Page 207 of At First Catch

Bailey watches us, her expression heavy with the weariness of someone trapped in a romance novel that isn’t her own. “I’m leaving.”

Neither Hadley nor I look away from each other.

“Coward,” Hadley mutters.

“Correct.”

Then Bailey ascends the stairs with zero subtlety whatsoever.

Silence settles between us afterward, as if we both sense something fragile beneath this conversation.

I lean one forearm against the counter.

“You busy later?”

The question sounds normal, almost too much so, and the second I say it, I realize Hadley notices.

She notices everything.

Fear curls low in my stomach.

“I can be,” she answers.

My jaw tightens before I can stop it.

I exhale toward the floor.

“Nolan.”

My eyes close briefly.

Without knowing the reason, I’m overwhelmingly aware that she’s going to dislike whatever I’m about to say.

I glance toward the lighthouse windows overlooking the bay before finally speaking. “The investor group wants another meeting Friday.”

“And?”

I force myself to meet her eyes. “They expanded the offer.” Every nerve in my body tightens.

“How?”

I hesitate too long. “They want partial redevelopment rights.”

The entire bookstore feels too quiet afterward. Too small. My pulse pounds unevenly while dread crawls cold beneath my skin.

“Redevelopment,” Hadley repeats carefully.

I drag one hand down my jaw roughly. “Higher-end expansion. Membership access. Resort partnerships.”

Every word tastes worse out loud because I know exactly how this sounds. Not like saving the marina. Like dismantling it with prettier branding.

And suddenly fear shifts. Not fear of losing the marina. Fear of losing the way Hadley looks at me.

“What did you say?” she asks.

My silence answers first.

The moment her face falls, a sharp pang of guilt shoots through me.