Page 103 of Unexpected Entanglement

“Chris is—” Rowan started correcting them.

“Of course, that’s what Caroline focusing on.” Sam laughed.

“It doesn’t hurt he’s easy on the eyes,” Meredith pointed out.

“Hey, you’re supposed to only have eyes for me,” Sam objected, half joking.

Meredith leaned into her fiancé. “I do, darling. But I’m not blind.”

Then she turned back to Rowan. “My point is having him must free up your time, so you won’t have to be stuck on this island all year long. Now you can come home.”

“This is my home now,” Rowan said, giving Meredith a confused look.

“Come on, Ro,” Meredith said. “This place is beautiful, but you shouldn’t be isolating yourself. What about your career? What about living your life? I know you moved here to finish what you and your dad started, but is living here full time the right thing for you?”

“I am living my life,” Rowan protested.

“Are you?” Meredith pushed. “You had a life back in Freeport with a good job and a good man.”

“Did Richard put you up to this?” Rowan eyed Meredith and Sam who knew her ex from family events and the occasional double dates and dinner parties.

“No!” Meredith said, but then sheepishly exchanged glances with Sam.

“What is it?” Rowan demanded. “You’re hiding something.”

Sam twisted his lips while Meredith looked at Rowan guiltily.

“We invited Richard to the wedding,” Sam confessed.

“What?” Rowan stared at him, then Meredith. “And you’re just telling me this now? I didn’t see his name on the reservation.”

“He’ll most likely stay at the hotel in town,” Meredith answered.

Rowan clamped her mouth tightly, not trusting herself to be charitable in her response. She looked at her cousin and her fiancé and saw the hope in their eyes—especially Meredith’s.

“If you had any delusion I’d get back together with Richard, forget it,” Rowan said. “That’s not gonna happen.”

“But why? You two were so perfect together.”

Rowan’s brow furrowed at Meredith’s claim. “Perfect? No. Is Richard a good man? Maybe. Do I want to be with him for the rest of my life like you and Sam obviously do with each other? No.”

“Why not? You were together for five years. That’s half a decade already. Why did you throw all that away?” Meredith asked.

“Because I can’t see myself married to him,” Rowan said.

“You just realized that after five years?” Meredith questioned.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Mer,” Rowan said as they started up the steps to the main house, not wanting to explain herself. “I mean, Sam, how did you know you wanted to spend the rest of your life with Meredith?”

Sam smiled at Meredith. “I just knew.”

“See.” Rowan gestured with her open hands at the couple. “And you’d only been together for a year when you got engaged. When you know, you know. I have doubted my relationship with Richard for a while. I wasn’t my best self when I was with him. I want more.”

Meredith studied Rowan with concerned eyes. “And how are you getting more here?”

“I’m doing what I need for myself, Mer,” Rowan assured her. “And I’m not alone out here. I have Kieran, Alex…”

“Kieran is a hermit in his own right. And Alex will go back to Portland. What then?” Meredith asked.

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