I fussed with the wrap, ensuring the tension was just right. My eyes didn’t leave her ankle as I started talking.
“I have osteoarthritis in my knee. My grandpa had it, and it started young for him, so I guess I was genetically predisposed. When I was a teenager, I tore my ACL, which strained my knee. The pain got worse the past couple years, but I ignored it.” I had been so fucking young and stupid, believing I would be the exception and could just power through. “This past winter, I had an accident while doing Ocean Rescue and it pushed me to stage three osteoarthritis. The goal now is to prevent a knee replacement for as long as possible. And this”—I held up my cane, my face on fire—“is part of that.”
Lucy moved her foot off my lap, and I was about to protest when she scooted her chair even closer to mine and grasped my hands. The heat of her touch and the strawberry sweetness of her scent eased my urge to run away.
“That’s why you left Ocean Rescue?”
I nodded, fixing my gaze on her thumb softly moving across the back of my hand. Her fingers sported little red pinpricks from her sewing needles that matched my scratches from my early morning rose delivery.
“That really sucks.” She squeezed my hands tightly. “Well, for you. It’s pretty great for me.”
I glanced up to meet her bright eyes. “Huh?”
“I get free flowers and medical care out of this deal. So honestly, pretty great.”
Was…was she joking? I’d played out this scenario so many times in my mind. I had braced myself for the worst-case scenario—seeing her disgust and disappointment. Even my imagined best-case scenario had included a hefty dose of pity. I couldn’t wrap my mind around her teasing smile.
“You’re right,” I choked out. “This is really great for you.”
She wiggled her toes. “That wrap feels so much better. Thank you.”
“Of course. I’ll come back and redo it tomorrow morning for you.”
“I’ll provide the coffee and breakfast in exchange for your doctoring. What latte are you drinking?” Lucy asked.
“The same as you.” I took a sip, gathering my courage before speaking. Before my accident, when I could ignore the twinges in my knee and my muscles were strong from daily workouts and Ocean Rescue drills, I wouldn’t have been as anxious about asking Lucy out. Now it felt like jumping from a plane without a parachute.
“I will bring the coffee and breakfast,” I said. “I can’t have you supplying the food for our first date.”
I held my breath. I was sure she would protest, say it wasn’t a date, but then she smiled.
“If you insist.”
When I was eventually forced to return to my shop because I apparently had toworkandtake care of customers, I felt lighter than I had since my accident. Lucy and I officially had a date tomorrow, and I was going to do everything in my power to make it special for her.
15
King
My shoes created a steadybeat on the pavement as I wove through the quaint streets of historic Starlight Grove. I usually ran on the longer trails along the beach and woods, but today’s tight morning schedule meant I had to resort to burning off my energy as best I could before my meeting.
I pushed myself harder. I needed my lungs and legs to burn until the pain was all I could focus on.
I turned a corner and almost tripped over a fluffy creature sprawled in the middle of the sidewalk. My steps stuttered as I fought to avoid stepping on what I realized was a cat. The creature gave me a dirty look as ifIhad inconveniencedhim, and I shook my head as I took off running again.
This stupid fucking meeting.
Negotiations hadn’t even started and I was already tired of it all. The exhaustion was familiar—it had been my constant companion this past decade since my parents deteriorated and I had been forced to step in as CEO of their company.
I couldn’t believe they’d been gone for two months. It would be a lie to say we’d been a close-knit family, but their absence still left an ache in my chest. Especially since their passing meant I was officially alone in the world. At forty years old, the family company was the only thing tethering me to their legacy—the family company I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep.
I took a turn out of the neighborhood and the ocean opened up in front of me. My New York apartment had a wall of windows overlooking the Brooklyn waterfront, but it wasn’t the same as being here by the water, the salt clinging to my skin. The ocean brought me backto the idealistic dreamer I was in my twenties when I was living in a shitty studio apartment, doing ocean conservation advocacy for pennies. I’d thought the past decade had killed off that version of myself, but maybe there was a bit of him left. I grinned as old memories of long hours in the nonprofit’s shabby office flitted through my mind. It was easy to romanticize the late nights and packages of ramen a decade removed, but at least I’d felt like I was doing something meaningful back then.
I reluctantly turned away from the ocean and jogged back to the house I was renting. There were no hotels in Starlight Grove—apparently their mayor had banned any chain businesses within town limits—so the only thing my assistant had found was a short-term rental owned by a woman named Ms.Ito, who had decided to travel in her retirement. The furniture might not be my style and there were a bizarre number of boxes filled with weird-ass socks stacked around the rooms, but it was fine for a short stint and only a block away from Main Street.
The door creaked as I stepped inside. I was pressed for time and needed to make this a quick shower, but once the hot water was pelting my back, I found it hard to get moving. Everything felt so empty these days, like I was just going through the motions of my life. How had I ended up here?
“The recent storm madea mess of the coastline, which is why our housing developer has a plan for high-end luxury homes that balance aesthetics with durability.”
