“I’ll work on it.” Seb gathered Digby into his arms. The dog would’ve socialized all day. “Take care.”
“See you at book club tonight,” Grace called after them.
As they walked back to the truck, Holly peeked at Seb. “You handled that really well.”
“Blame it on the guide,” he said, smiling. “You have good friends.”
“I really do,” she agreed.
Inside, her heart felt lighter than it had in years. She’d confessed the way her past influenced her present and he hadn’tflinched. He hadn’t walked away or even aimed a hint of doubt at her. In fact, he acted as if he wanted to stick around with Brookwell and with her specifically.
This was an all-new joy she’d gladly hold close long after she was done coaching Seb.
CHAPTER 6
Seb sat in his darkened parlor turned office with Digby snoozing on a puffy new dog bed at the edge of his desk. He’d pulled the sheers over the windows to cut the glare, relying on the illumination from the cool blue glow of his triple-monitor setup. On the screens, lines of code scrolled by—a complex encryption handshake for the merger that should have been his only focus.
Instead, his mind was stuck on the taste of apple strudel and the way the light had caught the gold in Holly’s hair this morning. He leaned back in his chair, the leather creaking in the general silence of the massive house. Digby stretched and let out a soft, huffing snore.
The little guy had been a charmer this morning, winning friends at every opportunity. He was clean and the fix at the back fence seemingly fixed their escape issues.
Seb stretched too and smiled. For the first time in way too long, Seb’s pulse wasn’t a jagged line of anxiety. It was a steady, rhythmic thrum and he chalked it up to the town and his unexpected guide.
“Transparency,” he murmured to the empty room, smiling again. He’d spent most of his adult life building walls. Digitalwalls, physical walls, emotional walls. He’d lived by the philosophy that if no one could see in, no one could take anything out. That his digital ideas and innovations would be safe. Would keephimsafe.
Not the best plan now that he was looking at it through a different lens.
But Holly had crashed through his perimeter with little more than a cup of coffee and a story about her father. Before that, really, when she’d stood at the gate almost as messy as Digby. At the time, he’d been too relieved to see the dog to understand her potential impact.
As much as he wanted to claim this was just about the interview or maybe making a new friend in his new location, he couldn’t lie to himself.
Somehow, deep inside, there was a curiosity. More than that. A longing for something only Holly could bring to his life.
He had the phone in his hand, following the urge to call his dad and ask about his parents’ romantic start.
Except there would be no answer, no opportunity for sage advice, a pun, or even a lousy joke. Nothing made him feel more like a kid than missing his parents.
Staring at the phone screen, he sent a text to his sister. No mention of Holly, just filling her in on the new place. He even attached a photo of Digby, careful to choose an image that didn’t include anyone but the dog. The plan was for her to come to Brookwell after her deployment to vacation a bit.
Seb pushed away from his desk and Digby stretched, opening one eye. “Let’s get some fresh air.”
The dog scrambled to join him as he left the office for the backyard. The sunny, clear weather had stuck around and the slight breeze off the water made him grateful for his sweatshirt.
He couldn’t stand out here and not think of Holly. One short visit and he saw her all over the place. While Digby trotted hereand there following interesting smells, Seb’s mind wandered back to his morning coffee. Hearing Holly talk about her dad had hit him harder than he’d let on. She’d been duped by her own father. The blow must’ve been horrible.
He knew how the world saw aggressive, focused businessmen, men more like himself than he cared to admit. He’d been called a shark, a disruptor, and worse since college. People didn’t always appreciate innovation—especially in the tech space. And with cyber security there was always the double-edged sword of making things so secure that people got annoyed and didn’t use the tools or so challenging hackers couldn’t resist.
By design, his work wasn’t transparent. Neither was the purchase of the estate. Never had he viewed himself as a villain, but through Holly’s blue eyes, he could see how not knowing his intentions here might get twisted up into resentment with the locals.
He wanted to give her the promised interview. Just as soon as he sorted out how to exclude queries about the lighthouse property. That would be easier with more intel. Determined to shift his afternoon tasks to researching Brookwell history, he whistled for the dog.
Digby didn’t even spare him a glance, too focused on where his nose was leading. He’d wandered toward the fence, likely searching for another escape route. Seb did not have time for that kind of adventure today.
“Digby, come!” No response. Sighing, Seb tried again. “Digby, cookie!”
Suddenly, a white blur was charging toward him. “You’re an extortionist.” Seb scooped up the fluffball and carried him inside, making good on his promise. “We’ll just keep all this bribery between us,” he said as Digby crunched his treat.
His smart watch chimed—a high-priority alert from his lead engineer in the San Francisco office. The protocols for themerger were moving slower than anticipated. Seb stifled a groan and drafted a quick response. His history research would need to wait. “Back to work.” He snapped his fingers, pleased when Digby followed him to the office.
