Chapter 36

“So, you’re not mad at me?” I ask incredulously as Mia cleans her guitar on our video call. I’m seated cross-legged on the floor of my room in Grams’s house, my phone propped on the window sill.

Mia laughs and puts down her cloth to look at me through the camera. “Of course not. And because I’m such a good sister, I’ve even prepped Mom and Dad so it won’t take them by surprise when you break the news.”

I blink. “Sheesh. Was I that obvious?”

She sets her guitar aside carefully. “I knew you were spending a lot of time with him, Gem, so when there started to be multi-day gaps between your very short texts instead of daily calls to complain about him, I figured what was happening.”

“Okay, fair enough. Be honest, though. Are you just a little disappointed?”

She cocks a brow. “Would it change anything if I was?”

My guilty silence has her smiling.

“I’m happy for you, Gemma. Really. If I’m being honest, part of me kind of hoped this would happen. What has Grams said, though?”

“A lot, as you can imagine. And yet, I think she’s coming around. Beau loves to spar with her, and I think she likes that about him. He doesn’t back down, you know? What? Why are you looking at me like that? ”

She stares at me with a huge smile. “Because you’re grinning like a fool, and it tells me all I need to know.”

The door opens, and I look up to find Beau in the doorway. He comes over and leans over until his face is in the camera. “Hey, Mia!”

“Hi, Beau,” she says. “Been hearing a lot about you.”

“Rave reviews, right?” He sits down next to me and kisses me on the cheek. He’s lucky I already told Mia about us.

“Well,” she says, “they used to be rav ing reviews but now they’re just rave reviews.”

“I’ll take it,” he says.

“We’ve gotta run,” I tell her, “but I’ll catch you up on everything else later, okay?”

“Okay. Take good care of my sister, Beau. Love you, Gem.”

We hang up and hop into Beau’s cart.

“You look far too happy for what we’re about to do,” I say as Beau parks the cop cart in front of the retirement center.

“We’re about to tell Grams she just got $30,000 richer,” he says. “What’s not to be happy about?”

“I love that you assume she’ll even accept the money,” I say as I step out. “She may chuck the check in the fire. She hates being a charity case. You know this.” Grams’s stubbornness and pride know no bounds. I love her so much, but if she lets that get in the way of this island-wide gesture, I will have a very hard time not being angry about it. You can’t complain about being mistreated for decades and then reject attempts to make amends. Unless you’re Virginia Sawyer, and you sort of thrive on drama.

“Maybe you’re right,” Beau says as we head for the front doors. “But, for the record, you aren’t right.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

I stop in front of the doors and face him. “And how much do you want to bet on that, Officer? ”

“Well, I can’t place any bets in my official capacity,” he says, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, “but as a civilian...” He thinks for a second. “How about this? Whoever’s wrong plans and pays for our date for tonight?”

I put out my hand. “Done.”

He shakes it, then yanks me into him, looking down into my eyes with his perfect smile. “Better get planning, Gemma Girl.”

“I don’t think so, Beau Boy.” I go up on my tiptoes and kiss him, then we head inside. I hope he’s right, though.

We’re informed by Sandy that Grams just finished chair yoga and is in her room. When she opens the door to our knock, her eyes narrow at Beau, but she steps aside for us to come in.

“This had better not be you two coming to ask for my blessing,” she says. “Because I won’t give it.”

I shoot a look at Beau, who’s smiling like he can’t get enough of her sass. Thank heaven. If he didn’t have such a confident personality, he’d be crushed by her in a New York minute.

“That’s not why we’re here, Grams,” I say. “Beau has something to tell you.”

“Unpaid parking tickets?” she asks.

Beau chuckles and pulls out a chair for me, then himself. “Definitely, but that’s also not why we’re here.”

“Well? Spit it out.”

Beau goes on to calmly explain how the fundraiser came about, including Elaine Pruitt’s role in it, which makes Grams’s brows go up for a split second since she knows Elaine’s always been Team Palmer.

“Everyone wants to make it clear that both you and Gemma—and any Sawyer who cares to live in Sunset Harbor—are valued parts of this community. We know what happened in the past caused your family to leave; we hope this will allow you to remain here at Seaside Oasis until you and Gemma can sort things out with the house.”

My heart thuds nervously against my chest as Beau pulls the check from of his pocket and hands it to Grams. “We blew past our projected fundraising amount, and I’d like to present the full amount to you.”

Grams takes the check and adjusts the glasses on her nose, peering at it through the thick lenses. Her eyes take in the number, then flit immediately to Beau—the only indicator of how surprised she is. Her gaze moves to me, and I wait, breathless, for what comes next.

Grams shakes the check in the air. “It’s about time!”

My breath comes out in a gush, and my eyebrows shoot up. “What?”

“If we Sawyers took this island to court—which I’ve considered a number of times, mind you—this is a fraction of the damages we’d be awarded.”

I glance at Beau, who nods humbly, a little twinkle in his eye. “Very true, Grams.”

She shoots to her feet. “ What did you just call me?”

“ Ma’am ,” he says firmly. “I said very true , ma’am .”

She looks at him through narrowed eyes, and I’m torn between wanting to laugh and feeling the urgent need to defuse this bomb.

“He definitely said ma’am ,” I concur, shooting him a look. “Have you gotten a hearing check recently, Grams?”

“My hearing has never been better, young lady.” She’s still looking at Beau suspiciously.

“Thrilled to hear that. Grams,” I say, hurrying to pivot the conversation, “I also wanted to let you know that I accepted a job offer.”

“You did? For what job?”

I steal a glance at Beau, who’s looking at me with an arrested expression because I haven’t told him yet. I just had the meeting with Noah and Cat this morning. “Starting in a couple weeks, I’ll be working for Noah Belacourt. On the island.” On a salary that may just let me buy your house. I don’t mention that, though, because I don’t have a final contract yet. I also canceled my interview with Starlight. And it just felt right.

Grams and Beau both stare at me like any second I’ll yell out just kidding !

“I’ll be signing the contract tomorrow morning,” I say, secretly loving that I’ve shocked them both into silence.

“Did you know about this?” Grams asks Beau suspiciously.

He shakes his head, still staring at me.

All I can do is smile as our gazes hold. But now that he knows, I’m impatient for a minute alone with him.

Who am I kidding? I’m always impatient for time alone with him. “We should probably get going, Beau. Right? For that thing…”

“What thing?” he asks, frowning.

“The thing,” I say. “With the…”

“Ohhh, right,” he says, catching on. “Our date.” He gets up and takes my hand.

My eyes widen slightly. That’s a bold move in front of Grams—especially after he just called her Grams .

“See you later, ma’am,” he says as we walk toward the door.

Grams doesn’t respond, and I look back at her. She’s staring at the check in her hands. I smile slightly. For all her theatrics, she is touched by it.

Beau grabs the doorknob and stops. “Oh, Virginia?”

“What?” Grams snaps. Her eyes fix on our hands, and her lips press in a thin, disapproving line.

“If you wanted me to stay away from Gemma, you shouldn’t have raised someone this easy to fall in love with.” Beau brings our hands to his lips and kisses the back of mine, then opens the door. We walk out to Grams’s huffing.

“You just love to poke the bear!” I hiss once we’re in the hallway, but inside, I’m melting at his words.

“After that revelation in there, she’s just lucky I didn’t do this .” He pulls me into his arms, and our lips collide as he kisses me in a way that would have every person in this facility clutching their pearls if they saw us.

He pulls away when we’re still mid-kiss, and I’m left reeling.

“I should take you home now,” he says, obviously enjoying how discombobulated I am.

“What?” I say breathlessly. “Why?”

He wraps his arm around my shoulder. “So you can get started planning our date. Just to be clear, my expectations are very high.”

We start walking, and sure enough, one of the residents is standing in her open doorway, staring at us with wide, scandalized eyes.

I wave at her as we pass by, and her eyes follow us all the way down the hall. “I could knock your socks off with just five minutes of prep, Palmer.”

“Oh?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, then.” He raises his watch and navigates to the timer. “Five minutes.”

I grab his hand before he can start it. “Okay, okay. Maybe I was exaggerating a bit. I do need to make a few calls.”

He smiles and releases my hand. “And I need to file a couple of reports. How long do you need?”

I rub my lips together and think. “Two hours.”

“Two hours and counting.”

Two hours and eight minutes later, I walk up to Beau’s door, take a deep breath, and knock three times. I’m wearing white shorts, a pink off-the-shoulder top with flutter sleeves, and white strappy sandals. And my hair…is curled. Miracles do happen .

Since it’ll be frizzed beyond recognition in an hour, it’s really just a gesture to let Beau know I want to look my best for this date. It’s why I texted him to dress to impress.

Impress me , of course. Which isn’t hard because Beau would impress me in a Chewbacca costume.

The door opens, and my jaw slips open.

Beau’s wearing a tailored black suit, a crisp white shirt, and a black tie. His hair is perfectly coiffed.

His gaze drops to what I’m wearing, scanning me slowly from my head all the way down to my toes. “You look…amazing,” he whispers, letting his fingertip graze my hair and down my bare shoulder. “And…a little less formal than me. When you said dress to impress , I thought?—”

“Yeah,” I say. “That’s my bad. I mostly just meant not to wear your cop uniform.”

“I’ll go change,” he says, turning.

I grab his hand, keeping him from going. “Don’t. Please.” This is not how I’d pictured him tonight, but now that I’ve seen it, I need it.

His mouth quirks up at the side, but he looks unsure.

“Beau, if I’d known you looked like that in a suit and tie, I’d have given you very specific instructions to wear exactly that.”

He chuckles. “Okay. Fine. I’ll stay in it. For you.”

I narrow my eyes slightly. “Can you drive a boat in it?”

“I’ll be driving a boat?”

“Yes. And there’s a chance you could get wet or sandy.” I clench my teeth. “How attached are you to that suit? Because I’m very attached to you wearing it for our date.”

He looks down at it and shrugs.

“Great,” I say, pulling him out of his house before he can change his mind.

“So, you’re telling me you planned a date to knock my socks off—your words, not mine—and it requires me to drive?”

“Where much is expected, much is required,” I say .

“I don’t think that’s how it?—”

“Shh.”

We get to the dock, where his boat is swaying gently with the water. He helps me in, then follows. I stare unapologetically at the way the suit hugs his thighs as he climbs in. I’m very happy with his clothing choice.

I’m even happier a few minutes later when he’s standing at the wheel, steering us through the canal waters. Have you ever seen a man in a well-tailored suit driving a boat? It’s a bucket list item, and my bucket truly runneth o’er.

“Any hints on where we’re going?” he asks. “Or am I driving aimlessly?”

I blink, coming out of my boater-in-a-suit reverie, and pick my way over to join him at the wheel. “We have a very specific route we’re following, actually.”

I guide him out of the canal and into the bay, and we head north.

“ Where exactly are we going, though?” he asks. “I want to make sure we have enough gas to get home. Unless we’re eloping.”

“You’re certainly dressed for it,” I say. “But I think that might send Grams to an early grave. She’s coming around, but best not to press it. To answer your question…remember when you took me out on the boat when I first got to the island?”

“You mean my failed attempt to get you to change your mind about Sunset Harbor?”

“Stop here,” I say as we draw nearer our first destination.

He looks around, but there’s not much to see on this part of the island. It’s the stretch between the retirement center and town square.

I turn toward him, and he looks at me like he’s starting to think I might be crazy. And dangerous.

“You dropped me off early that night,” I say.

“Because you asked me to. ”

“Right. But I’m a woman of my word, so I still owe you an hour of island touring. Except tonight I’m taking you on a tour.”

His gaze fixes on me more intently.

“I want to show you all the places I’ve come to love here.” I point toward land. “Right about there is where you pulled me over on my first night back.”

His mouth pulls into a smile, and his eyes unfocus a bit, like he’s remembering it. Just like I am.

“I think I already started unhating you that night,” I say. “So so so so so against my will.”

He laughs and puts his hand on my waist, bringing me toward him. He kisses my hair, then inhales softly. “I swore that night to change how you felt about the island. But really, I wanted to change how you felt about me .”

“You really outdid yourself.”

He smiles. “You know how they say shoot for the moon, and if you fail, you’ll land among the stars? I shot for the stars and somehow got the moon and the stars.” He tips my chin up and kisses me, soft and long, keeping me upright as the boat lists with the gentle waves.

“This tour will take a lot longer than an hour at this rate,” I say when we break apart, my heart and body on fire.

He straightens his shoulders. “Okay. I’ll try to refrain for a while. What’s next?”

For the next hour, I guide him as near as I can to the most important spots on the island. The old woman’s house, where I watched him entertain and care for her so naturally. The town square where I got to watch him with little miss Violet. The canal where we first kissed. The beach where he pulled me in.

Finally, we make it to the secluded cove in the preserve that he took me to my first week back.

He guides the boat to shore, and within a few minutes, we’re walking on the sand together .

“You know why I wanted to go home early the night you brought me here?” I ask.

He shakes his head.

“I was scared,” I say. “Scared of how easy it would be to fall for the island again. To fall for you . I watched you wade into the water to clean up that gross garbage, and I could practically feel the cracks in my hatred. It terrified me.” We stop, and I face him, scanning his face and wondering how I ever hated him. “I wish I would’ve just embraced it and saved us some time.”

“No way.” He threads his fingers through mine. “Winning you over was the best few weeks of my life, Gemma. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.” His lips quirk up at the edge as he runs a hand through my hair. “Grain by grain, I’ll tip those scales, GG.”

I laugh. “You know what happened to those boulders?”

“What?”

I unfold his hand until it’s lying flat, then I scoop up some sand and pour it into his palm. “You wore them down.”

He plays with the sand, then looks up at me, a little twinkle in his eye. “All the way?” He lets the sand slip to the ground, then grips my waist with both hands and pulls me toward him. “I couldn’t help but notice that one of the tour spots focused on the night we first kissed.”

“Yeah…”

He gives a little shrug that’s trying far too hard to be casual. “And I was just wondering if there might be any wearing down that still needs to happen.”

I try not to smile as I grasp his lapels with my hands. “You, my friend, have a one-track mind, don’t you?”

“I’ve been such a good boy for the past hour.”

With a small laugh, I go up on my toes, pulling him toward me. He dips his head, but his lips stop just shy of mine. “I love you.”

I breathe those words in, wondering if they’ll ever be less of a miracle. I can’t believe he saw through all my flaws and all my prickliness. He knows the worst bits of me, and he still loves me somehow.

“Ask me,” I whisper.

His mouth brushes mine. “Ask you what?”

“Ask me the question.”

His lips pull into a smile. “Do you still hate me, Gemma?”

I press my forehead against his and shake my head slowly from side to side. “I love you, Beau.”

He lets out a satisfied sigh, and then his mouth covers mine.