“I do. I want you to leave, Calvin. Work remotely if you want. Grow the festival to epic proportions. Just let me live my life.We’ll be civil, of course, but we don’t need to dance around each other trying to rekindle a relationship that’s over and done.”
He looked as though she had struck him. And for an instant, seeing a flash of the boy who’d been told he would never amount to anything, she regretted taking such a hard line.
“Fine.” He might as well be chewing glass. “If that’s what you want, I won’t argue.”
He turned and walked away, his silhouette disappearing into the fog drifting in as the temperature dropped.
Grace slid into the driver’s seat and pulled the door closed. Her hands trembled and she waited before starting the car and driving home.
She’d hurt him and it was awful. But better this short-term discomfort than another true heart break. He would do his job and leave, and it shouldn’t matter that he didn’t want to get to know the woman she was now.
CHAPTER 11
After the disastrous conversation on the ferry and another summary rejection, Cal isolated himself in the apartment. He’d learned enough about Grace’s schedule to avoid any awkward interactions. Although she wanted him gone, he wasn’t about to give up. Not on the work or the woman. He managed his meetings through video calls, courted another sponsor into a hefty commitment to the music festival, and otherwise let her continue believing he was one dimensional: totally career focused.
Because whenever he had a minute to think, all he heard was her voice:I want you to leave, Calvin.
The words echoed in his mind, sharper than any boardroom rejection he’d ever faced.
So much for opening a vein and taking the first big step. She might as well have pulled the ladder right out from under him. This was worse, somehow, than the last time she told him to stay away. He’d given her nearly a decade then, but he wouldn’t repeat that mistake.
He looked down at his hands—hands that were used to signing contracts and shaking on multi-million dollar deals—and saw they were trembling. He wasn’t the smart and craftymarketing executive right now. He was just the lonely kid who had been told, once again, that he didn’t belong.
But he did.
Down deep he knew they were meant to be together. He recognized she was scared. Hell, so was he. Honoring her wishes when they were younger had been like living half a life. He wanted to be whole.
How in the hell was he going to prove they were made for each other now?
As far as he knew, she hadn’t even seen his latest campaign ideas for the festival. Feedback from others around town was favorable, even enthusiastic. From Grace, only silence.
Apparently, he’d have to get her reaction at next month’s meeting.
His phone had been blowing up all day with notifications, requests, and opportunities. With a flick of his thumb, he silenced them all.
It was way too early to call it a day, but Cal didn’t care. He needed to get outside and soak up some sunshine and fresh air and let his mind wander. Pocketing his keys and his phone, he headed out to the beach.
Grace expected him to pack his bags and skulk back to his penthouse, proving her theory that he was merely a high-powered player. She claimed he didn’t know her, but wasn’t she doing the same thing? Believing that wealth was now his core identity, a barrier that made him incapable of understanding the quiet, steady pulse of the town she loved.
“You’re wrong, Grace,” he whispered, his footsteps echoing on the weathered boardwalk that protected the dunes. “You’re so damn wrong.”
He’d been wrong as well, assuming she’d rented out the apartment due to a financial crisis. Believing she felt trappedhere just because he felt as if the town had stolen her away from him.
His mistakes had done more than annoy her. He’d created doubt and fed into those natural fears. She might not need a rescuer, but he believed she needed stability and security, just like he did. She needed an anchor, someone to count on and have her back, whether her dreams kept her here or carried her into new adventures.
His mind started spinning, but not with the typical marketing campaign numbers. He was thinking about the peach preserves, visitor flows, and dancing with Grace instead of watching her dance with someone else.
There was only one way to show her he wanted to be here. He had to get involved. The small change that made Mrs. Higgins happy was a good first step, but there was so much more to do.
Words hadn’t worked so far. It was time to act.
He drafted an email to his team in New York and redistributed assignments, assuring them they’d discuss the details at the next full meeting. Then he emailed the real estate agent who’d handled the rental agreement. If he was going to be the man Grace was willing to trust and believe in, he had to make some changes. Thanks to Levi, his firm and net worth would last him three lifetimes. Probably more. But he refused to waste another decade living without Grace in his life.
It was time to invest in himself outside of his business ventures. It was time to stand with her in Brookwell.
He was staying. Not as a part-time consultant, but as a full-time resident. He paused, waiting for the dread and frustration he’d always felt when he thought of Brookwell to creep in. It didn’t. He’d blamed the town for taking Grace away from him when he’d simply been too scared to face his fears.
Now, though, excitement reigned. He would show her that their worlds could not only coexist but thrive. His heart hadnever been in some lofty skyscraper; it was always right here in a cozy sundrenched beach town.
