Is It Any Wonder (Nantucket Love Story #2) - Courtney Walsh Page 0,102

but it didn’t take. Turns out, it’s hard to convince yourself to fall for someone when you’ve already given your heart away.”

She stopped then and looked at him. “Cody, is this crazy?”

He shrugged. “I hope so.”

She gave his arm a shove. “I’m serious.”

“I don’t have any answers here, but I’m pretty sure ‘crazy’ would be ignoring the way I feel about you.”

Her cheeks turned pink, and he resisted the urge to kiss her again. It wasn’t easy. Now that he’d tasted her, it was all he could think of.

“Miss Chambers?”

They turned and found Jackson’s parents standing behind them. Louisa straightened and smoothed her hair back. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Wirth.”

“Please, call me Deborah,” she said.

“Deborah.”

The older woman glanced at Cody and managed a polite smile. “We just wanted to thank you. The work you’ve done to make this event happen—it’s astounding.”

Louisa’s face brightened. “It was our pleasure, really.” She reached over and touched Deborah’s arm, squeezed it gently, and it amazed Cody how comfortable she was connecting with people. How did that come so easily to her?

He half listened as Louisa chatted—something about asking Deborah if she or Manny would like to say a few words before awards were handed out—but mostly he was focused on her. Her eyes flickered so brightly as she seemed to forget everyone else around them and paid attention only to the two people standing in front of her.

When they walked away, Louisa glanced at him, brow quirked in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “You have no idea how good you are at this.”

Her laugh sounded nervous. “At what?”

“At your job,” he said. “It’s more than just work for you, isn’t it?”

“Well, yeah. That was the whole reason I started this business. I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. To create experiences for them. I never expected to be planning a fundraiser like this, but it suits me, I think.”

“Yeah, it really does.”

Her eyes scanned the crowd, then landed on her parents, across the lawn. “I wonder if they’ll ever think so.”

He moved to block her view of Warren and JoEllen. “It doesn’t matter, Louisa. You’re doing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing in exactly the right place to do it. Of course you struck out on your own—you wanted to do work that mattered.” He paused until he was sure he had her full attention. “And I believe in you. Maybe that can be enough for a while?”

Her lower lip trembled and her eyes filled with tears. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “Thank you.”

He inhaled the smell of sunshine in her hair and vowed to find ways to show her how special she was.

Letter in Louisa’s mailbox the day after the regatta:

Louisa,

Thanks for sailing with me. Turns out we still make a pretty great team. Enclosed is a check for half of what you paid at the Coastie auction. I know you won’t want to take it, but I want to contribute to Jackson’s fundraiser. Let me, okay?

PS—I’m on the way to the station, but I hardly slept last night. Couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss. When can we do it again?

Love,

Cody

Jackson Wirth died on Tuesday night. His parents made the hardest decision of their lives and took him off life support. His body lasted twenty-two minutes on its own, and then the boy was gone.

The funeral was two days later, and Louisa accompanied nearly all of the Coast Guardsmen who were stationed at Brant Point. That night, the whole of Nantucket launched paper lanterns over the ocean in his honor, an idea spearheaded by Louisa Chambers.

And Cody fell even more in love with her.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

OVER THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, Cody spent as much time with Louisa as his schedule would allow. The awkwardness between them had dwindled, and while they’d settled into a rhythm, the air between them was still charged with the newness of their mutual attraction.

He liked that he had the right to reach over and take her hand. He liked being welcomed into her house. He loved that she kissed him good night and that she still seemed shy about it. He might’ve known Louisa his entire life, but it was as if they were becoming reacquainted.

It excited him.

His first year in the Coast Guard, it became pretty clear that his lifestyle didn’t lend itself to a relationship, and frankly, he’d never met anyone who made him want to change that. Until now.

Cody happily helped her prepare for Maggie’s party, awed,