Page 105 of Summer Tease
He puts a hand on my cheek. “Please give us a chance. Give me a chance to make things right.”
I don’t meet his eye. “I just need some time.”
There’s a short pause, and he nods. “Can I take you home?”
I shake my head. “I need the walk. I’ll see you later,” I mumble, then I push through the door.
I don’t go home.I walk to Seaside Oasis. It’s Grams I want to see right now. She’s the only one who will understand what I’m feeling. An email comes through on my walk, and my heart skips a beat at the email address: it’s from Starlight. They want me to interview.
I didn’t think they’d evenconsidermy application, much less offer me an interview slot. So, why do I feel conflicted instead of completely over-the-moon?
I find Grams reading on her patio, and her mouth tightens a bit at the sight of me. But as her gaze takes me in, the wariness disappears.
“What is it?” she asks with concern, reaching for the empty nearby chair and pulling it toward her with a ghastly shrieking noise. “Sit down, sweetie.”
I do as I’m bid, my throat thick now that it’s time to tell her everything. I recount the last hour and a half, from the call to Beau about the meeting to the vote.
Her brow gets darker by the minute, and she shakes her head when I finish.
“Do you see now?” she asks. “Why I said you can never trust a Palmer?”
“It’s not Beau’s fault.”
I have to defend him to her, even though I’m still smarting from the feeling of betrayal. Logically, I know that’s not what happened. What did I expect him to do?Lie and say he welcomes more of the stuff he’s dealt with from the rental guests the last couple of weeks? To welcome that sort of thing in the house right next door to his?
Of course not.
Then why does it still hurt?
“I was talking to Beaurightbefore that meeting about how a part of me wants to stay in Sunset Harbor. So, this meeting…”
Grams grabs my hand and squeezes it. She understands. I know she does. “Who cares what they want? You don’t ask permission to live somewhere, Gigi. You put your stake in the ground, and you claim what you want. If they hate it so much, letthemleave.”
I try to smile, wishing I had her care-for-nobody attitude. But I do care. I don’t want to live somewhere where I have to fight against my neighbors and try to ignore their whispers behind my back and push through their attempts to make my life hard.
“Do you really want to live here?” Grams asks.
I swallow. “I did. I do. I don’t know. But it’s not an option.”
“Sure it is,” she says. “I have a house, don’t I?”
“A house you need to sell. And I can’t buy it because I have no job. I can’t qualify for a loan, especially one big enough to buythatplace.”
“Then we don’t sell it,” she says. “We live there together.”
I shake my head emphatically. “No. No way. Sorry, Grams, but we can’t do that.” I’d never take her away from Seaside Oasis—not now that I’ve seen how much it suits her. I’m not trading Grams’s dream golden years so I can live on an island where half the people don’t like me. No, thank you.
“I need a nap,” I say, rubbing my eyes.
“Me too.”
I blow out a breath and stand up. “I’ll come see you tomorrow, okay?”
She nods, more subdued than usual.
With an attempt at a smile, I walk to the door that leads to her room, then stop. “Grams?”
She raises her brows at me, waiting.
