Ash smirks. “Did she now?!”
“I’ve got eyes in my head. You know they’re all hot AF. Own that shit, cuz. You did good.”
“Yeah, I did. Didn’t I?” Her smirk transforms to a dreamy smile.
“And that’s my cue to leave,” Jerry quips, removing the truck keys from his back pocket.
“You’remysmoke show.” Cay grabs a fistful of his shirt and yanks him into a searing-hot kiss.
Ash and I pretend to fan ourselves when they break apart, and Jerry leaves a contented man. He is driving the moving van back to the city while his fiancée stays with me for the weekend to help with the unpacking.
“He’s one of the good ones,” Ash confirms as we wave Jerry off and head toward my new house.
“I never thought I’d ever fall in love,” Cay truthfully admits as we enter the hallway. “And then, bam, I ran into Jerry on the street, and it was like being struck by lightning.”
“Aw, I love that.” Ash squeezes Cay. “Now, we just need to get this one fixed up.” She jabs her thumb over her shoulder in my direction.
“I’m a lost cause. Don’t waste your energy on me.”
Ash quirks a brow as we walk past stacked boxes in the hall and gravitate toward the kitchen. “Why do I get the feeling this so-called-closure you talked about hasn’t happened?”
“Because you can’t control your heart with your head, no matter how much you might try,” Cay says, lifting a box onto the island unit in the middle of my large airy kitchen. “Did you ever meet Jared?”
Ash and I lift boxes onto the large wooden table and begin unpacking dinnerware.
“I met him a couple times when I visited with my parents at Christmas,” Ash explains. “But it was years ago.”
“Then you’ll know he’s not easy to get over,” Cay explains, unwrapping bubble wrap from a ceramic dish.
I had all my kitchen ware, art supplies, and personal items shipped from Florence, paying a premium to have it expedited, but I needed to buy all new furniture as my apartment in Italy had come fully furnished, so I didn’t own anything. I still don’t have everything I need, but I focused on the main rooms—the kitchen, living room, my bedroom, and my art studio.
The minute I discovered the large sunroom at the back of this house, which faces the oceanfront, I knew this was home for me. The four-bedroom, five-bathroom, four-thousand-square-foot bungalow isn’t directly on the beach, but I have a private walkway to it through the small, wooded area behind my house. My property is on a slightly elevated plot, so I can see the beach and the ocean from the sunroom and the adjoining dining room.
The lady who sold me this place was an avid gardener, and the stunning rear gardens are a bonus. I can’t wait to entertain on my patio and to paint outdoors. I still pinch myself to believe this is mine.
It’s always been my dream to live by the ocean, and now I’m doing it.
Although I was sad to leave my life and my friends behind in Florence, I’m excited to be beginning a new chapter.
This feels incredibly right. Like I’ve always meant to be living here. Although I adored Florence and had come to call it home, it’s only now I’m here I realize it was a temporary stopgap. My first home but not my forever one. Half Moon Bay feels like my endgame.
“Have you heard from him?” Ash asks, carefully stacking white dinner plates on the table.
I shake my head. “I haven’t heard from Jared since the night we talked in Florence. Not that I was expecting to. We didn’t leave it like that.” Thankfully, I’ve been busy managing the relocation, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been on my mind.
Because he has.
A lot.
“My heart hurts for you, babe. I still can’t get over everything Uncle Herman did.” Ash’s eyes narrow to slits. “My offer stands. Just say the word, and I’ll have someone look into it.”
“I appreciate it, but I don’t want to look back. It’s in the past where I want it to stay.”
That’s not quite the truth. I have been reconsidering options in the two months since the full truth was revealed, and it raised everything to the surface again. It’s all so raw, and it’s reignited my anger. I just don’t want to involve my cousin. Ashley went through something recently. Mostly stuff she hasn’t told me, because she can’t, but I know it was some heavy shit. She’s newly married and still grieving her loss, and I don’t want to drag her into my crap.
If I’m going to do anything about it, I’ll go to Sawyer and Xavier. I know they’d help, and this is what they do for a living.
But it’s not something I’m ready to decide quite yet.
