we’d put together in a matter of days. “I feel like I’ve been living under a rock.”
I cleared my throat, forcing back the cringe because I hated that this was probably making her feel even more left out, but it was only for a few more hours. And after nearly two weeks of watching my every move and protecting this secret, I wasn’t about to blow it now.
The same couldn’t be said for the rest of the Starlight Cove residents enjoying the festivities. The only way we’d been able to get the town to agree to secrecy was to promise them a year of free coffee and a free meal—on a date of their choosing…Mabel was adamant about that—at the diner. Besides an offhanded remark from Everly asking if it was just her or if everyone in town was suddenly acting sketchy, I didn’t think she’d noticed.
Now, though, it’d be impossible for her not to. Every single person who walked by glanced between us, then down to our joined hands, then not so subtly shot me a wink, all while grinning like idiots. Every. Single. Person.
By the time we’d made our way through most of the festival, gorging ourselves on cupcakes, and headed toward the lawn where a band was set up in front of the gazebo, I was sure every resident in Starlight Cove had blown our cover.
“Why is everyone winking at you like they know you’re about to get laid?” Everly turned to me, her brows raised. “Are we acting out Chapter Twelve, and you decided to tell everyone else but me?”
Sweet fucking Christ, this woman was going to kill me. There was nothing I wanted more than to take her to some dark alcove and fuck her outside, my hand capturing all those sweet moans that were just for me. But that would probably be a bad idea since I was the one who’d put on this whole thing. Though, who was going to know?
With a groan, I tugged her behind a huge tree and pressed her up against it, caging her in. I lowered my face, brushing my lips against hers before sucking her bottom one into my mouth. “You are too fucking tempting, you know that?”
“Yeah?” She tucked her fingers into the waistband of my jeans, so close to my already-straining cock. “You going to do something about that?”
I glanced out at the festivities going on around us, then down at Everly’s dress—easy access—then up to her eyes, finding the same hunger reflected in them as I was sure shone in mine. “Hell yes, I am. But we gotta be—”
