21. Meg: Sister Comfort

Chapter twenty-one

Meg – Sister Comfort

I'm the biggest idiot in the world.

Why did I think that I'd get lucky enough to find someone I really connect with and not have some kind of strings attached? I cannot believe that I opened my heart to a man who was playing me this whole time! How could I have been so blind?

Drew refused to tell me about his family so I took it as he wasn't close with them. In reality, he didn't want to spill the beans on who he really was by revealing his family name. ‘Working in New York' meant so many different things in my head, so when he claimed he was a headhunter, it made sense.

I just went with it without so much as following up on his words. Not even a Google search! I can't help but blame myself, knowing everything I overlooked. The small things I missed that were right in front of me this whole time.

I do know one thing for sure. He will not succeed with his big-money plans here. No sirree, Seaside Cove is my home and I want it to stay low-key and happy. What will this place look like, and how can Mia and I even keep working here, if the giant succeeds?

I stand firm in my conviction that the inn is not for sale, but there's a nagging worry in the back of my mind that I can't ignore. If our grandfather actually lets them buy this place, so much is going to change, and there's no good in that.

Everything changes with a buyout, no matter how much Drew says that things will stay the same. The rooms will be different, the prices for the rooms are going to go through the roof, and I don't even want to think about how many people are going to get laid off. Mia and I could very well be included in that.

The minute Bellamy gets its claws into the inn, it's over. It'll be stripped like a car for spare parts until nothing of what it used to be remains. It won't be quaint and cozy and unique. It'll just be another property bought and flipped to fit a cold, money-hungry billion-dollar company's business model.

"Knock, knock," Mia's muffled voice sounds from the other side of my bedroom door.

"Come in," I call weakly, cuddling deeper under my covers.

"Hard day," she sighs, coming in and lying next to me. "How are you doing after all of that?"

Before I can even think of an answer, I realize I'm holding back tears and fighting to keep them from falling. Mia already has her arms wrapped around me, softly shushing into my ear. The tears fall, the sobs come out, and once again, my older sister is trying to mend my broken heart.

It wouldn't be the first time she's had to do this but this time is different. I've never felt so much for one man in my life. I guess the pain of losing him has to match.

"You were right," I sniffle. "He was too good to be true."

"Meg, it's not your fault!"

"He lied," I whisper, like it's the worst thing I could ever admit. "Every day he chose to lie straight to my face and I believed him."

"And that was an idiotic move on his part," she agrees. "You had no reason not to give him the benefit of the doubt and he took advantage of that. That's on him," she insists.

"I can't believe he's a Bellamy," I mumble, sitting up and leaning against the headboard.

"There's no way he's buying the inn," Mia crosses her arms. "No freaking way."

"You're against it too?" I sniffle, looking up at her. There's a fierceness in her eyes.

"Absolutely," she says sternly. "The Bellamys are good at taking what they want, stripping the place of everything it was before, and making it fit their idea of what they think hotels and inns should be like. Seaside doesn't fit their mold, and it's never going to, because Grandpa will never sell to them."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because Grandpa asked me what I think he should do and I told him it'd be stupid to sell. Seaside is known for its personality and if he sells it, he sells the heart of the place too. He agreed with me," she grins, and I can't help but feel proud of her for speaking up.

"I didn't think Drew knew our grandfather owns Seaside Inn before his big pitch today." I chuckled at the memory of him trying to hide his flustered face.

"Well, he should have done his homework," Mia smirked.

"Drew and his family are going to keep trying," I warn. "They really want this place, and possibly the properties surrounding it."

"Well, that's too damn bad." She shrugs. "Grandpa said the inn and this cottage is ours when he's gone, and he wants to make sure we have a say in what happens to it now. As long as we say so, Seaside is ours."

"And that New York player can go home where he belongs," I add, wiping the last of my tears.

"Remember what I used to say about being sad?" Mia asks.

"Don't be sad, get mad instead."

"It's far more productive." She nods with approval. "Don't waste any more of those tears on someone who's going home with his tail tucked between his legs and his hands empty."

The rest of the night, she stays with me in my room while we talk about Seaside and everything it can offer that bigger hotels can't. Maybe it's to prepare us for when Drew's family tries to fight back, or maybe it's to assure both of us that Seaside doesn't need saving.

Or maybe it's a bit of both.