Forever Summer - Melody Grace Page 0,71

in the world. I’ll be here, whenever you’re ready.”

Evie struggled to process everything he was saying—and just how certain he seemed to be.

How could he be so sure? How could he just decide they were meant to be together when every part of her felt torn in a hundred different directions?

“You don’t mean it,” Evie said in disbelief. “I can’t … I can’t promise you anything.”

Noah gave her a bittersweet smile. “That’s OK. I’ll make enough promises for the both of us. You and me, we’re meant to be together. I know it in my bones. And when you figure it out, I’ll be right here, waiting for you.”

Evie’s heart broke to hear him say it, but she was too confused to breathe a word in response. Too confused to do anything but stand there as he gave her hand a final squeeze and turned to leave.

She wanted to stop him. A part of her wanted to throw her arms around him and never let go. But everything that had happened that day—the grief, the guilt, the shame—was still whirling in her chest, paralyzing her. She didn’t know which direction was the right one to go in, so she didn’t move at all.

She didn’t tell him to wait. Noah didn’t turn around.

And in the end, she just stood there and watched as one of the best men she’d ever known walked away.

17

She was going to call. Noah was sure of it.

Evie just needed a moment after the awful scene back at the inn. Of course she was feeling confused and guilty after all those terrible things Starr had said—but once she’d had a chance to think about it, she’d realize there was nothing wrong with moving on and falling in love again.

She’d come back to him.

But the weekend passed in silence, and then the next few days did too. By the end of the week, Noah didn’t feel so confident anymore. She’d asked for time, and he’d taken it for granted that she meant it. But what if he was wrong?

Was that just her way of saying it was over?

“… Noah? Hey!”

He turned. Jake was standing beside the fire truck with a crate of equipment in his arms. “What?” Noah asked, still a million miles away.

“Man, you’ve been staring into space for the last five minutes,” Jake said, looking sympathetic. Which just made Noah feel worse. “Come on, help me get this gear stowed and then we can go have a drink at the pub.”

“Not tonight,” Noah said, hauling a couple more crates back to the storage room.

“Come on,” Jake urged. “What are you going to do instead: stay home, listening to sad country songs and staring at your phone?”

Noah scowled. Sure, that had been his routine all week, but it suited him just fine.

“One drink,” Jake insisted. “Then you can go wallow to your heart’s content.”

“I’m not wallowing.”

“Uh huh.” Jake gave him a slap on the back. “Keep telling yourself that, buddy. But if you want anyone to believe you, maybe you should shave. You look like you’ve just come in from a month in the woods.”

“Good idea,” Noah grumbled. “Maybe I should take a camping trip, get away from all this friendly concern.”

“You know we love you, buddy,” Jake said cheerfully. “And if you don’t show your face in public soon, Mackenzie or your mom will turn up on your doorstep and demand answers. Trust me, one drink is a small price to pay to stop your family getting involved.”

Noah paused. He had a good point. “One drink,” he reluctantly agreed. “But you can’t even mention her name. Deal?”

“Deal.”

But even though Jake had pledged to keep the topic of Evie off the table that night, nobody else had gotten the memo. Because when Noah walked through the doors of the pub, he could see the looks on their faces. He was used to attention, especially from the women around town, but he’d never had them look at him like this.

Sympathetic. Curious. Pitying.

The tables had well and truly turned.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he announced to his friends, collapsing heavily into a chair at a table with Mackenzie, Poppy, and Cooper.

“Talk about what?” Mackenzie asked with an innocent look.

“Aunt June’s footage of the car wash,” Poppy spoke up, giving Noah a wink. “It’s going viral online. Apparently, she’s had over fifty thousand hits. You’ll need to make it an annual event, at this rate,” she smirked. “Add it to the town schedule, bring in the tourists from