Is It Any Wonder (Nantucket Love Story #2) - Courtney Walsh Page 0,11

only frowned.

“You know me, Lou—I’m a pragmatist—but even I can admit this is romantic. The same guy you made that pact with all those years ago. Arguably your first love. The one that got away. Now back only a couple of months before the golden birthday, and not only is he here, he’s a hero.” Ally made these statements like a newscaster, listing off facts.

These were not facts. There was nothing romantic about throwing up salt water onto the lap of the aforementioned man.

Louisa stood, picked up her tea, and walked into the kitchen, aware that Maggie was reading whatever blog post Ally had printed out. Also aware that overzealous bloggers typically included critical details like names of heroic Coasties who rescued drowning women from the ocean.

Sigh.

“Louisa Elizabeth Chambers?”

Louisa grimaced. “Mary Margaret Fisher?”

But Maggie wasn’t in a joking mood. She now stood in the doorway, and Louisa resisted the urge to remind the older woman that she was there to take care of her—not threaten her life.

“I knew it was him.” Alyssa appeared at Maggie’s side. “And back just months before your thirtieth birthday.”

“You mentioned that already.” Louisa glared at her friend.

“It was worth repeating.” Ally remained unwilling to read Louisa’s nonverbal cues.

“Haven’t you done enough?” Louisa asked.

Ally’s perfectly shaped eyebrows knit together in a straight line as if she was genuinely confused by Louisa’s reaction.

Maggie hadn’t moved. “Are you going to explain?”

Louisa felt like a caged animal with both of them blocking the doorway. “What is there to say? I should’ve worn a life vest. I didn’t. I won’t do it again.”

“You’re leaving out important details,” Maggie said.

“Like this.” Alyssa grabbed the sheet of paper and held it up facing Louisa. “Lou, this is Cody Boggs. I’ve heard you talk about him enough—I know his name.”

Louisa didn’t talk about Cody that much. And never to Maggie. Her eyes fell to the page where Cody’s profile jumped out at her. Man, he was a beautiful human being.

“That is the guy,” Maggie said. “You should’ve told me he was back and that he was the one who saved you from your own stupidity this morning.”

“Have you ever thought about a career in motivational speaking?” Louisa asked dryly.

Maggie didn’t flinch.

Louisa turned away, unfolded and refolded a kitchen towel. “I doubt he even remembers the pact. I hardly remember.” What a liar. After all, thoughts of the pact had flittered through her mind as she’d made her near-death bucket list while flopping around in the water that morning.

Also on that list was I wish I’d said I was sorry. I wish I’d mailed the letters. Was this God’s way of getting her attention? She considered pointing out to God he could’ve been a bit less terrifying in his approach.

“But what if he does remember?” Ally asked. “Do you think it’s just coincidence that he showed up here now? Do you think it’s a coincidence that he was your knight in a shining scuba suit?”

Louisa didn’t bother correcting her. Cody hadn’t been wearing a scuba suit. He’d been wearing an orange Coast Guard uniform, and while she couldn’t be sure, she thought he might’ve had a bright-white halo hovering over his head.

“Were you ever going to tell me Cody was back on the island?” Maggie asked.

There was only one place for Louisa to go—out. She turned toward the back door and pushed it open, walking onto the porch, which had a great view of Brant Point, the very place where Cody was stationed—at least, she assumed he was stationed there.

Dare she say she hoped he was stationed there?

If he had to look at Brant Point lighthouse every day, there was no way he could not think about that pact they’d made when they were kids. They’d talked about it every year on their shared birthday, after all.

What if the accident really had been God’s way of reminding her of what she wanted—a chance to make things right? What if this was her chance to say she was sorry and unload the years of guilt she’d been carrying?

It still angered her that one childish mistake had ruined so many relationships and maybe even so many lives.

She didn’t know about that last part because she’d lost touch with the Boggs family, and it was too painful to go hunting them down. She was certain her mother still hadn’t forgiven her, which meant Marissa Boggs hadn’t forgiven her, which meant Cody also hadn’t forgiven her.

“Did you know he was stationed here?” she asked Maggie without looking at