Page 97 of The Edge of Summer
I truly had no idea what I was missing until she walked into my life. I didn’t want to see it, but I do now. This clarity is refreshing, though it also means that I now have something I need to do.
My chair scrapes on the floor as I stand from the table. “Thanks for breakfast,” I say. “I have to go.”
Jodi grins. “I knew you weren’t a total idiot.”
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SEVEN
DELILAH
“Areyou going to tell me what we’re doing?”
Clara grins as she steers my car down Hawberry Lane, away from the pink house and my sanctuary for the past week. It’s safe to say I have been wallowing just a bit, contemplating how ridiculous it would be to pack up and move again.
The answer: absolutely ridiculous. I know that, and I don’t actually mean it. Kip Island has more than grown on me in the past few months. Victoria was stifling—all the unsolicited opinions and unwanted looks. This island feelsright. Not to mention, Clara would kill me if I decided to leave her.
But I severely underestimated how hard it would be seeing Luke everywhere. Though I only have myself to blame—he made it clear from the very beginning that he wasn’t interested in anything more. I’m the one that got overconfident, and it backfired. Big time. Now I have to suck it up and hide behind grocery store displays when he walks by. One dayI’ll be able to watch him walk away without my heart threatening to follow. Maybe.
“What do you think, Soph?” Clara’s eyes flick to the reflection of my sister in the rear view mirror. “Should we tell her?”
Sophia giggles as she shakes her head. “No! It’s asecret!”
When Clara burst through our front door and demanded I exchange my pajamas for the black cocktail dress she had draped over her arm, I flat out refused. But when Sophia skipped into the living room wearing a pink dress and matching Mary Janes, and Parker joined her wearing a button-up instead of a t-shirt, I reluctantly agreed. If only to see what was important enough for Parker to agree to come along.
I look over my shoulder to Parker in the back seat. “You gonna take pity on me?” I ask.
“Not a chance,” he says, forced levity in his voice.
Sophia bounces in her seat as she looks out the window. “You have to close your eyes now, Sissy!” she squeals. I shake my head, but comply. “No peeking!”
“No peeking,” I promise.
The rest of the drive is spent in stilted silence. Eventually, I can feel the vehicle pull to a stop. Doors open and shut, but I remain in my seat as instructed. Clara comes around to the passenger side to help me while Parker wrangles Sophia from her car seat.
“Am I going to hate you for this?” I ask Clara.
She laughs. “You might a little at first, but I’m confident you’ll come around.” She takes hold of my handsand begins leading me. We walk up a short set of stairs, and then we stop. “Alright, go ahead and open your eyes.”
When I do, I find myself standing on the front porch at Haven House. It’s been a while since I’ve stood in this spot. I’m not proud of it, but I’ve been doing my best to avoid the rest of the Bowmans. Although Luke and I were never in an actual relationship, his family knew there was something going on between us. I couldn’t handle the looks they would surely send me.
I turn to Clara in confusion. “What are we doing here? Dressed like this?”
She grins, her eyes twinkling. “Go inside and see.”
When I walk through the door, my heart stutters in my chest. People—so manypeople. And there, in the middle of them all, stands Luke. He looks soul-shatteringly handsome tonight.
Am I breathing? I feel like I’m not breathing.
He takes a step forward and I take a step back. I don’t mean to, but the hurt that flashes across his face kills me all the same. I feel like a deer caught in a hunter’s crosshairs. And I do hate Clara just a little for subjecting me to this torture. I want to hate him, too.God, I want to. But the only crime he has committed is not falling in love with me. I can’t exactly fault him for that.
“Why am I here?” I ask. “What’s going on?”
Luke steps toward me again. This time, I don’t allow myself to falter. I let him eat up the rest of the distance until he is right in front of me.
“We’re all here for you,” he says.
I look around, eyes wide in disbelief. “Why?”
