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Oh God! Hewasleaving. He was going back to Seattle, and she might never see him again. Was he even going to say goodbye? Her heart plummeted to the ground.
She couldn’t let him go without saying everything that she’d been holding in for the last three years. If there was any time to find her courage, it was now.
She ran off the porch and straight to Nolan. His body jolted in shock as she came to a stumbling halt in front of him.
He grabbed her elbow and steadied her. “Isla, are you okay?” His eyebrows pinched together above the bridge of his nose. Concern etched in his features and she found comfort in his reaction.
“Don’t go!”
“Huh?”
“Don’t go back to Seattle. You belong here in Morgan’s Bay with your friends and with… me.”
He rubbed at his chin and shook his head. “I’m not going back to Seattle. At least not permanently.”
She blinked up, meeting the memorizing blue of his eyes. “What? But I thought… You have a duffel bag, and I heard you…”
“Morgan’s Bay is my home. For three years, a part of me has been missing, and now that I’m back I realized it’s because I wasn’t where I belonged. I belong here… with my friends and with you.”
She pushed back the tears of joy that were fighting their way to the forefront. “So, you’re not leaving?”
“Only for the weekend. I told George I’d fly out, help him get a few things figured out and map out a plan going forward. Took me forever to find a flight with all the cancellations. Anyway, he’s going to take me on as a consultant, so I can work from here, and I’ll only have to be in Seattle for any big meetings.”
Her heart practically jumped with glee. “You’re staying then. You’re really staying.” He wasn’t leaving her after all. He was staying because of her.
He nodded, and a sweet smile curved his lips. “I was going to talk to you on Monday after I figured this all out.”
Isla didn’t need any more time. They’d wasted enough time between them. She flung her arms around his neck and crashed her lips to his. She kissed him with everything she had left, giving it all to him—a silent promise that she’d always give him her all.
She pulled back, and he rested his forehead against hers, his hands securely wrapped around her. It felt so right, being in his arms.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “For everything. For the radio show, for not trusting you, for thinking you had someone else in Seattle.”
“I’m not going to lie, it hurt.”
She met his eyes, needing him to see how truly sorry she was. “I wish I could take it all back. Because I would. My biggest regret is calling that stupid radio station. If I would have just talked to you.”
He ran his finger along her jaw and stopped under her chin, tilting her head up. “We both made mistakes. I could’ve made more time for you. I should have made more time for you. Instead, I was so focused on my career and making money that I let you doubt us.”
“You were just trying to do the right thing. I get that now.”
“I need you to believe me when I tell you that there is no one else for me, Isla. It’s you, it’s always been you, and it will always be you.”
“I feel the same way. I mean with you. There’s never been anyone else. I love you, always have, and always will.”
Nolan closed his eyes and inhaled. “I missed hearing that. I love you, too.” He bent his head and captured her lips in a sweeping kiss, sealing his declaration, forging their past with their present, and making Isla believe in fairytales once again.
Epilogue
After a week of no power, and the Fourth of July Parade being put on hold, Main Street finally had power restored. Several houses had suffered water damage from the storm, and a few others had structural damage from downed trees, but everyone came out unscathed, including Isla.
She made it through her first hurricane as a homeowner, and while she did panic and run to Nolan, she finally realized that it was okay to not always have it all together. She could still be an independent woman even if she couldn’t always do everything on her own. There was nothing wrong with asking for help. It didn’t make her less of a person, it made her human.
She walked into the shop prepared to spend a majority of her day on the phone, rescheduling orders and reassuring brides that she’ll have their arrangements done in time for the weekend. Mom and Dad were already in the store, and she gave them a smile and a wave, chatted for a bit, then headed to her workstation to get the day started.
It hadn’t even been ten minutes, before Raelyn flew into the room, hair thrown in a ponytail and her shirt wrinkled.
“Rae, are you okay?” Isla asked, taking in her friend’s appearance.
