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Nick had er than he anted Ever So he headed out of the building much the way Carlos had only a little while before and walked ho asleep that night was the feel of Mia’s tears on his neck

Rolling over again, he punched his pillow He’dHe shouldn’t have left her

And he’d ave up trying to sleep He dressed and went to Mia’s apartment He needed to see her, talk to her Touch her He had a key, but it didn’t feel right to just let himself in this time But she didn’t anshich is what happened when one acted like a complete ass A complete, stupid ass "Mia," he said, "let h and pulled out his phone But either she’d turned hers off or she’d hit Ignore because his call went right to voice mail "Come to the door, Mia"

Three doors down, an older lady peeked out and frowned at him "So you’re all stupid then," she said

"Excuse me?"

"‘Let me in’ ‘Come to the door’ You always de sometime Not all woave a disgusted headshake and slammed her door shut

Nick had no idea what "50 Shades crap" was, but he looked at Mia’s door Had he been deain "Mia? Can we talk?"

When the door still didn’t open, he gave up and tried a text: I’m at your place, co that covered all the bases, he waited a ht away, even when she was busy at school or work She wanted to be a high school counselor when she finished grad school, and orking on getting an internship But swamped as she was, she always made time for him no matter what--which never failed to make him feel special Wanted

Needed

She was the first person to ever s, and it meant a lot to him She meant a lot to him

But his phone remained ominously silent and her door remained shut, neither of which boded well

He knew his own issues--he’d always been reluctant to let anyone too close But if he knew his own, he knew hers even better She was the opposite She needed to let people close, to be surrounded by those who cared

And he also knew so she’d never verbalized to him: for as well adjusted as she was, she needed her people to -ti over it She’d never asked for a thing from him, but he’d known that need of hers was there and he hadn’t fulfilled it

He could fix that He would fix that, and then she’d never doubt hiain

The door behind hihbor Cindy enty-so, rumpled but pretty, with an infant in her ar

"Hey, Nick," she said in surprise "Mia left already"

"Left?"

"Yeah, she caught a cab a few hours ago"

Chapter 3

Mia landed in Seattle and took a shuttle to Lucky Harbor It was a long drive, and she hadn’t wanted to inconvenience anyone to coet her

Okay, that was a lie Her heart hurt and felt too big for her rib cage, and her eet herself together

Tara and Ford Walker--her birth parents--ht the theed to them She loved them But…

But she’d found theh, and look how that had turned out

Shoving away the unproductive thought, she inhaled deeply, taking in the thick, lush forestland of the Olyh them On the other side, as they came down to the coast and into the little bohere Lucky Harbor was nestled, she found herself relaxing a little The ocean churned wildly beneath a gunray sky, and the air was scented with sea salt and pine--unique to Lucky Harbor The town smelled perennially of Christ back here ive it a try Except it wasn’t a bad mood It was a broken heart

Nick never proht came with another-- abandoned Maybe she’d been nothing ht tu her a headache But she couldn’t blaiven her false hopes He’d never said that they were going anywhere with this relationship

Hell, he’d never even said they had a relationship

She’d just assuot you Good and hurt

Realizing she’d never turned her phone back on after her flight, she pushed the power button and watched as a few texts loaded from Nick

I’ please

She called hiht to voice one to her place There was a terrible beat of hope, but realistically she knew it’d been to make sure she was okay He’d e It didn’t uys One of the best…

And wasn’t that just the proble the quaint Victorian main street, past the pier and the Ferris wheel, and finally down the narrow road to the Lucky Harbor B&B The B&B was run by her mom Tara and her two sisters, Maddie and Chloe They’d turned away all reservations for the next teeks to concentrate on the wedding But Mia knew the place would be abuzz with craziness, and in spite of her heartache, her spirits lifted slightly at what lay ahead

A wedding

The B&B had been decorated for the holidays, with a fresh garland lining the wraparound porch At night, the two-story Victorian would be lit up with strings of white twinkling lights In the light of day, the flower beds were filled with festive red poinsettias

Mia tipped her driver and got out The sun peeked through the clouds, piercing the sky with long, shimmery beams that shifted into a rainbow over the water It was all so a, and a very sardener was hard at work on the yard, his back to her He was digging holes for planting, the shovelsteadily in and out of the dirt, theeffortlessly, and Mia went still as stone, as recognition hit hard

Carlos

The past five years fell away, and just like that memories of a far sie crush had been thein her life

It’d been four ive him another shot, and she hadn’t seen or heard fro woman came around the corner of the house and threw herself into his arawatt smile, lowered his head and kissed her