Coming Home to Seashell Harbor (Seashell Harbor #1) - Miranda Liasson Page 0,29
family.”
Hadley tipped her glass to take another sip. “I am completely immune.” As if to taunt her, an image flashed unbidden in her head. Cam, sitting at the restaurant today, glancing up at her when she’d come over to drag Darla away. He’d done a double take. And for a second, she’d forgotten to breathe.
“Hadley?” Kit asked. “Earth to Hadley.”
Hadley shook her head free of her musings. “Cam said something when we were in the midst of arguing about the business. He sort of acknowledged that he’d been an idiot all those years ago.”
“Did he apologize?” Darla asked. “Because a half-apology doesn’t count.”
“Geez, Darla,” Kit said. “Let her explain.”
“He said it never would’ve worked out between us.” Hadley gestured to Darla to pass her the wine and poured herself a little more. “Even if he hadn’t been an idiot.”
“That’s it?” Kit asked.
“Well, we were in the hospital hallway arguing. And he was trying to make the point that I can be hardheaded. We weren’t exactly having a heart-to-heart.”
“So, what do you think of that?” Kit poured another glass too. “It sounds like he’s trying to make amends.”
“I guess I was glad he’d said something after all this time. But I’d like to know the whole story. To set my mind at ease once and for all.”
“Or to see if there’s a possibility for more?” Darla chimed in. “Especially if he actually apologizes.”
“No.” Hadley hoped she’d spoken firmly enough to shut that topic down forever. “He and I are old news. It’s just that there’s this…this current of something that I wish…I wish wasn’t there. Just something left over from before, I guess. I don’t understand it, but I can accept it and ignore it.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t ignore it,” Kit said. “Maybe it’s a sign that you two can actually get on the same page.”
Hadley snorted. “Doubtful. We fight about everything.”
“So what are you going to do?” Darla asked.
“Focus on my grandma. You know, I was remembering that when I was a teenager, I used to tell Gran that I was going to come home after college and run Pooch Palace with her.”
“You used to talk about that all the time,” Kit said.
“You spent every spare minute with those dogs,” Darla said.
Hadley shrugged. “I feel somehow that I’ve let her down. Or maybe I’ve let myself down.”
“It’s normal to have these kinds of feelings after a breakup,” Kit said.
Hadley took a sip of wine and shook her head. “Don’t let me off the hook so easily, Kit. I changed when that teenage dream didn’t feel big enough. Seashell Harbor didn’t feel big enough. I got stars in my eyes for someone who seemed to have it all. But the reality is, I looked for all the wrong things. Just like I fell for Cam—the same kind of guy. All flash and no substance.”
Why hadn’t her dreams felt big enough? Was it because she’d felt pressure to become like her parents, high-achieving, hardworking people? She couldn’t fault them for pushing her to succeed. And she was hardworking. And ambitious. But maybe they’d inadvertently pushed her toward something that wasn’t…true success? Or that looked like success to everyone else…
“You aren’t shallow.” Kit set her wineglass down on a box. “You made a mistake with Cooper. Live and learn.”
Hadley had spent the past eight years aiming for bigger and better, building her career. And she’d fallen for a guy who had looks, fame, and influence. But she’d somehow mistaken those traits for kindness, humility, and trust.
“You were always finding strays and bringing them to your grandma to find homes for. Remember that?” Kit asked.
“It’s just now that I’m grown up, I have to come up with something to try and turn the business around. All I’ve done so far is offer to walk people’s dogs while they’re at work.”
“Every time we talk with you, you say how spoiled your PR clients are,” Darla said. “You wish you could be making a real difference. Maybe there’s a way to do that here.” She would know.
“I’m just going to do the best I can and use my gut instincts,” Hadley said.
“That sounds just like you, Hadley,” Kit said. “Trust yourself.”
“I’m not sure if it’s possible to turn a whole business around by the time I have to go back to LA.”
“Right. Impossible,” Kit said. “Even with your superb organizational skills.”
“And your PR skills,” Darla said. “And your smart brain.”
“I also don’t know what my grandmother really wants,” Hadley said.