22. Chapter 22

Chapter twenty-two

Silas

W hen I close up, I wait until Leodie and Jem are out of sight, and then I go next door.

Now that Fenella has gone back to the castle, I can think clearly about this. No man could think straight with her so happy, smiling and laughing. Dancing.

Hugging me.

I may have decided to keep my distance, but Fenella didn't help by throwing her arms around me. Twice.

The first time she hugged me, I was so overwhelmed to have her suddenly in my arms that I forgot to put the breaks on her ideas until I can sort things out.

The second time, I may have forgotten my name.

But now with only the ghost of Fenella dancing in the empty space, I can look at it like she did.

That's not easy for me.

Mia was always able to see the potential. It was she who could view a life for us outside Battle Harbour. She had ideas, plans—it would have been a good life, I realized too late. But it wasn't the life I wanted. That was here. With my family and my friends and Coffee for the Sole to run. I couldn't even think about living anywhere else. Back then, I missed home even before I went anywhere.

Now? I don't know. I know I never gave Mia the respect of really listening to what she wanted, so caught up in my unease of the possibility of leaving that I ignored what she needed.

I feel bad about that. But I don't feel the familiar hurt and regret when I think of her, and that's a good thing.

I look her up every once in a while, which is why I don't do much on social media. If I log in, I search for pictures of Mia, of the life we could have had together. I don't regret not leaving—Fenella has a point of not regretting anything. And I'm not too fussed about not having anyone to share my life with—until I see someone I may want in my life.

I study the empty space and try to see it like Fenella does. Mia would be able to see it, and because of that, I let myself see it too.

The bar here. Tables there , on the side of the dance floor.

The floor is in good shape but it wouldn't hold up for long to a group of women dancing in high heels. I could look into a parquet overlay; a good-sized square.

"It could go here. " I wonder if that would get me a third hug.

Women dancing, laughing. The odd boyfriend, or a friend. This wouldn't be a place to meet men, just a spot for women to hang out. Dance. Laugh. Be together.

She wants to have her birthday party here.

Is this something that Fenella has in her life? A place like this that she wants to recreate here, in Battle Harbour?

I take out my phone to check on that theory.

A minute later, I've sunk into the rabbit hole of Fenella Carrington on social media, standing in what may become the newest hip and happening spot in Battle Harbour, if Fenella has her way.

It's easy to find her online: Google her name and a list of her most popular posts scrolls down the screen. Makeup tutorials, dance lessons, reels of her in the most beautiful clothes, with friends and escorts and famous people I recognize from movies and television and who call Fenella a friend.

There are tons of pictures of her with her group. They are celebrities in their own rights, but no one shines as much as Fenella does.

The Billionaire Brats.

I scroll through her posts. It's not difficult to notice the different expressions she has, each one giving me one more piece of the puzzle. There's the tight smile she used with Jonathan the other day— I don't like you but I'm being polite . The professional look— I'm beautiful and I'm getting paid for it.

My favourite smile is the one has when she's with her friends. Laughing. Eyes bright. Unconcerned.

I like it because that's the way she looks at me.

And then I give myself a mental kick—I'm supposed to be looking at the places she goes, not how she smiles. A few minutes later, I come to the conclusion this won't be a copy of anywhere. This is a new idea for Fenella.

If she gets caught up with it, maybe she'll stay longer. But that might be torture as well, because she'll still leave someday.

My sister Emily would have loved a place like this. She used to spend time with her girlfriends at the house, and I would watch them together and marvel at the mysteries of the female.

Maybe if there was a space for her, she might not have gotten messed up with Wyatt's father. Maybe she wouldn't have left.

That decides it for me. But I'm not about to tell Fenella just yet. She promised to create a business plan for a bar, and I think that would be a good thing.

I just don't know if it's going to be a good thing for me to work with her on this.

Can't be worse than working every day in the coffee shop.