felt something shift inside of her. For the first time since her mother had disappeared, Gigi’s anxiety about the future seemed to dissipate. Maybe it was because Shannon was a mother figure she trusted. But more likely it was because she was finally whole enough to accept Sebastian’s love and everything he had to offer.
“I love you, Gigi,” Shannon said. “You deserve the world.”
Gigi swallowed the lump in her throat and forced out, “I love you, too. Thank you for… Just thank you.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Main Street looks exactly the same,” Gigi said as Sebastian parked right in front of Beach Beanies, the local café. “It’s weird being back here.”
“I felt like that the first time I came back here after college,” Sebastian said. “It had been over three years, and it just seemed so surreal. It didn’t help that I kept expecting news stories to pop up, but thankfully they never did.”
Gigi reached over and grabbed his hand, her heart hurting for him. She wasn’t the only one who had experienced trauma around her mother’s disappearance. The entire town had blamed him just because he was the last person who’d seen her. It wasn’t fair, and the accusations had sent him running from his hometown, his mother, and Gigi. “I’m sorry.”
He squeezed her hand. “I know, but it wasn’t your fault. Let’s go inside and see if we can finally find us both some closure.”
Gigi leaned over and gave him a slow kiss before finally pulling away and climbing out of the SUV. When he joined her on the sidewalk, she asked, “Do you think Justin is working tonight?”
“He should be. The PI’s notes say this is the night he closes.” Sebastian slipped his hand around Gigi’s, and together they walked into the café. There was only one lone female customer sitting near a window. The man behind the counter was older than Gigi remembered, but he had the same wavy hair, wideset eyes, and stocky build. There was no doubt he was Justin, though he weighed a little more and his hair had turned white.
They walked up to the counter and waited patiently until he put down his rag and turned to help them.
“Hey. What can I get for you?” Justin asked while logging into his register.
“Two iced lattes. Large,” Gigi said.
“Got it,” he said, tapping the keys. When he glanced up to take payment, he did a double take and said, “Clarity Martin? Is that you?”
“It is,” she said. “If you remember me, I’m sure you remember Sebastian, too.”
Justin’s gaze darted to Sebastian, and the café manager seemed to shrink back a little as he took him in. He recovered quickly though, and nodded. “Of course.” Meeting Sebastian’s eyes, he said, “Your mother is a regular around here.”
“She does like the coffee cake.” Sebastian pointed to the case. “Why don’t you add one to the order and we’ll bring it home to her?”
“Sure thing.” Justin got to work on their order. While he was making their lattes, the other customer in the store got up and left, leaving only the three of them.
Gigi watched Justin, wondering how to bring up the subject of her mother. There was just no easy way to ask, ‘Hey, Justin, what do you know about my mother’s disappearance that you never told anyone in the over twenty years she’s been missing?’ She cleared her throat and opened her mouth to ask if he remembered the last time he saw her mom, but he started talking before she had a chance.
“It’s good to see you two together again,” Justin said, flashing them a genuine smile. “I never did think that James guy was good enough for you, Clarity.”
“That makes two of us,” Sebastian muttered.
“Why do you say that?” Gigi asked. It wasn’t that she disagreed with him, she was just intensely curious about what he had to say.
“You always used to order a soy caramel latte with two shots. Every time you came in, right?” The confidence in his cocked eyebrow told her he knew he was right.
“Yes. Every day on the way to school and sometimes on the way home,” she said with a chuckle. “I can’t believe you remember that.”
He shrugged. “I know the orders of all my regulars.” His mood shifted, and there was no hiding the sadness that had washed over him. “Plus, Carolyn and I were friends, so I paid a little more attention. Anyway, James used to come in and order for both of you, but half the time