Page 15 of Meet Me at Sunset Cove

Hunter’s pulse quickened. By the end of his thirtieth year. He’d be turning thirty-one in a matter of weeks. There was still time. He flipped to Section II and scanned the conditions.

Trust stipulates that the house must be passed down to the next generation—i.e., himself and his brothers—when they get married, so long as the following conditions are met:

The next generation member must be at least twenty-five years old—at least he had that one in the bag.

They must demonstrate financial stability and the ability to maintain the property—and he could check that one off the list.

Hunter read the final condition and felt all warmth seep out of him.

They must be married or engaged to be married within six months of receiving the deed to the house.

Of course. Married. Because who wouldn’t want to marry into the Bad Luck Barrett Family?

* * *

Daisy leaned against the cherrywood bar at Martha’s, a diner she had learned was not only the local favorite for food, but also for gathering, loitering, and all-around small-town living. A handful of townsfolk occupied several booths along the green-tiled wall opposite the bar, including Augo, who sat with another older gentleman. The two of them made a show of heckling every person who stepped inside the diner. It seemed to be the only rowdy spot on the whole island.

“You boys settle down, or I’ll make you pay your tab.” Vera, the waitress who’d served Daisy not once, but all three times she’d eaten there since yesterday morning, said.

“You don’t scare me!” called Augo with a chuckle.

“She scares me!” That from Augo’s friend, sitting across from him.

Vera’s smile settled easily into the lines of her face. “At least Roger has some sense to him.”

Daisy chuckled to herself at their conversation and took another bite of her meatloaf slider. It was easily the best thing she’d had in months, maybe even years.

With her free hand, she scrolled through the comments on the surprisingly successful livestream. Who knew getting trapped inside that old house would capture the attention of so many people?

@ParkzFam: That house is GORGEOUS! Can’t wait to see what you do with it!

@VintageGirlie: Those original hardwood floors Please tell me you’re keeping them!

@User8978: That sunroom is to die for. I need one just like it!

The overwhelmingly positive response should have lifted her spirits. But she was back where she started. No house. No prospects. No career. Just a failure with an agent. That project should have been exactly what she needed to restart her HGTV career and prove to the network execs that she still had what it took to captivate an audience.

She winced against the sting in her throat as she took in the amount of comments asking about Logan.

@NorthshoreSandi: Where’s Logan? Is it true you two broke up?

@Nami8853: I was rooting for you guys

@bluebird37: Is it true you caught him cheating?

@GabbyGabi: I heard it was the other way around

Apparently, stories were already spinning about their breakup. It was no surprise.

Everything had happened so quickly she hadn’t had time to process the breakup. She’d really thought they were the real thing…She and Logan. Thought that he’d been gearing up to propose.

She should be heartbroken.

She should be burning pictures and slashing tires, or whatever it was you did to cheaters nowadays.

But if she was being completely honest with herself, the only thing she really felt was relief.

What did that say about her?

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