Page 88 of Meet Me at Sunset Cove

“…we’ve been looking at potential locations,” one of the execs was saying, but Daisy’s mind was far away. “There’s this adorable little town called Deep Haven that we think would be perfect for?—”

“I’m sorry,” she interrupted, her voice cutting through the executive’s spiel. The room fell silent, all eyes turning to her in surprise.

She took a deep breath, glancing at Robin, who gave her a reassuring nod. “You know what the problem was withDouble Decker?” she asked, turning her attention back to the table. “It was all curb appeal. It was surface level. Fake.”

She looked up at the photoshopped image of her and Logan. “We’d roll up to the house, fresh from our trailers, pretend to do some modicum of work, dust off our gloves, then roll to the next house, reapply the dust, and do it all again. We never looked at those houses as homes, never asked what we could do to leave an impact.”

Daisy looked down, clicking her nails against the table. “I don’t want to do curb appeal anymore. I don’t want to be fake anymore. I’m tired of putting on a persona so that people won’t be disappointed by the real me. And I’m tired, so tired, of working so hard for even an ounce of success.”

God’s grace is sufficient.

Daisy stood. “I appreciate you for meeting with us today. I’m sorry to have wasted your time.”

She didn’t wait for a counterargument. She just walked out.

A moment later, Robin burst through the glass doors, hurrying after her. “That was…” Daisy braced herself for a lecture. “Incredible! Daisy, you’re my hero. I can’t believe you did that…We’re going to have to talk about maybe discussing these kinds of decisions with…oh, I don’t know…youragent,next time. But wow!”

Daisy heard footsteps behind them, then Logan’s voice. “Daisy, wait up!”

She kept walking, but he caught up to her just as she and Robin reached the elevator. He stepped in front of her, blocking their path.

“Come on, Daisy,” he said, his voice fraught with frustration, his brows scrunched tight. “This isn’t you. You’re a winner. A go-getter. You said it yourself, we want the same thing. We both want to win.”

Daisy froze. What did he just say?

“When?” she asked, turning slowly toward him.

“What?” Logan frowned.

“When did I say that?” Daisy snapped, daring him to answer.

Logan’s face fell, confirming her suspicion. She knew it.

Logan and I, we worked because we wanted the same thing. We were both out to win. To be the best…That’s what she’d said that night he’d come to her outside her apartment.

“You recorded me.” Her voice came out barely above a whisper, but it echoed through the sterile hall.

Logan’s eyes darted away, and he shifted, licking his lips. “What?”

The boardroom door opened quietly behind them as a few of the network execs stepped out into the hall.

“That night, outside my apartment, you recorded my conversation.”

“I don’t?—”

“You recorded me. And then you hired someone—because, let’s face it, we both know you can’t do anything yourself—to manipulate footage from my show to make me look bad. To get me canceled. To drive a wedge between me and the man I love…and for what?” Daisy took a bold step forward, chin raised.

“For you,” he snapped. “Everything I did, I did for you.”

“Yeah?” Heat rose in her chest, her voice rising. “How about when youstolethe design that got us our show in the first place? Did you do that for me, Logan?”

He ground his teeth together. “I did that for us.”

“There is no us, Logan. How could there be? You’re already in a committed relationship with yourself.” She glanced over his shoulder toward the crowd of people now gathered behind them. “Logan Double is a thief and a liar, and he’ll do whatever he can to get ahead. If you’re smart, you’ll think twice about doing business with him.”

She stepped into the elevator, Robin at her side. She wasn’t going to lose what she and Hunter had together. Not again. “Change of plans?—”

“Way ahead of you. First flight from Knoxville to Port Joseph, Michigan leaves tomorrow morning.”

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