If only.
This morning, she didn’t feel the expanse of the ocean stretching to the horizon full of possibilities. Today, she felt hemmed in. The tide had become a ticking clock, counting down the seconds until she had to face the man who had once been her entire world.
Not that she had any real idea when she would see him. Only that it was inevitable.
Grace pulled the thick cable-knit sweater tighter against the early morning mist as she walked along the shoreline with Willow. The sweater had been her mom’s favorite and when she’d passed, Grace had kept it close for comfort. The sand was cool and damp under her sneakers, the beach still mostly deserted except for a few determined gulls wheeling overhead and the occasional jogger cruising by.
“I only got a glimpse and it was dark. But he looks... different,” Grace said, the words feeling like a confession. “And still the same.” She sighed. “I mean, I recognized him.” She glared out over the water. “It’s a dirty trick for everything about the man to get more defined with age while I’m out here trying to keep my curls from exploding exponentially in the humidity. He has a beard.”
“So you’ve said.” Willow laughed, giving her a light elbow nudge. “Frizz or not, you’re as gorgeous as ever. But tell me more about Calvin. Preferably everything.”
“You know as much as I do,” Grace protested. “I never saw him again after I left Duke.”
And whose fault was that? Hers. He’d tried to stay in touch, but she couldn’t manage it. “He is the only time I’ve broken the no-tears in the boutique rule.”
Willow stopped short. “Seriously?”
Grace stopped too, nodding. “I broke up with him between customers about a month after I came home. It was a particularly bad day for mom and…”
“You don’t have to go there. I remember.”
“Well, he called while I was juggling a few friends who were having a blast and I just—” she swallowed. “I couldn’t keep pretending I was going back to school. I was rude. Told him it was over and ended the call. Then, when I was alone again, I flipped the sign, went to the backroom and sobbed until I had to get home to Mom.”
“Oh, Grace. I’m so sorry.” Willow slipped an arm around her shoulder. “How did he wind up as your tenant?”
“His firm signed a year-long lease, though I didn’t know he was connected until last night. You could’ve warned me,” she grumbled.
“I didn’t know,” Willow said. “I’ve only heard Levi reference the marketing firm. I had no idea Cal Lynwood was the brains behind it.”
“Fair enough.” They parted to walk around a tide pool. “But seeing him standing there last night... Willow, my heart did a weird, frantic stutter-step. It took me right back to our last date before everything fell apart.”
“The botanical gardens.”
“Of course you remember.” Grace tried to smile. “You’re the best.”
“As if I’d ever forget your happiest day.”
She’d done more than think of him last night; she dreamed about him. It had been one of those treacherous, vivid dreams where the air was scented with his specific cologne—a blend of warm cedar and luxurious leather—and the weight of his hand on the small of her back felt more real than the pillow she’d woken up clutching.
In her dream, there was no cancer, no dropping out of college to care for her mother, no breakup, and no crushing loneliness in the aftermath. In the dream, they were brimming with hope, ideas, and laughter, ready to conquer the world. Together.
“I thought I was over him,” Grace murmured, watching the foamy edge of the waves dissolve near her feet. “I worked so hard to pack him away in a box labeled ‘Lessons Learned.’ I chose my mother. I chose Brookwell. I chose the shop. I don’t regret any of those choices.”
“You acted out of love,” Willow assured her. “Any other choice would’ve made you miserable.”
“True,” Grace allowed. “So why does a single glimpse of him make me feel like that carefree girl again—the one who believed our love was enough to overcome any challenge?”
“You were a kid, Grace. And that got ripped away too soon. You wound up carrying the weight of the world on yourshoulders,” Willow reminded her. “Cut my bestie some slack, please. Seeing him was obviously a surprise. I’d be concerned if it didn’t dredge up old feelings and a sense of what-if. Maybe this is a second chance.”
Grace snorted. “He’s probably married with half a dozen kids.”
Willow frowned. “It’s possible, I guess. He’s not a kid anymore either. He’s not a student scraping by. He’s a marketing executive with significant influence. Good grief, Levi Garrison is his number-one client.”
Grace heard the catch in Willow’s voice. “Oh, no. Don’t hold back intel now. What aren’t you telling me?”
Willow scrunched up her nose. “He’s here to help launch the Perk and the music festival,” she finished in a rush.
“What?” Grace gasped.
