Readers will often see your characters’ flaws and mistakes long before your characters do.

  —Romance Writing 101

  It was after seven when Sam arrived at his parents’ house to hang a mirror for his mom. Dad tended to procrastinate on such endeavors, and his mom wanted it on the wall sometime this decade.

  He parked in the drive and entered through the garage door. Looked like Hayley was the only one home. “It’s just me,” he called.

  “What are you doing here?” Hayley asked from somewhere upstairs.

  “Hanging a mirror for Mom.”

  “Have fun with that. I’m going out.” His sister trotted down the stairs, a backpack hanging from one shoulder.

  “Where are you headed?”

  “I’m staying all night with Tara. We’re going to start filling out college apps.”

  He set his toolbox down on the coffee table. “Really? I didn’t know you’d made any decisions. Where are you applying?”

  “I’m going to start with Pace University, then I’ll probably apply at U of SC and Coastal Carolina. They’re closer to home and I think I can get a soccer scholarship at CC.”

  “Isn’t Pace in New York?”

  “Yeah, Sadie really liked it and she said they did a good job of preparing her to be a teacher.”

  He blinked. “You’re still talking to Sadie?”

  “Duh, why wouldn’t I? She’s awesome.” Hayley gathered her purse and backpack and headed toward the door. “See you later.”

  “Bye.”

  The door slammed and Sam was left alone with his thoughts. He took his toolbox to the end of the hall where his mom had propped the mirror. She’d marked the appropriate spot on the wall, and he was glad to see the mirror had come with hardware.

  He began measuring for placement, thinking about what Hayley had said about keeping in touch with Sadie. It had been a long six weeks since he’d last seen her. He couldn’t help but wonder how her book was going. How Rio was doing. And, of course, if she missed him as much as he missed her.

  Thoughts of her were eating a hole in his gut. The end of their relationship seemed unresolved somehow. After Amanda’s betrayal he’d been left feeling shock and anger. Those feelings eventually faded as hurt and confusion took their place.

  But the end of his relationship with Sadie had left him unsettled. And yes, heartbroken. The latter was self-explanatory. The former, not so much.

  The garage door opened and a moment later his mom spotted him. “Hi, honey.”

  “Hey, Mom. How was your day?”

  “It was good. I was at the store paying bills. Your dad’s stopping for takeout from Franks on his way home. Want me to add your order to ours?”

  “That’s okay. I have leftovers at the apartment.”

  She leaned against a doorframe as he marked the wall. “I know I asked you to hang my mirror, but I didn’t mean for you to give up your Friday night. You’re young and free. You should be out with your friends or something.”

  “Nah, I’d rather score brownie points with my mom.”

  She gave him an affectionate smile. “As if you need any.”

  She kept him company while he worked to hang the mirror. They talked about the business and family, Hayley’s choice of colleges. Mom had eaten lunch with Aunt Betty earlier in the day, so she caught him up on news from that side of the family.

  At one point he caught sight of her sparkling ring, and of course that made him think of Sadie again. Maybe he was feeling unsettled about their breakup because he’d responded so hastily to her lie by omission. The realization came out of left field and left him feeling even more troubled.

  He had overreacted. He hadn’t given Sadie the chance to explain. He refused to even consider that she could’ve had feelings for him and also could’ve been hoping for novel inspiration. Why couldn’t both of those things be true?

  “Did I lose you somewhere?”

  “What? Sorry. I was distracted.” And not by the drywall anchor. He placed it and screwed it into the drywall.

  “It wasn’t really important. But, honey . . . do you want to talk about it?”

  “Talk about what?”

  She pierced him with a droll look mothers everywhere seemed to have down pat.

  Fine, so he was still hung up on Sadie. He hadn’t told his parents any more about their breakup than he’d told Hayley.

  Not for the first time he wondered how his parents had maintained a solid relationship for so many years. For starters, his mother was a patient woman, as confirmed by her response to his dad’s awkward proposal all those years ago. She wasn’t perfect either, of course.

  “How do you and Dad do it? You must fail each other from time to time. How do you keep that from sinking your relationship?”

  “Oh, sweetie, of course we fail each other. Whenever that happens, we each have a responsibility to the other. The one at fault should own up to it. And the one who was wronged should give the other grace.”

  “You make it sound so simple.”

  She laughed. “Oh, it’s not easy at all. Sometimes I get frustrated when your dad doesn’t understand what he did wrong. And sometimes I struggle to give grace when my feelings are hurt. We don’t always get it right. But we keep trying.” Her gaze sharpened on his face. “What’s bothering you? Are you wondering what went wrong with you and Sadie?”

  He pressed his lips together. He was starting to figure out exactly what went wrong, and it tweaked his conscience. “I guess after everything that went down with Amanda, I’m having trouble trusting again. Sadie and I broke up because . . . well, she neglected to tell me something. At the time it seemed like a deal breaker. But now I’m wondering if my trust issues got in the way. I think I might’ve responded poorly.”

  “Hmm . . .”

  “How do you know if you can trust someone?”

  “Well, only time can tell you that. Trust is earned when our actions line up with our words. That doesn’t mean mistakes aren’t made sometimes though.”

  He placed the second anchor and screwed it in. Sadie had proven herself to be a person of her word. She’d followed through numerous times in their brief relationship. He’d never seen any reason to distrust her—except in that one instance.

  His mom cleared her throat. “You know what impressed me most about Sadie? And I didn’t even discover it until after you’d broken up.”

  “What’s that?”

  She gazed at her new ring, letting the light catch and reflect on the walls around them. “When she found an expensive diamond ring inside a book, she didn’t take it to a pawn shop and cash out. She went to a great deal of trouble to track down the owner—someone she’d thought was a stranger.”

  It was true. He’d had the same thought a time or two. He picked up the mirror and hung it on the wall, then stepped back.

  In the mirror his mom gave him a little smile. “That doesn’t strike me as something an untrustworthy person would do.”

  A while later Sam thought about Mom’s words on the short drive home. When he got there he heated up leftover pizza and sat down to watch the rest of the Braves game. It wasn’t until the first commercial that he checked his phone. No new texts but several emails had come in. Some junk mail and . . .

  An email from Sadie with an attached document.

  Forty-One

  If the romantic relationship in your story does not end happily, then it’s not a romance novel.

  —Romance Writing 101

  Sadie’s insides were as tangled as a knotted skein of yarn. She clenched the straps of her purse as she navigated the short terminal of the Tucker Island Airport. Her first flight had left LaGuardia at seven this morning, she’d had a layover at Charleston, and now it was after two o’clock. It had been a long day of waiting and wondering.

  Because really, she had no assurance that Sam would be happy to see her. For the millionth time since she’d sent him her manuscript last night, she checked her phone for a text or email.

  Nothing.

  Her stomach sank like a cement block. Well, what had she expected? It would probably take him days to read the story—if he chose to read it at all. And even then, just because she’d had a change of heart didn’t mean he would.

  Strangely, the thought of losing him for good was now worse than the fear that they could become her parents.

  She whispered a prayer for guidance as she turned toward baggage claim and transportation with the small group that had just deplaned. The others seemed excited to have arrived on the island. A young family, clearly here on vacation and in high spirits. An older couple, likely returning home. As for herself, she was a nervous wreck. She’d hardly eaten, unable to stand the thought of food. The tension grew worse as she neared the exit.

  She hitched her duffel bag higher on her shoulder. She’d left Rio in Caroline’s capable hands, and her return flight was scheduled for tomorrow since she had to be at school Monday. She’d flinched at the cost of the last-minute ticket. But the price of staying home, of doing nothing, seemed so much higher. This was something she had to do in person—no matter the outcome. Her breath felt trapped in her lungs at the thought of baring her soul.

  She’d tossed and turned all night in anticipation of seeing him again. Funny, now that the manuscript was finished, her biggest concern wasn’t fear of being rejected by Erin and the publishing team.

  It was fear of being rejected by Sam.

  Tears swam in her eyes. She shook off the negative thought and pushed through the exit door, following a group of travelers. The August heat smacked her in the face. She could feel her careful curls wilting by the second—not to mention her makeup.

  She paused, closed her eyes, and drew in a deep breath of air, letting the salt-scented fragrance soothe her. The warm breeze also carried a hint of some sweet-smelling flower that reminded her of the island. The calming effect on her senses slowed her raging pulse.

  Okay. One thing at a time. She opened her eyes. She’d have to Uber to Sam’s apartment. At LaGuardia there was a line of cabs, but this was hardly LaGuardia.

  The sight of a taxi pulling around the drive made her smile. Wonderful. She wouldn’t have to wait after all. As it pulled to a stop she approached the vehicle.

  When she opened the back door, it fell open so quickly she stumbled backward over the curb. She got her footing and gaped at the person rising from the cab.

  “Sam.”

  His brow furrowed. “Sadie?”

  She blinked up at him, transfixed.

  His lion eyes widened as he took her in. His black hair ruffled in the warm wind. His beard had grown out a bit, making him appear as he had the first time she’d seen him. He looked a little tired but a lot wonderful to her starving eyes.

  He’d just arrived at the airport, which begged the question . . . “Are you going somewhere?”

  “I was coming to see you.”

  Her breath released in one relieved puff. “You were?”

  “What are you doing here?”

  Their gazes tangled. “Coming to see you.”

  The muscles around his eyes relaxed as his lips tipped up at the corners. “Well.”

  “I sent my manuscript to you last night, the minute I finished it, but I needed to see you in person.” She gazed at him, her heart filling with warmth. “I can’t believe you were coming to see me.”

  “Sadie . . .” He dropped his bag and took her hands. “I read your story. I couldn’t stop reading it. I was up all night and I booked a flight this morning. I have questions. But first I have to apologize . . .”

  “No, Sam—”

  “Let me finish. I reacted rashly when I found out you’d used our story. That was a mistake and I’m sorry for it.”

  She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have used our story without asking.”

  “And I should’ve shown you a little grace. I guess I wasn’t ready to trust again after Amanda. But you weren’t the one who betrayed me with my cousin. I should’ve given you the benefit of the doubt. I should’ve heard you out instead of filling in the gaps myself.”

  She squeezed his hands. “It was my fault, not yours. I should’ve explained myself. I didn’t do it then, but I’m going to do it now.” She paused to gather her courage, staring him in the eyes. “I love you, Sam. I realized it way back at the wedding and I can’t seem to stop—”

  He brushed her mouth with his in a kiss that quickly swept her away. Sadie lost all train of thought. She only cared about the feel of his lips on hers. The feel of his arms slipping around her waist. The feel of his hands gathering her close.

  Don’t stop.

  Her heart heaved a sigh as she sank into his embrace. Oh, how she’d missed him. She’d never thought to find herself in his arms again. The smell of him, the taste of him teased her with tantalizing familiarity.

  When at last he drew away, his eyes opened lazily and fixed on her. “I love you too—in case that wasn’t obvious enough.”

  She filled with joy as she swept his lips with her own, unable to contain a smile.

  “Hey, buddy,” the cabbie called. “You ever gonna shut my door?”

  Sam drew back, taking stock of his surroundings. “Oh, sorry.” He gave the door a push and joined her on the curb.

  “You said you had questions.”

  “You made me forget them all.”

  She thought of him reading her manuscript all night and focused in on his tired eyes. “You must be exhausted.”

  “I’ve been too nervous about seeing you to feel tired.”

  “I was nervous about seeing you too.”

  He palmed her cheek, staring deeply into her eyes. “The end of your story . . . was it the same for you as it was for your heroine? Your fear of us becoming like your parents?”

  “It was exactly like that. And I didn’t even realize I was doing it until I wrote that scene. It seems I’ve been running away all my life.”

  “I know what that feels like. I ran to the island, remember? I’m sorry about your childhood, Sadie. It must’ve been hard growing up that way.”

  “I never knew what to expect. The foundation of our family was unstable, and it terrifies me to think of ever living that way again.”

  He brushed his thumb across her cheek. “And yet you came to see me anyway. Came to tell me you love me. You’re very brave, Sadie.”

  A wry laugh escaped. “I was scared to death.”

  “That’s what makes you so brave.”

  Her soul stirred at the truth in his words. But honesty compelled her to add, “I’m still afraid.”

  “So am I, honey. Trusting again is hard for me.” He cupped her chin, his gaze skating over her features. “But you are so worth it, sweetheart.”

  Her heart turned over in her chest. “I missed you so much, Sam.” She never wanted to be without him again. But she would have to leave tomorrow. “What are we going to do?”

  “We’ll figure it out, one step at a time. For now, how about I show you my apartment? Then I can take you out and we can celebrate.” He glanced toward the circle drive, then gave her a sheepish look. “I wasn’t thinking before. We should’ve had the cabdriver take us back.”

  She chuckled. “I wasn’t thinking either.”

  “How long can you stay?”

  “My return flight is tomorrow. I have school on Monday.” A smile played on her lips. “Besides, I was afraid you might send me straight back home.”

  He clutched her tighter. “Not a chance. I’m not letting you get away that easily.” Just to make his point, he brushed his lips across hers. Once. Twice. Then Sadie lost all track of time and place once again as he swept her up in his embrace.

  Epilogue

  A romance reader waits the length of a novel for that happily ever after. An epilogue allows her to bask in the couple’s bliss for just a moment longer.

  —Romance Writing 101

  The briny air filled Sadie’s lungs as she stepped out of Sam’s truck and into the night. They’d just had the most wonderful dinner out, and it was a perfect summer evening for sitting under the night sky. As if by silent agreement they walked around the beach house to the deck. The stars twinkled from a black canvas, and a half-moon’s reflection glimmered on the ocean’s surface.

  She glanced at him, taking in his carefully cropped beard and crisp white shirt that glowed in the moonlight. “Dinner was delicious. And you look so handsome in your suit.”

  His gaze swept over her from head to toe and back. “I can’t keep my eyes off you tonight. That dress . . .”

  “I’m glad you like it.” She didn’t mention that Hayley had been the first to spot the red dress. Its halter-style top drew attention to Sadie’s newly bronzed shoulders, and the wispy fabric of the short skirt flirted with her legs as she moved.

  He took her hand. “Careful in those heels.”

  “You know me too well.”

  “I was just telling someone about the first time we met.”

  “You mean my klutzy trip down your stoop?”

  “It was adorable. I think I fell in love with you that instant—I just didn’t know it yet.”

  She laughed. “Well, you sure didn’t show it. I thought you took me for a clumsy chatterbox.”

  “You talk a lot when you’re nervous.” His mouth eased into a sly grin. “And you must’ve been very nervous.”

  “You were so handsome and rugged and broody.” She shivered in remembrance.

  “Broody?”

  “Well, you were.”

  He squeezed her hand, chuckling.

  It felt so good to be with him again. They’d dated long distance through the entire school year, getting to know each other better via FaceTime and long-weekend visits. Sadie had spent her entire Christmas break on the island. Sam had come to New York during her spring break.

  They discussed their future often. While Sam was willing to give up his place in the family business, she wouldn’t let him do that. She’d come to realize the city wasn’t her dream after all. In fact, her returns to the island had felt very much like coming home.

  And thanks to Mrs. Miller’s generosity, Sadie had been able to come here for the summer—or at least part of it. After buying the real estate company she’d spent years working for, Mrs. Miller had decided to put retirement on hold. She’d recently put the beach duplex on the market. Sadie happily agreed to keep it in tip-top shape for showings. Although since she’d arrived June third, there’d been only two.