“When you have true talent like you and my mom, it’s something pretty special. You have been given a gift.”
My pulse raced. Did that mean he had read my pages? Or my first book, even? I was too afraid to ask.
Grady jumped up onto the town dock and pulled his board out of the water. Then he took my hands, helped me up, and pulled my board up too. I looked up at the charming weathered cedar-shake building—in a line of similar buildings that looked like they’d been here forever—that held Sea Oat Sweets. This was the first time I’d seen the award-winning creamery without a line.
I walked in first, the chill inside jolting against the warm air outside. I inhaled the sweet scent. “I’ll have a waffle cone of chocolate peanut butter.”
“Good choice,” Grady said. “You can’t smell that waffle cone and then not eat it.”
I nodded. Exactly right.
I tried to pay at the old-timey brass cash register with the big black buttons, but Grady stopped me. “It’s the least I can do,” he said. “My mother has put you through it.”
“So true,” I said seriously.
The first big bite was so nostalgic. It was amazing how one bite of ice cream could put me right back into our family beach weeks and make me miss those long, lazy days with my cousins on this very beach more than I could put into words.
“Oh my gosh!” I said, looking down at the ice cream. “Writing is your mom’s ice cream!”
Grady stopped walking and scrunched his nose. “I’m sorry. What now?”
“It brings back all those memories she doesn’t want to face. Of your dad.”
He nodded. “You think?”
“Of course! You can’t write love stories—even about fake people from a different time period—and not think about your own.”
“Yeah,” he said. “I guess that makes sense.”
“I wish I could help her more.”
“You know,” he said, “I think you showing up every day, helping her get back to the page, has helped more than she could ever say.”
I smiled. Elizabeth wasn’t easy, but I could see beyond her exterior now, to that soft part she tried to hide. “I feel so honored that I get to be a part of her life and—”
Before I could finish, Grady leaned over and snagged a big chunk of my ice cream, looking so adorable I couldn’t help but laugh as I said, “Hey!”
He paused for a moment and said, “Yeah. Your chocolate peanut butter is way better than my cookie dough.”
“Really?” I asked. I leaned over and bit off a huge chunk of dough on the edge of his cone.
He shook his head. “Lila, Lila, Lila. You will come to regret that. You won’t know when. You won’t know how ...”
We both laughed. Well, he laughed. I did something that could only be described as giggling. My face felt flushed, and my feet barely touched the ground as we continued walking.
“Do you ever think of living anywhere else?” I asked.
He nodded. “If it weren’t for my mom, I’d probably be in New York. I go back and forth once a month or so, since that’s where most of the publishing is.” He shrugged. “But now that so many people work remotely, I don’t know. I might be able to stay right here.”
“I can’t imagine a more beautiful place to live,” I said. “We came here for a family trip when I was ten, and I swore right then and there that I would live here one day. Which was kind of funny, because all I knew was farm life. But there’s something so elemental, this pull to the water.”
“Yeah, I feel that too,” Grady said. “I’m, like, off kilter when I’m away from it for too long. Which makes me wonder if I could ever actually leave.”
He looked at me for a long moment. For a beat, as we made our way back to the T-dock that held our paddleboards, I thought maybe, finally, this could be our moment. Then he said something that confused me. “The best retribution is unexpected.” With that, Grady picked me up and tossed me gently into the water.
I absolutely could not believe it. As I came back up to the surface for air, I flailed a little and said, panting, “I can’t swim!”
“Oh my god!” Grady jumped in, too, fully clothed, in loafers that I’m sure cost more than my rent, and scooped me into his arms. “Are you okay?” he asked breathlessly, treading water. “I’m so sorry! I had no idea!”
