“Oh, honey.” Holly’s expression was pained. “I saw it too. The way he looked at you during the toasts, the dancing… that wasn’t an act. I’m so sorry.”
Her thumb made slow circles on my foot. The touch was an anchor in my storm. I pressed the heel of my hand to my eye, trying to stop the flood. “He called it a vacation fling. Said people come here to forget, not to find themselves.” I tried to laugh, but it came out as a shudder. “He made it sound like I was the only idiot who didn’t get the memo.”
The ache in my chest just got sharper, a splinter working its way deeper every time I drew breath. “I’m done, Hols. I’m done letting my happiness depend on a man who runs the second things get complicated.”
Holly’s eyes were red-rimmed now too. “You don’t have to decide anything right now. You’re allowed to hurt first.”
I nodded, but the resolve in me was already hardening, like a scar forming over fresh skin.
“What about staying here to teach?”
I’d told her about Eli’s suggestion, but not about Doris’s offer. Now that seemed more like a blessing. “I need to leave. I can’t stay here, not with everyone watching and waiting for me to fall apart.”
She reached for my hand. “You’re not falling apart. You’re making a decision.”
“I’m making the only one I know how to. I’m going back to Atlanta.”
After squeezing my fingers, she placed some toiletries in a zip-close bag. “When do you fly out again?”
“Tomorrow afternoon. I’ll Uber to the airport.”
“Not happening. I’ll take you. And I’m bringing donuts.”
A strangled laugh escaped me. Holly grinned, the same lopsided smile she’d worn since we were kids. She piled the bag into my suitcase. “Anything else you want to pack?”
“Just my dignity. Assuming I can find it.”
She shook her head. “You never lost it. That’s the problem with you, B. You’re too good at holding it together. It makes people like Dean think you don’t need them.”
I wanted to argue, but it was too close to the truth. “I really thought he was different. I thought he saw me.”
Holly’s smile was gentle but fierce. “He did, and it scared the hell out of him. That’s not your fault.”
I wiped my nose on my T-shirt sleeve. “So what now?”
She zipped the bag with authority. “Now we get coffee—Irish coffee!—and go to the beach. Say mean things about men until you feelbetter.”
The thought of sunshine and caffeine was almost enough to make the world seem survivable, but I couldn’t do that to her. “That’s a wonderful idea for me. You have a wonderful new husband waiting for you, and I’m sure you didn’t come here to hear my mega pity party.”
“You’ve heard mine often enough. We’ve been through a lot together.”
I hugged her tightly. “We sure have. But now you have a new shoulder to lean on. Go. I’ll be fine. Really.”
“Love you, B.”
“Right back at you, Hols.”
I got to Tidal Hops right after it opened for lunch service. It was too hot for Irish coffee, so Braden Coleridge made me an iced one without blinking an eye. I only wallowed on the beach for a short while before I pulled myself out of it. I owed Doris a goodbye. If I was going to leave Dove Key, I wanted to at least say goodbye to the only place that had ever felt like mine.
After a thorough shower to wash Dean completely out of my life, I strolled down Main Street. The flower baskets swayed in the gentle breeze, filling the air with their perfume. The humidity clung to my skin, a reminder of the weight I’d carried here and the heavier load I’d be hauling home.
The Corner Scoop sat at the corner of Main and Harbor, painted the color of lavender and old driftwood. The bell over the door chimed, and the blast of frigid AC hit me like a small miracle. Inside, the shop was empty except for a father bribing his toddler with sprinkles, and Doris behind the counter.
She caught sight of me, and her face broke into a smile that could stop traffic. “Well, if it isn’t the return of the prodigalscooper!”
I tried to smile, but my face barely cooperated. “Hi, Doris. Didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.”
She enveloped me in a hug that threatened to suffocate me. It felt wonderful. “You always were a considerate one.” When she let go, she kept a grip on my shoulders, giving me the once-over. Her eyes searched my face, picking up on every fracture line. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
