Logan nodded, his expression neutral. "Nadine already updated us. We had to move rooms for logistical reasons - and adjusted the staffing schedule accordingly."
“Thank you, I appreciate that,” was all she could think of saying.
They stood side by side at the stone balustrade, looking out over the expanse of lawn that sloped gently toward the water. A stone path wound through carefully landscaped native plantings - beach grass, bayberry shrubs, and rugosa roses just beginning to show their spring growth. The path led to a small beach where a wooden dock extended into the protected waters of the sound.
"Do you still sail?" The question slipped out before Jess could stop it, her eyes on a catboat tacking across the distant water.
Logan's hand, which had been resting on the stone balustrade, tightened almost imperceptibly. "When I can find the time," he said after a moment. “The hotel keeps me busy but I try to get out on my days off."
Jess nodded, mentally kicking herself for the personal question that had disrupted their carefully maintained professional rapport. "The landscaping is beautiful," she offered, steering back to safer territory.
The tension eased as Logan accepted the conversational redirect. "We worked with a local landscaper who specializes in native plants. The idea was to frame the views rather than compete with them."
"Smart," Jess agreed. "It feels natural, like the building is part of the landscape rather than imposed on it."
Logan glanced at her with what might have been surprise. "That was exactly the goal. Most people don't notice."
The unspoken hung in the air: but you did.You understood.
22
The narrow staircasecreaked under Caroline and Finn’s descending weight, each step releasing tiny protests of ancient wood.
Behind them, they'd left Ellen settled with her tea, insisting she needed no company - "Just fifteen minutes of peace without someone hovering like I'm made of spun sugar," she'd declared.
Caroline kept a careful distance behind Finn, watching his broad shoulders navigate the tight passage with ease. The silence between them felt weighted, charged with unspoken assessments and judgments.
Now, alone with him once again in the empty shop, she felt oddly exposed, as if the veneer she'd carefully maintained around Ellen had developed hairline cracks.
"She's far weaker than she lets on," he said quietly, breaking the silence as he closed the stairwell door behind them, confirming Caroline’s fears.
“I’m sure the treatment takes a lot out of her," she acknowledged, straightening a stack of order forms with precise movements. "But she's determined."
Finn ran a hand through his hair, the gesture betraying frustration that matched her own. "Determined isn't always enough."
Their shared worry hung in the air between them, creating a momentary bridge across their differences.
"How long has she been ill - really?" she asked, reaching for a box of fabric samples that sat haphazardly on the counter. She automatically began sorting them by color and texture, imposing order in the small way available to her.
Finn watched her actions, his expression shifting from open concern to something more guarded. "A few months since the diagnosis. But she probably had the symptoms longer." He stepped forward suddenly. "That's not how she keeps them."
Caroline's hands stilled on the fabric swatches. "Excuse me?"
He gestured to the samples she'd been organizing. "Ellen doesn't sort them by color or type. She arranges them by bride."
"By bride?" Caroline repeated, looking down at her neat stacks with confusion.
"Each bride has a personality that connects to certain fabrics," Finn explained, moving beside her and rearranging the samples with practiced ease. Caroline watched as he transformed her logical organization into something that appeared random but clearly followed Ellen's intuitive system. His fingers moved confidently among the swatches, placing each one precisely where Ellen would want it. The casual intimacy of his knowledge - this deep understanding of Ellen's methods that surpassed Caroline's despite her familial connection - pricked at something tender and uncertain within her.
"I was cataloguing them for efficiency," she said, her voice cooler than she'd intended.
Finn glanced up, his hazel eyes meeting hers directly. "Ellen matches women with materials that speak to them." Hecompleted his rearrangement, stepping back. "It's not a catalog; it's a conversation."
Caroline bristled at the implicit criticism. "Efficiency isn't a dirty word, you know. Proper organization saves time and reduces errors."
"In some situations, sure," he conceded, moving away from the counter to straighten a dress that had drooped slightly on its display form. "But Sea Glass Bridal isn't a financial services firm. The magic happens in the intuitive connections Ellen makes."
His easy movement through the shop space too, grated on Caroline's already frayed nerves. He touched each object with the confidence of someone who belonged, adjusting a display here, straightening a photo frame there. The shop seemed to welcome his presence, while Caroline still felt like an outsider despite her blood relation to its owner.
