Page 16 of Love Takes A Tumble
"I'm not afraid," Audrey said, the defensive note in her voice betraying the lie.
"Of course not. That's why you've been hiding in your room since the bonfire. That's why Harrison's been walking the beach alone every morning, looking like a man who's lost something precious."
Before Audrey could respond, the sound of familiar footsteps on the porch made her pulse quicken. Harrison appeared in the doorway, a faint smile crossing his features when he saw her.
"There you are," he said. "I was beginning to think you'd disappeared."
"Just working," Audrey replied, the words feeling mechanical.
Miss Doris excused herself with transparent haste, leaving them alone. Harrison settled into the chair she'd vacated. "How's the novel coming?"
"Good," she said, closing her laptop. "Too good, maybe."
His brow furrowed. "How can it be too good?"
"Sometimes characters take on a life of their own," she said. "They start to feel too real. Too close."
Understanding dawned in his eyes. "Your lighthouse keeper."
"Yes." She looked down at her hands. "I'm afraid I'm getting too attached to a fictional character."
The silence held a weight she couldn't bring herself to acknowledge. When she finally looked up, Harrison was watching her with an expression that made her heart ache. It felt like part understanding, part hurt, part something deeper.
"Sometimes it's easier to love a story than a person," he said quietly. "Stories don't leave. They don't change. They don't expect anything back."
He rose, his movements careful. "I wanted to let you know I'll be checking out tomorrow. Heading down to Charleston after all."
The words fell like stones. "So soon?"
"No reason to stay," he said simply. "Unless there is?"
It was a question, an opening, a hand extended across the distance she'd created. All she had to do was reach back.
Please don't go. I think I might be falling in love with you. I'm scared but I want to try.
But fear was powerful.
"Safe travels," she said instead, the words like ashes in her mouth.
He nodded once. "Good luck with your novel. I hope your lighthouse keeper finds what he's looking for."
As he walked away, Audrey turned back to the window, watching as he crossed the garden toward the beach path. Inside her, something fragile began to crack.
She'd come to Palmar Island to find herself, to write her story. Instead, she'd found Harrison, and now she was letting him walk away.
Because it was safer. Because after a lifetime of putting others first, she didn't know how to reach for something she truly wanted.
Her gaze fell to her laptop, to the novel that now felt like both confession and cowardice. Her lighthouse keeper, guiding others to safety while remaining apart. Longing for connection but afraid to reach for it.
She'd written herself into a corner, both on the page and in reality.
Chapter Eight
Harrison rapped his knuckles against the doorframe of the Magnolia Suite. He'd been standing there for nearly a full minute, debating whether this confrontation was worth it. It might be easier to just leave, to follow the pattern he'd established since his forced retirement. Arrive, stay a while, move on when things got complicated.
But something about Audrey Whitaker made "complicated" feel worth navigating.
"Harrison." Her voice held surprise as she opened the door, one hand instinctively moving to smooth her hair. "I was?—"
