Marge arrived with our food, the smell of fried fish momentarily distracting me. I picked at a French fry, not really hungry despite having skipped breakfast.
“And then there’s the resort partnership,” I continued once Marge left. “What happens if we break up? Chase has invested so much money and energy in the redesign. Will he walk away from that? Will he stay and make things awkward? Will Eli be caught in the middle?” The questions had been circling my mind like hungry sharks.
“Not to mention,” I added, stabbing a piece of fish, “the whole island will have an opinion. You know how Dove Key is—nothing stays private.”
“All valid points.” Brenna nodded, taking a thoughtful bite of her chicken sandwich. “And underneath all that, what’s really scaring you, Harper?”
The question hit me squarely in the chest. I set down my fork and looked out the window at Main Street with its vivid hanging flower baskets, watching tourists window-shop at Brenna’s currently closed-for-lunch bookstore down the street. When I turned back, I couldn’t meet her eyes.
“I’m terrified of how much I want this.” My voice was barely audible. “How much I want him. It’s like he’s unlocked something I’ve kept buried since Jarod left. And that makes me feel vulnerable. Exposed.”
Brenna was quiet for a moment, sipping her tea. The distant clatter of dishes from the kitchen filled the silence.
“You have every right to be scared, Harper.” Her voice was steady, anchoring. “You’ve got a hell of a lot on your plate, more than most people realize.”
My eyes stung with unexpected tears. Validation was sometimes all you needed to feel a little less overwhelmed.
“But I’ve watched you with Finn all these years,” she continued. “The way you’ve put his needs first, how you’ve balanced being both mother and father, how you’ve kept the resort running even when it was held together with duct tape and sheer force of will. You’re the strongest person I know.”
I snorted softly. “I don’t feel very strong right now.”
“That’s because love isn’t about strength. It’s about vulnerability.” Brenna’s eyes grew distant, and I knew she was thinking about Hunter. “Remember how everyone reacted when Hunter and I got together? All our brothers threatened bodily harm. The entire island had opinions about a Coleridge and a Markham crossing battle lines. And especially about Hunter himself.”
I smiled despite myself. The Coleridge-Markham feud had been legendary in Dove Key, until Hunter and Brenna had shocked everyone by falling in love and ending it forever.
“Mom eventually came around with Hunter, didn’t she?” Brenna continued. “Sometimes you have to trust that love, real love, is worth the risk and the fight.”
I pushed a fry through a pool of ketchup, considering her words. “But Hunter didn’t have a child to consider. He didn’t have your family’s livelihood tied up in his business decisions.”
“No,” Brenna acknowledged. “But he had his own demons. His own fears. And we faced them together.” She leaned forward, her expression earnest. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you, Harper. Have you actually talked to Chase about any of this?”
I shook my head, embarrassed. “Not really. We’ve been so caught up in… everything. And Chase has always been quiet. He doesn’t really talk about what’s going on in that head of his.”
“In other words, he’s a man.” Brenna pushed her plate aside. “Look, I can’t tell you what to do. But I can tell you that bottling up these fears isn’t going to make them go away. Chase deserves to know what you’re worried about, especially regarding Finn.”
I nodded slowly, knowing she was right. The noise of the diner seemed to recede as I considered her advice.
“And, Harper?” Brenna’s voice softened. “For what it’s worth, I’ve seen the way Chase looks at you. Like you’re the sun and he’s just grateful to be in your orbit. He’s looked at you like that for a while now. Longer than the renovation.”
A flutter of something—hope, maybe—stirred in mychest. “But what if it’s not enough? What if I’m not enough?”
“That’s the risk we all take.” She shrugged, her simple honesty cutting through my tangled thoughts. “But maybe Chase, with his steadiness and quiet strength, is exactly what you need right now. A balance to all the chaos.”
I thought about those thoughtful hazel eyes, the way his hand always found the small of my back in a crowd, how he listened like every word I said mattered. The way he’d built a relationship with Finn based on respect and genuine interest, not obligation or strategy.
The bustling diner continued around us, but for a moment, everything felt clearer. The fears were still there, lurking beneath the surface, but they seemed less overwhelming than they had an hour ago.
“Talk to him,” Brenna urged gently. “Not about complications with the resort or Eli, but about what you think. What you fear. What you hope for. Then take it one step at a time.”
I nodded, feeling steadier now. “One step at a time. Maybe I just need to get used to being part of a couple. Actually, Eli invited us to go diving on Saturday. Just the four of us—Chase, me, him, and Jules.”
Brenna’s eyes lit up. “Perfect! Away from work, away from everything. A chance to just be together.”
“I could see how it goes, then talk to Chase alone afterward,” I muttered, picking at a piece of fish.
“Don’t rush things, but don’t be afraid to talk to him, either,” Brenna said.
Marge brought the check, and I insisted on paying despite Brenna’s protests. As we slid out of the booth, the vinyl squeaking beneath us, I felt both lighter and heavier—lighter for having shared my burden, heavier with the knowledge of what I needed to do.
Outside the diner, the Florida sun beat down, immediately wrapping us in its humid embrace. Brenna hugged me tightly.
“Harper?” she called as I turned to leave. “You deserve to be happy. Remember that.”
I smiled, raising a hand in acknowledgment as I walked toward my car. The path ahead with Chase was still fraught with challenges—family opinions, business complications, the ever-present fear of having my heart broken again. But perhaps it wasn’t entirely impossible.
After all, a Coleridge and a Markham had found their way to each other against all odds. Maybe Chase and I could too.
One conversation at a time.
