Page 52 of Sweet Love at Bayside
“Ya think?” Violet scoffed. “You could stay with me.”
“Stay? I can’t stay. I have a job—”
“Run the inn with me. Get a job here and teach in the off season.”
“Vi, it’s not our inn to run.” As she said it, she couldn’t deny that she’d had a fantasy or two about doing just that. But her fantasy included Rick staying, too, not returning to DC. “Wait. Why aren’t you going stir crazy? I thought you had a hard time staying put, like Lizza.”
Violet leaned forward, elbows on knees, eyes trained on the floor. “I did, but only because I never felt like I belonged anywhere.”
Desiree sank down beside her. “That’s how I felt around you and Lizza when you’d visit when we were little.”
“She loves you, you know. She talked about you all the time. About how much you’d like this or that.”
“Right. You don’t have to try to make me feel better, Vi. I accepted a long time ago that she left and never looked back.” Desiree pushed to her feet, her heart racing.
“She left, but she looked back, Des. You got more headspace than I did.”
“I don’t understand how that can be, given how little attention she’s paid me over the years.”
“Don’t yougether yet?” Violet sprang to her feet, her voice escalating. “She doesn’t think we need her time or attention to know she loves us.Cosmos?The universe? We’re supposed to soak it all in.”
“Yeah? Well, I guess this sponge never got the memo, because I’ve felt a big black hole inside me for a long time. If not for my father and Emery, I would have gone bonkers. She hasalwaysbeen my Achilles’ heel.”
Violet held her steady gaze. “And you’ve always been mine.”
Desiree’s jaw dropped open, stunned by Violet’s confession. “Me?”
“Don’t make a big thing out of it.” Violet stalked into the kitchen. “This summer has been the only time I’ve felt like I belonged somewhere. You have the biggest fricking heart of anyone I’ve ever known. And even though you have that look on your face like”—her voice rose an octave—“do you have to be crude?” In her regular voice, she said, “For some strange reason, you love me anyway, and you’re good to me. And you accept me even with my faults, and it’s fricking fabulous.”
Tears welled in Desiree’s eyes. “Youarefricking fabulous.” She pulled Violet into a hug, ignoring how Violet’s arms hung stiffly by her sides.
“Are you done yet?” Vi said flatly.
Desiree shook her head. “Not even close.” She guided Violet’s arms around her waist and refused to let go. “I’ll take you on my date with me if you don’t hug me back.”
With a sigh, Violet relented. “You’re so annoying.”
“So are you.”
“You said my careful F-word.”
“Hey, Vi?” Des sniffled through happy tears.
“Yeah?”
“Shut the frick up and hug me.”
Chapter Fifteen
“JUST A FEW more steps.” Rick’s heart beat wildly as he led Desiree down the dock, her eyes closed. Could she sense the anticipation of an evening sail in the wind? Recognize the feel of the dock beneath her feet? Did she hear the sea calling them, the way he did?
“I forgot what this was like.” The words came without thought, but hehadforgotten. He’d been so mired down with seeing and hearing his father, fearing his father’s memories would slay him, that he’d lost touch with the reasonswhyhis father loved sailing so much. The reasonsheloved it.
“Surprising me? I feel like you surprise me all the time. It’s wonderful.” She flashed the sweet smile that melted his heart and reached for him, touching his chest with both hands. “Your heart is going crazy. Can I open my eyes?”
“Not yet.” Committing this moment to memory, he reveled in the feel of her hands, the way her anticipation settled the remaining discomfort stirring inside him. He touched his lips to hers, feeling proud, and anxious, and happy all at once. “Okay, sweetheart. Open your eyes.”
Her beautiful, meadow-green eyes swept over his face, and in the next breath, they glided over the boat. Her fingers curled into his shirt, and worry lines wrinkled her forehead. “Rick…”
