Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

The next morning, I was in the inn’s dining room, trying to put the finishing touches on the decorations when my phone buzzed. Of course, it was my boss. Apparently, she had abrilliantnew project for me—some high-profile redesign for a luxury boutique in the city. She wanted me to whip up design plans and a mood board by tomorrow morning. You know, because I clearly had nothing else going on, like, say,being on vacationand still bitter about her promoting her daughter instead of me. Right on brand for her. Honestly, her audacity is almost impressive.

I nodded along, half-listening, while my gaze drifted to Ethan across the room, serving Mae and some of the guest’s breakfast. He had that same furrowed brow he’d had when we argued about whether too much glitter existed. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t. It was kind of cute in agrumpy, control-freaksort of way. Some of the guests seemed to notice it too, especially when he walked away mid-pour with the coffee carafe still in hand, clearly trying to perfect his‘I'm totally not eavesdropping’technique.

When the call finally ended, I let out a heavy sigh. My head was spinning. Sure, this was a big opportunity, stay with the firm and work with a prominent brand and make a name for myself, but the thought of leaving North Carolina? It made my chest feel tight, like I was walking away from something unfinished.

Or maybe, like I’d be missing out on…whatever thiscould become.

Before I could even process my thoughts, I realized Ethan was watching me, his dark eyes narrowed. “You’re leaving,” he said, his voice flat, and all the warmth from last night gone.

“What? No, I didn’t say that.” I frowned, not liking how his tone made my chest ache.

He shook his head, his knuckles turning white around the handle of the coffee pot. “You don’t have to. I heard enough. A big opportunity back in New York, right? It’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out. It wasn’t that simple. Sure, the project was incredible, any designer would jump at the chance. But then, there was this.Him.Mae. The way Blowing Rock felt like a place where maybe, just maybe, I could breathe again.

But now, Ethan was looking at me like he’d already made up his mind. Like I was just another person passing through, ready to leave him and Mae behind. It didn’t take a genius to see the parallels—his ex-wife had bailed right before Christmas, and now I was about to look like part two of that holiday disaster.

“Well?” he prompted, his voice low and raspy. “You know what, it’s fine, Holly. Really. I don’t need you here to finish decorating. We’ll manage.”

I swallowed hard, all the words I wanted to say lodged in my throat and grew into a thick knot. “Ethan, that’s not...I mean, I haven’t even decided yet.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He turned away, his shoulders tense. “Just do what you need to do.”

I felt a sharp twist in my chest, like he’d just shoved a wreath of thorns into it. Mae looked up at me, her eyes wide, and my heart twisted painfully. This was not how I wanted things to go. But Ethan’s walls were back up, and I didn’t know how to navigate any of this.

"I’m going to head back to my mom’s," I finally managed to say, trying to keep my voice steady. "She’s baking gingerbread cookies for tonight, and I should go help her."

Ethan looked back over his shoulder; his expression unreadable. He didn’t say anything, but the silence was deafening.

As I headed toward the door, I glanced one more time at him, feeling like there was a thousand-pound weight on my chest. This was not how I wanted things to end. But right now? I didn’t know how to fix any of it.

The only thing I did know? Leaving Blowing Rock was going to be a hell of a lot harder than I’d thought.