It’s flattering, the way he follows my every word, and the way his eyes follow my every move. A part of me is pleased that he seems to like me, not Annie. But the rest of me is still frantically trying to save the park I love. And the fact that we are wildly attracted to each other—that doesn’t help at all. It only muddies the waters.
I’ve gone my entire life without meeting someone I thought I could fall in love with—and now he’s here, following me with a bemused smile, his light brown hair flashing gold in the sunlight. Edward is so very likeable.
I wish I’d never met him.
“Almost there,” I say once we return to the gentle shade of the woods. A carpet of dark green clover grows across the forest floor, interspersed with mossy logs, lichened rocks, and the chartreuse green starts of baby redwoods. I pause at the base ofan enormous tree that Annie named the “Tower” and begin to climb the wooden steps my father nailed to the trunk years ago, back when my biggest disappointment was that The Boy hadn’t returned that summer.
“Are you going to join me?” I call down to him.
To his credit, Edward is a fast climber and quickly catches up to me. When I reach the trapdoor to our tree fort, I holler back, “Are you afraid of heights?”
“Not really.”
“Good!”
I pull myself up onto the large wooden platform approximately the size of a king bed. My stomach does a little flip when Edward climbs out of the trap door. It feels like an important moment, bringing him here to my favorite place in the world. In the wind, the platform sways ever so slightly. He puts a hand on the trunk of the tree to steady himself as he looks out at the steep slope below and the shimmering ocean beyond. The water reflecting the midday sun is nearly too bright to look at.
“What do you think?” I ask, feeling a little nervous. I want him to like it.
“This is... I don’t have words. I can see why this is your favorite place. We must be, what, thirty feet off the ground?”
“Good guess. It’s twenty-six. Which is even more crazy when you consider that when my dad first built it, there was no railing. And Annie played up here with me all the time. But we weren’t allowed to let the camp kids come up here. That’s when I learned the word ‘liability.’”
“This certainly is one big lawsuit waiting to happen. I suppose that’s why you never brought me here before.”
“No. We built it the summer after you.” I rest my elbows on the sturdy railing made of scrap two-by-fours. “I planned on bringing you here if you ever came back.”
“It only took twenty years,” he says as he walks up next me, mirroring my stance, his elbows also on the railing. We stand very close, but we’re not touching. The narrow strip of air between our two bodies is charged with possibility.
“Sounds like you had a very fun dad.”
“Yeah,” I chuckle softly. “He was just like my mom and sister. Such a romantic. He was mediocre at most things—except making us all feel loved. He was exceptional at that. He wanted to be an actor, you know, but it didn’t work out. I mean, he was in a few commercials and an extra in a soap opera. But he never got his big break. Then he met my mom. They were married six weeks after they met. Can you imagine?”
I turn to look at Edward, and my arm brushes his, sending a jolt through my whole body. I quickly look away.
“They sound downright levelheaded compared to my grandpa. He married one of his wives after knowing her ten days.” He shakes his head with a bittersweet smile. “He couldn’t even make it two weeks.”
“That was my grandma Nora. I come from a long line of hopeless romantics who burn bright before they burn out.”
“And you?” He turns toward me, catching my eye.
“Me?”
“Are you also a hopeless romantic?”
“No, of course not.” I laugh a little too quickly. “If that were the case, I would have agreed to that first date with you.”
“I wish you had.”
The sincerity in his voice catches me off guard. For a moment, I wish I had too. But I can’t risk being that honest. I take a deep breath, gather my thoughts and cheerfully continue to lie to him.
“Then you haven’t really thought it through.” I edge away. We’ve been standing entirely too close. “Let’s say we had started dating last fall, and when your grandpa died, we were a couple.”
Edward nods along with a cryptic smile.
“Your mom would still want to sell the park, and you’d have an impossible decision: support your mom or support your girlfriend. Whatever you chose, one of us would be hurt, and you’d be stuck in the middle.” I take a breath. “Now, as things are, you don’t owe me anything. No need to worry about my feelings. It’s better this way.”
“Hmm... doesn’t feel like it.” He watches a cargo ship slowly moving along the horizon. “What do you guys call this place?” he asks, his eyes still fixed on the sea. “You must have named it.”
