As I focus on holding onto my sanity.
The man I never thought I’d see again, in the flesh, face to face.
“Uh, are you okay?”
Ainsley’s voice pulls me back into the now, and I quickly blink away the thoughts. “Yeah,” I force a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine, I just-”
I just saw the ghost of heartbreaks past and now I’m finding it sort of hard to breathe.
I smile at my assistant. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just hungry I think.”
She makes a face. “After that boat-ride?”
I grin. “You get used to it.”
“No thanks.” She looks up at the old brick-style New England buildings that line the waterfront streets - the cobblestone pedestrian streets, the knick-knack shops, the touristy bars and restaurants all serving the same seafood menu and drink specials.
“Cute town.”
I make a face as I stand from the bench and pull out my phone. “Trust me, it’s all bullshit.”
“Oh, Blaine called, by the way.”
I roll my eyes as I glance at the blank screen of my phone. Blaine’s developed this annoying habit of calling my assistant instead of me - like he’s calling to network with me instead of to tell me which ferry he’s taking to my home town.
“Oh yeah?”
Ainsley clears her throat. “Yeah, he’s, uh,” she looks uncomfortable. “I think he missed the ferry after us.”
I groan, but my phone buzzes in my hand as my sister calls.
“Hey, I’m here,” I say quickly. “We’re next to-”
I stop as I see Stella’s Volvo pull up to the curb at the top of the pedestrian side-street we’re standing on. Her hand sticks out the window and waves.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, my mind still reeling from the man I’ve just come face-to-face with. “Okay, I’ll-”
“Look, why don’t you go home?” Ainsley says, as ever, looking at whatever she’s typing on her phone instead of me. She looks up. “Go say hi to your folks, get something to eat, and relax. I actually just reconnected with a friend from college who lives like, thirty minutes from here.”
I raise a brow. “Wow, really?”
“Yeah, she’s gonna come get me for coffee or whatever. You go chill, and when Blaine gets in, I’ll have her bring me back here and we’ll cab it to you or whatever.”
She frowns as she looks up. “Wait, are there even cabs here?”
“There’s like one cab here.”
She rolls her eyes. “Then you can come get us both. Dude, I got this, okay?”
My shoulders slump as I smile wryly at her. “Thanks, Ains.”
“Don’t mention it,” she says with a shrug. “It’s what I do.”
“You’re the best, lady.”
She grins as Stella honks up the street. “Go. I’ll call you when he gets in.”
I give her a quick hug before grabbing my clunky suitcase and stalking up the street, the wheels thump-thumping over every stupid cobblestone and my brain flip-flopping over the boy from my past who just waltzed right back into my life.
I slam the car door shut in a fury before whirling on my sister. “Okay, you did not tell me that Silas was back in fuc-”
Stella’s brow arches sharply as she coughs and jerks her head towards the backseat. I turn to see my four-year old nephew Carter sitting in his car seat, grinning at me impishly.
“Auntie Ivy!” he squeals, waving a stuffed dinosaur at me.
“Hey, little man!”
I reach back and tickle him, grinning and momentarily forgetting what just happened as Stella pulls the car out into traffic.
I turn back to her, wincing. “Sorry, didn’t know he was coming for the ride.”
She shoots me a look, shaking her head. “Yeah, let’s watch the swearing like a sailor around the four-year old, shall we?”
“Sorry,” I mumble.
“Where’s Blaine and what’s-her-name? Your assistant.”
“Ainsley,” I say absently. “Blaine took a later ferry so she’s hanging back to wait for him.” I blow air through my lips.
Stella’s brow furrows as she pulls off of Main Street. “What’s this about Silas?”
I give her an accusing look. “Uh, did you forget to mention before I came home that he was back in town?”
Her frown deepens. “Silas Hart is here? Seriously?””
“Yeah,” I growl, turning to stare out the window at the tree-lined streets. “Apparently,” I mutter before raising a brow at her. “Wait, did you really not know?”
“If I’d known, I’d have chopped his you-know-what-off long before your ferry arrived,” she mutters, making me grin.