Page 229 of At First Catch

Nolan exhales shakily. “Trying to fix the worst mistake of my life.”

Just truth. Strangely, I expected anything but.

I wrap my arms tighter around myself, trying to hold together the emotions threatening to split me open entirely.

“Nolan—”

“No.” He shakes his head once. “Please let me say this before I lose my nerve.”

The vulnerability in his voice nearly destroys me. He takes another careful step closer. And then I notice something tucked beneath one arm.

Blueprints.

My breath catches sharply. Not blueprints, but house plans.

Nolan sees the exact second I understand. Emotion flashes openly across his face. Raw enough to ache.

“I turned down the investor deal,” he says in a low voice.

The bookstore fades away around me.

Everything inside me stills completely.

“What?”

“I told them no.” Nolan’s eyes stay locked on mine. “Dean pointed me toward a different kind of lender. I spent two days rebuilding the projections, separating the storm work from the expansion plans, and documenting every early slip renewal and community commitment.”

Nolan exhales.

“They didn’t care about luxury condos. They cared whether the marina could survive the next storm and still belong to Coral Bell Cove ten years from now.”

I blink.

“Dean? My brother-in-law Dean?”

Nolan nods. “He didn’t offer me money.” A faint smile touches his mouth. “He offered me a better question.”

I wait.

“Instead of asking how I could afford to keep the marina...he asked whether I’d looked in the right places.”

My chest tightens.

“And?”

“They’re reviewing everything now.”

He shifts the folder beneath his arm before giving a small, almost self-conscious smile. “I hope you don’t mind...”

My brows pull together. “What?”

“I used your tourism report.”

I blink. “My what?”

“The community impact packet.”

Recognition flashes across my face.