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Hazel wasn’t sure what would happen with Sam. She wasn’t sure how their story would unfold. Her heart broke at the thought of it ending, and she wished, with everything she had, that it was going to work out for them.

But if it didn’t, she knew she would be okay. And instead of fighting against the tides, she figured this time around she’d lean into it. She’d let the tide take her where she needed to go.

Hazel had made a choice for herself, and it was time to start living it, no matter what happened.

Someone pounded on the front door, disturbing the cooking show Hazel had been watching.

She couldn’t help but feel her heart skip a beat at the thought of it being Sam. She still hadn’t heard from him.

The pounding continued, so she quickened her pace. Swinging the door open, she was pleased to see him on the other side. His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open as he stared at her.

“Hazel?” he whispered, entranced, gazing down at her like she was a ghost. Before she could say anything, he gave a sigh of relief and bundled her into his arms. She melted into him instantly.

“I thought you’d left,” he choked out, pulling away to look into her eyes.

He looked forlorn. With dark circles and hollow cheeks, Hazel suddenly felt worried.

“Only for a few days,” Hazel said softly as she knitted her brows together. “Are you okay?”

“I am now.” He smiled, his eyes crinkled as he cupped her cheek with his hand. “But no, I haven’t been okay. I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I left you. That was not the right move.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “How was Melbourne?” he asked quietly.

“Melbourne?” Hazel’s face contorted in confusion.

“For the job?”

“I didn’t take the job. Bells is my home.”

“You didn’t?”

“Let’s sit,” Hazel said. She grabbed his hand and led him over to the wicker love seat on the verandah. Sam sat first, and he gently guided Hazel onto his lap, holding onto her like he was never going to let her go.

“Why did you think I’d gone to Melbourne?” she quizzed.

“I came back and went to get you some flowers.” Sam traced his finger in a circle on the inside of her wrist, his touch featherlight. “I heard you’d left. Then I came here, and Molly wouldn’t give me the details of where you were staying in Melbourne.” It finally made sense, the puzzled look on Molly’s face. “If you weren’t in Melbourne, where did you go?”

“Josie took me to a health retreat for a few days. I couldn’t reach you,” Hazel trailed off, heartbreak obvious in her soft tone.

Sam felt his chest constrict. He’d done that to her. He’d broken her heart. “I’m so sorry, Hazel. It was so stupid of me to leave. Hurtful, actually. It’s cut me up, the way I’ve handled it all, how much I’ve hurt you.”

Hazel gave him a small smile. “It wasn’t your finest move, and yes, it did hurt. But then I got angry. You used past tense.” Her voice was stern. She narrowed her eyes. She was forgiving, but she wouldn’t be letting this slide.

“Past tense?”

“Before you left, you said you had loved me, you had planned a future with me, you had wanted to marry me.”

Sam pressed his fingers against his brow bone. “I was hurt. I didn’t mean any of it. Well, I did, do mean it,” Sam corrected himself, “just not in past tense. I love you, and I do want a future with you.” Sam looked at her, his eyes sad. “If you’ll still have me,” he added in a small voice.

“I always want you.” Hazel pressed her lips to his and kissed him slowly. Tenderly. Their foreheads pressed together. They grinned at each other.

“Now, let me explain the job offer,” Hazel said matter-of-factly. “I applied for it just after I arrived back here, and I only applied for it because working at Cloud in the marketing department is the dream job in my industry. A job opportunity in that team is like, rarer than finding a nugget of gold buried in your backyard.”

Sam raised his eyebrows at her analogy.

“I had a phone interview a week or so later, and I thought I’d totally bombed it. I forgot about it. I started Rosie Wilder, I was reconnecting with Serena, getting close to Josie, settling here, falling in love with you,” Hazel said wistfully. “When I got the call for the job offer, I was honestly shocked. It was the last thing I expected. I’d finally made a decision, and I was happy with it. But then that happened, the dream job. I wanted a little bit of time to think about it, even if I knew deep down I didn’t want it. But I couldn’t admit that to myself straight away.”

“And then I jumped to conclusions and immediately assumed the worst of you.” Sam hung his head in shame.

“It’s self protection. I used to do it all the time.”