I let myself fall asleep in his arms and allowed myself to dream. A mix of daydream and nightdream, a vision of a future with Gabriel. A future as his girlfriend, and I met his mother, and we bought a Christmas tree together. I didn’t allow my crazy brain more than a holiday season, but god, I loved how my senseless dreams warmed me from within.
I allowed myself to dream for hours, as we clung to each other. He would wake with need, almost as if his body were aware and wanted its own goodbye. It was a night of little sleep, and distorted, soothing, dreams.
As the morning sun rose, I gathered my strength. I left him, sleeping in my bed. He had New York City awaiting him. And I had realistic dreams.
“Where are you?”
“Lord, woman…I’m almost there. I can see you.” I thrust my hand in the air from the boardwalk, so she could see me through the swaying grass over the dunes.
She eyed me speculatively as I approached. My lack of sleep showed. My sex-tousled hair had been pulled up in a mad bun, and the frizz wouldn’t lay down. Some of my flattened curls stuck out in straight lines. I’d stared at myself for a good sixty seconds, redid the bun with zero improvement, and hustled down to bow to my morning god—also known as my coffee maker.
“Late night?” she asked.
“Why do you ask?”
“Your t-shirt is inside out.” She grinned. “And you’re normally more put together. Only person I know who applies mascara and an eyebrow pencil to go for a walk.”
“Oh, shit. I totally forgot about my face. Here, hand over your sunglasses.”
“What?”
“Snap, snap. I look like a ghost without my eyes. Damn light blonde eyebrows. How could I forget my eyes?”
She passed over her shades but pulled her hand back when I went to take them. “Too much to drink last night?” she asked, but the suspicion in her expression told me she was doing the math in her head, and it didn’t add up.
“Gabe came over,” I admitted. It wasn’t like I wasn’t going to tell her everything, anyway.
“Ah. How’s that going?”
“It’s not.” Her steps slowed. I stared straight ahead and plowed onward, maintaining our pace. “He’s leaving this afternoon to move back to New York.”
“Are you okay?”
My cheeks heated as a memory of last night surfaced. His body over mine, the feel of him inside me, the fullness. His repeated “love you, love you, love you” as he lost all reason. If I closed my eyes, I could still feel his strength and heat, the muscles flexing in his firm ass—
“Poppy?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It was always going to be a temporary thing. I’m not meant for a big city. His legal team has advised him they need him back in New York. I’d bet he’s at a new firm before month’s end.”
“How was Hilton Head?”
I smiled at her, enormously grateful for the change in subject. “So good. Suzette rocks. She took me all around. We got some good ideas for what we want to do in our place here. Some good design ideas, too. You should have seen Suzette in action. She’d speak to the chef, and within minutes we’d be getting a guided tour of a kitchen and discussing restaurant layout and what was working and not working. Since we aren’t confined by existing parameters, I love that she pushed for us to do this research.”
“Are you breaking ground soon?”
“Technically, we’ve already broken ground. The lot’s been cleared. But our little celebration is happening next week.”
“How long do you think before you open?”
“Baird says six months, but I’d think nine is more realistic.”
“Probably smart. One thing I know from years of listening to my dad, construction projects rarely go on schedule. And there’s permitting, too. So, what are you going to do in the meantime?”
“Bartend at Jules. And…just because they’re building doesn’t mean I won’t have a ton to do for launch. If this goes well, we plan to open in other locations, so I need to pay close attention and learn as we go.”
“I’m so proud of you. You had a dream, and you’ve pursued it and made it happen. That’s pretty kick-ass.”
I let her words sink in. I’d always seen Luna as so successful because she was in grad school. My lack of college degree had always felt like a big hole, like I’d screwed up or failed in life. But I hadn’t. I’d simply followed a different path. A path that allowed me to create one business, sell it, and move on to another business.
Thanks to her sunglasses, Luna remained unaware my eyes got all glassy as a waterspout of emotion erupted. “So, the goal is three miles today, right? You got your magic watch set?”
She smiled. “Yeah, it’s tracking us. Did I tell you that Tate’s become friends with the head of police? Or I think they call it Public Safety here. He’s single. His name is Logan. Nice guy.”
I didn’t say a word. Just plugged forward, pumping my arms.
“Too soon?” she asked. I knew without a doubt if I slowed down she’d try and hug me or something. Didn’t want that, but I also didn’t want her worrying about me.
So, I forced a smile, and said, “Just a smidge.”
Later that day, I drove over to pick up Gabe and drive him to the dock. He planned to leave his boat in its slip at the marina on the island, and to take the ferry back to the mainland. As I turned the corner into his drive, he sat on the steps, forearms propped on his thighs, waiting. Freshly showered, he showed no sign he lacked sleep. Rather, an underlying energy buzzed—the energy of someone moving on to something new. Without a smile and barely a nod in greeting, he placed one suitcase, a
