Forever Summer - Melody Grace Page 0,14

lit up. “Oh, look, your sister had her sonogram. Thirty weeks, isn’t that just precious?” she cooed, before glancing up at Noah, guilty. “I’m sorry—”

He cut her off. “What for? How’s the pregnancy going?” he asked, keeping his tone upbeat. “Has she driven Derek crazy with her mood swings yet?”

“Almost,” his mom replied with an affectionate smile. “I think they’re worse than last time. She sent the cutest photos of little Elliot, all dressed up in his fireman’s uniform. He just loved his holiday gift.”

“Good,” Noah said quietly. “Well, I better go see to that cabinet.” He headed back towards the house, but his mom fell in step beside him.

“It’s such a cute age, when they’re younger,” Gayle continued. “She and Derek are coming up on their five-year anniversary, can you believe it? There’s nothing like building a life together like that. A family. Settling down …”

“Mom.” Noah gave her a warning look.

She looked wounded. “Is it so bad that I want to see you happy?”

“I am happy,” he insisted.

“Happy with someone. This casual bachelor phase just isn’t you,” she said. “I know things didn’t work out with Caitlin, but are you really going to shut yourself off from love—from partnership—forever?”

Noah didn’t reply, and eventually his mom let out a long sigh.

“I’ll go check on the roast then. I gave it an extra hour, just to be on the safe side.”

It was a good thing he’d filled up on pizza. “I can’t wait.”

Noah managed to make it through dinner without stumbling into any more unwanted conversations, but his mother’s question followed him back home that night.

Just how long was he going to keep up this bachelor act?

He hadn’t always been so set against monogamy. There was a time when sliding that engagement ring on Caitlin’s finger had felt like the most natural thing in the world. But now, here he was, driving home alone to an empty bachelor apartment with an address book full of willing company but nobody Noah thought twice about calling.

Things changed, all right, and not always for the better.

He unlocked the door and let himself in. The rental was a converted barn about a mile outside of town, a blank slate that he’d barely filled with the motley collection of furniture he’d driven back from Nashville. Caitlin had wanted most of their stuff, and he hadn’t thought it worth the fight. Now, as he looked around the sparse living space, he found himself wishing he’d at least walked away from that chapter in his life with the decent couch.

He didn’t have much else to show for it, that was for sure.

Noah opened a beer and took a seat in the lone armchair by the window. His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he didn’t want check to see who was calling.

He didn’t want to see if it was her.

There were three messages waiting on his voicemail already. Three times Caitlin’s name had flashed up on screen since he’d left Nashville behind, and Noah hadn’t been able to bring himself to listen to a single one. What she was calling about, he couldn’t imagine. There was nothing left to say between them—nothing good, anyway. So he let the phone ring and took another gulp of beer.

In another life, he’d be the one showing off the sonogram pictures; he’d be the one getting ready for a wedding and making his parents coo over all his future plans. But that life had never materialized. Instead, it had crumbled so fast it didn’t even leave a trace.

Could you really blame him for wanting to avoid the same bitter fate again?

Some people were better off alone.

4

What a difference a week made.

Evie could hardly believe it. The Beachcomber Inn had power and heat and even running water now, all thanks to the knight in crumpled flannel who’d shown up on her doorstep when she was just about ready to admit defeat.

Cooper and his crew had turned everything around. They’d cleared away all the musty furniture, ripped out the rotting drywall, and even found time to lay a new roof in double-quick time. Evie had been able to move into the least-disheveled upstairs guest room without worrying about the floor caving in or unwelcome rodent visitors. She was still relegated to a cot, but now she woke in the mornings to the sound of waves crashing against the shore—and a comforting clatter of activity.

She pulled on some jeans and sneakers and all but skipped downstairs, careful to step over the planks they needed