“You’re right about this having to do with the meeting. I was so…proudof how Mom jumped into the unknown and agreed to Chase’s partnership. And I thought, I hoped, maybe it meant she was coming around, you know? About us.”
My breath caught. I’d been trying so hard not to love him, but hearing him sayussent a thrill through me.
“What happened?” I asked softly, afraid of the answer.
Eli’s shoulders sagged. “I talked to her after the meeting. She’s still… she doesn’t want us together, Jules.”
The hope that had begun to bloom in my chest withered. “Oh.”
“But I don’t care,” Eli said fiercely, crossing the room to me in three quick strides. He took my hands in his, his touch sending sparks up my arms. “That was the realization. I love you. I’m not letting anyone come between us, not even my mother.”
My heart stopped, then started racing double time. “Eli, I?—”
“I’ve found a solution,” he continued, his eyes boring into mine. “We can be together.”
The words I’d been holding back for so long came rushing out. “I love you too, Eli. God, I’ve been trying so hard not to, but I can’t help it.”
His face lit up with transcendent joy, and for a moment, everything else faded away.
“What’s your solution?” I asked. “How can we possibly make this work?”
Eli’s eyes were filled with determination, but there was a flicker of something else—uncertainty, maybe even fear. “Simple. I’m leaving Sunset Siesta. I’ve already reached out to other dive operations, including Calypso Key.”
I jerked my hands back as if I’d been scalded, my heart hammering against my chest. My skin broke out in goose bumps, and needing to be in motion, I started pacing. “What? This is too much. Too drastic.”
“No, it’s not.” His voice followed me as I moved. “You need to stay where you are, Jules. The resort needs your skills, especially now. But me? I’m just the guy who takes people diving.”
I whirled to face him, frustration rushing out. “Don’t you dare downplay your importance! The dive shop is integral to Sunset Siesta’s identity. And it’s your home, Eli. It’s who you are. I never asked you to give that up for me.”
A wry smile played at the corners of his mouth. “Home is where the heart is, right? And my heart’s with you.”
“Eli, Sunset Siesta is your home, your family’s legacy. You can’t walk away from that!”
Eli nodded. “But things change, don’t they? Look at Brenna—she’s made her own path with the bookshop. And Ben wants to be a paramedic, if he’d only admit it.”
I shook my head, struggling to process his words. “That’s different. This is… it’s too much.”
He rose and stepped closer, his eyes pleading. “Is it? If it means we can be together?”
My thoughts whirled, a massive knot I couldn’t begin to untangle. How could I let him give up everything for me? But how could I bear to lose him again? I stared at Eli, really looked at him. The determination in those indigo eyes, the set of his jaw—it hit me like a tidal wave. This wasn’t some impulsive, beach-bum decision. He’d thought this through, weighed the consequences.
For me. For us.
“Eli,” I murmured, my voice cracking. “You can’t just throw everything away. Not for me.”
He cupped my face, his calloused hands surprisingly gentle. “Don’t you get it? You’re not just some number in my, uh, ledger. You’re the whole damn balance sheet.”
I couldn’t help but smile, even as tears pricked at my eyes. “Did you just use an accounting metaphor?”
“See? You’re rubbing off on me.” He grinned, but it faded quickly. “I mean it, though. I love you. And if leaving Sunset Siesta is what it takes?—”
“No,” I cut him off, placing my hand over his. “God, Eli, I love you too. So much. But that’s exactly why I can’t let you do this.”
His brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
I took a deep breath, steeling myself as I took a step back. I fought back the tide of emotion swelling within me. I had no choice, even though my heart was rending itself half inside my chest. “If you give everything up, even for me, you’ll resent it. Resent me. And I couldn’t bear that.”
“Jules, I would never?—”
