God, she wished Everett were here. Not for a dramatic goodbye or apologies or tears. Just to hold him one more time, to press her mouthto his and breathe his breath and lay her head against his chest. Her entire body throbbed with a deep ache of want.
But he wasn’t here.
It was the shirt that caught her eye first.
That ridiculous yellow tee with the cartoon chicken doing a hula—the one she’d bought him at the Dole Plantation. The one he’d shaken his head about with the straight-faced confidence of a man who understood wearing it would be committing a fashion crime. It bobbed between the movement of bodies on the sand, the late sun catching its faded print as the crowd parted for a moment.
Her heart stopped. Stuttered.
Then he stepped fully into view.
Everett Hale, wearing the T-shirt with worn khaki shorts, like he’d raided the dad section of a gift shop, walking across the sand with purpose, his gaze locked on her as if she were the only fixed point on his map—his true north.
The rest of the world fell away. The chatter, the aunties laughing, Howie cracking open a coconut with a machete that made everyone yell at him—it all dimmed.
Lea muttered, “Well, damn,” under her breath. But Rowan couldn’t look away.
He didn’t rush. Everett never rushed. But there was something different in the way he moved now. Not hesitant, not conflicted, not carrying the stiff weight of a life he felt obligated to drag with him. He walked like a man who’d put something down.
And he was coming to her.
He reached the edge of the blanket where she stood. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. His gaze took her in, those dark eyes filled with a calm determination and naked love he wasn’t afraid to show.
“Hi,” he said quietly.
Rowan swallowed. “Hi.” She hesitated. “You came.”
Everett glanced around at the potluck. Kids shrieked in the water, aunties waved, Tino smirked like he knew everything, Lea watched them with her arms folded and her eyebrows sharp. Everett’s mouth twitched like he couldn’t quite contain the insanity of what he was about to say. “Can we walk?” he asked.
She was shaky and hoped her legs would hold. She nodded and he fell in beside her, hands in his pockets, moving down toward the wet line of shore. The water lapped at their feet in gentle, steady strokes.
“You’re wearing the shirt.”
A smile tugged at his lips. Her fingers ached to trace it, lean in and pretend they could live in this moment forever. “Decided it would be a shame to ignore a fashion trend.”
Her laugh came out choked. They walked a bit more in stretched silence, but it wasn’t tense or cold. It felt more like something waiting.
“Rowan, I need you to hear this before I mess it up with too many words.” His voice came out low and steady. “Wolfe called me today and officially offered me the promotion.”
A dizzying array of emotions hit. She tried to process the pride and heartache twisting inside. “I’m so proud of you, Everett. Congratulations, you deserve this.”
“I’m staying.”
Her breath caught so sharply it almost hurt. “What?”
“I’m staying,” he repeated, slowing until they stopped completely. He turned to face her. “Not for a vacation. Not for a season. Not until things settle. I’m staying.” His throat bobbed. “For good.”
Her chest tightened. “Everett ... you don’t mean that.”
“I do.” He dragged a hand through his hair, exhaling hard. “I was an asshole, sweetheart. I pushed you to make a decision that benefited me, then got pissed when you said no. You deserve better than that.”
Her eyes stung. The admission soothed the sting of his behavior.
“I spent the morning going over every part of the life I built—the one I thought was the only acceptable version. The job, the promotion,the money, the school for Kelsey. The whole damn skyscraper of it. And I realized something I should’ve seen a long time ago.”
Her heart thudded painfully, but she didn’t speak.
He stepped closer. “I wasn’t happy,” he said simply. “Not for years. I was functioning. Performing. Winning at rules I never chose.” He gave a soft, incredulous laugh. “And then I came here. And suddenly there were things I didn’t have to fix or control or earn. I could just be me, and you loved me anyway. I’ve never felt that before.”
