Meant to Be (Sweetbriar Cove #1)(75)

She read over the last chapter, and then backed it up-twice over, just to be safe. Then she closed her laptop screen and took a deep breath of salty sea air. It was a bright, clear morning, and she was tucked away in her writing cabin again on the beach. Except it wasn't hers, she reminded herself. It belonged to Cooper. He'd only loaned it to her temporarily.

Like him.

She tried not to feel the same swell of sadness all over again, but it rose as steady as the tide in her chest. In time, it would be better, she told herself. In time, he would be just another detour on her path to real love.

So why did she still feel like that road stopped, right here?

Her cellphone rang, in a welcome distraction. "Hey Summer." Poppy smiled, answering the call. "Great timing. I just finished my draft."

"Congratulations!" Summer exclaimed. "We'll have to celebrate when you're back. There's a new restaurant that just opened down the block from me. The chef is an asshole, but he makes gnocchi like a dream."

Poppy laughed. "Does this mean you've already hooked up with him?"

Summer snorted. "When would I have the time? Andre's started loaning me out to bake wedding cakes for his most exclusive clientele. Between him and my mother trying to get me on her TV show, I don't have a moment to hook up with anyone-let alone another asshole chef."

"You do have a track record," Poppy agreed.

"What can I say? I fall in love mouth-first."

Poppy giggled.

"You know what I mean," Summer groaned. "Anyway, what about you, how are you holding up? Have you seen him yet?"

"No, and I'm not going to," Poppy said firmly. "I don't know how it's possible to avoid someone in a small town like this, but he's doing a pretty good job of it."

"I'm sorry, babe. Just look on the bright side: come tomorrow, you'll be gone."

"I know," Poppy sighed. Why was it the thought of leaving still made her ache? "June and Mackenzie insisted on having a leaving celebration tonight in town. I should be happy to be putting real distance between us, but I'm going to miss this place," she admitted, looking out at the bay. The waves were cresting, foam-tipped and wild from the winds, and the incredible peace she'd felt the first day arriving here was still calm around her, despite the heartache.

"I'm going to miss it too, and I haven't even been!" Summer exclaimed. "I was looking forward to all those hot bearded guys you were telling me about." 

"Help yourself," Poppy said ruefully. "There's one more on the market now."

"That's decided it," Summer said, sounding determined. "As soon as you're back, we're going out. You, me, a bottle of tequila, painting the town red. What do you say?"

"I say I'm about five years too old for that."

Summer laughed. "OK, then you, me, a bottle of red wine, and a night in front of Netflix watching British costume dramas."

Poppy smiled. "Now that sounds like my kind of plan."



She finished up at the cabin, feeling a pang as she packed away her few items and closed up the painted wooden doors for the final time. She took the winding path back up to the cottage, her heart beating faster when she saw the construction crew was working on the house next door. She couldn't stop herself searching the group for Cooper's tall, broad-shouldered frame.

No sign of him.

She exhaled, crossing past the yard to June's, but just as she reached the gravel driveway, a truck came around the bend, slowing as it approached.

Cooper's truck.

Poppy froze. She could see him through the windshield glass, wearing a ballcap and a messy three-day beard, and just like that, all her pep talks about how he didn't matter melted clean away.

God, she wanted him.

Hope, and trepidation, and plain desire pounded through her, and as he pulled in to park, Cooper looked over and met her eyes. For a moment they were both caught there, staring, only a few feet apart, but just as Poppy raised her hand in a nervous wave, Cooper's expression changed. He threw the truck into reverse and backed out of the driveway, pulling a wide U-turn before speeding back up the road leaving nothing but gravel flying in his wake.

Poppy swallowed back the sting of disappointment. She'd been wondering if he regretted it, but there was her answer, loud and clear.

Whatever they shared was history. It was time to move on.



Cooper watched Poppy getting smaller in the rearview mirror, until she was around the bend and out of sight.

He gripped the steering wheel hard, trying to focus on the road-and not the woman he just drove away from when every instinct in his body was screaming out to stay. He'd told himself he would be fine heading back to work. He'd stayed away too long already, and he had a job to do-no matter who was living right next door. But just the sight of her standing there, wrapped up in that red sweater with her hair dancing wildly around in the breeze, made it all come rushing back. And the expression in her eyes, so unsure and full of pain, sliced him so deep he was surprised he wasn't bleeding yet.