MAGGIE

I drive home, flushed and warm from the way I’d left things with Tyler. It’d been one of the hardest things to do, walking away from the conversation, but it was right. It is right, I correct—I cannot involve myself with Tyler until he knows what he wants. The risk for Mila, and for myself, is too high.

My feet pull me into the inn, past the reception desk where Emily and Luca are holding up different paint chips and having a screaming match about the color blue, and haul myself to my room.

I wash my face, change out of my dress and into my normal uniform of yoga pants and a T-shirt, and lean against the counter. The reflection in the mirror shows a tired woman, glassy eyed and pale, still jittery with nerves.

The knock on the door surprises me, and I start, nearly smacking my forehead into the mirror before I gather my wits. “Who is it?”

“Margaret, it’s me.” Tyler’s voice is soft, a question. “I was wondering if I could talk to you.”

I pull the door open and find him standing back, giving me space. He’s wearing the same clothes from before, the sweatshirt and jeans unusually casual for weekday Tyler. “Sure, come on in.”

Tyler strolls easily into the room, giving me a wide berth. He glances around, finds the couch in the living room, and makes his way to it, easing into the seat without an invitation. Once there, he leans forward, resting his hands on his knees, and waits.

I shift my weight from one foot to the next, leaning against the edge of the chair opposite him as Tyler turns his eyes toward the television. He’s staring at the blank screen, looking like his mind is a million miles away.

“Maggie,” he says, almost pleading when he speaks. His eyes are hollow gems, watching me with an equal split of pain and truth. “I didn’t expect to feel anything for you when I came back. I knew I would, but I hoped I wouldn’t—I hoped I’d find you happily married with a pack of kids.”

I blink, surprised. “Why?”

“So I would have an excuse to avoid us. To avoid this.” He stands, his hulking frame equally intimidating and sexy. “I thought I’d figured out life these past few years. Jess and me—we were a team. Just the two of us. I had Jess and I had my work—that’s it. Simple.”

“Life with me is complicated and messy,” I say. “I know.”

“I’m not afraid of messy.” His eyes flash, but he doesn’t take the bait—his voice remains calm. “I’m slow on the uptake sometimes, Margaret—it takes me awhile to figure out what I want in life. What I need.”

My heart thumps. “Well—have you figured it out?”

“If I ever settle down, I’m going to need a woman who challenges me.” He takes a step closer, his eyes deadly serious. “I will need a woman who loves my daughter like her own—who’s willing to be the mother Jessica deserves, but has never had.”

I swallow as he moves closer still, closing the gap between us.

“I will need a woman who loves me with a ferocity that’ll never fade,” he says, his hand reaching out, tentative, as he takes my chin between his fingers. “I need a woman who’ll destroy me if she ever leaves.”

I clear my throat, unable to break our gaze. “You said if.”

“What?”

“You said if you ever settle down.”

“Because as far as I’m concerned, there’s only one woman who can ever bring all of that to the table,” he says. “I’ve met plenty of women—not one has ever compared to the one who got away.”

“I didn’t get away, Tyler. You left. I stayed. Simple math—our equation didn’t work out.”

“Is it too late?” he asks, his eyes pained. “Just tell me if there’s not a chance. I’d rather know now than later. I know you’re cautious—you have to be. But give me a hint, Margaret. Do I have a chance with you?”

Even if I’d had an answer prepared, his expression would’ve given me pause. It’s as if all of his hopes rest on this question, as if the light in his eyes will blink out should my answer not be the one he wants to hear.

“Don’t feed me a line,” he says. “I know I don’t deserve it, but I can’t hurt Jess. If you can’t see yourself getting involved with me, please spare me. Tell me now.”

“Tyler, I can’t—”

“I’m not asking you to marry me. Not yet,” he adds quickly. “We have a lot of catching up to do, and who knows if we’re still compatible. I have a fairly good idea the answer to that, or I wouldn’t be standing here now, pouring my guts out to you.” He offers me a smile. “Jess doesn’t have anyone but me. If I fall apart...”

“I understand.” His hand moves to my cheek, and I step closer, closing the gap between us. “I understand perfectly.”

“I know you do.” His hand slides down, cups my neck. “That’s why I’m telling this to you. I have already admitted I’m falling in love with you, and I’m sick of fighting it. I love you, Margaret. I need you. I don’t have a solution for...for everything just yet, but I’m willing to make things work. Whatever it takes.”

“No,” I tell him, and the light blinks out.

“Oh, okay, well...” He retracts his arm and moves back, offering a flickering cough. “Well, I respect that. Thank you, er, for being so honest.”

“No, Tyler,” I say, shaking my head. “I mean, no, I can’t tell you I love you. Not yet. I can’t pretend your mention of marriage doesn’t terrify me. I’m afraid for Mila. If she gets attached to you and Jess, and then something happens...” I hesitate to inhale. “The answer to your initial question is yes—there is potential. I care about you; I’ve never stopped, and that’s the problem. I have decade-deep feelings for you, and I need to sort through what that means for us now. You’re a different person than when you left, and I need to know this Tyler.”

He lets out a huge breath, his chest expanding with the effort as he closes the space between us once more and pulls my face to him. He pauses on the precipice of a kiss.

I hold back, staring at his lips instead of his eyes, afraid of what I’ll find there. “Are you going to leave?”

“Leave?”

“Why are you here, Tyler?”

Tyler lets out a soft groan, stepping away from me and running a hand roughly through his hair.

“I want an answer.”

“I’m here on business,” he admits. “I’ve been meaning to tell you the full story, but it never seemed like the right time.”

“Right. You buy things. You said as much.”

“Property. Real estate. Apartments—you name it,” he says, looking uncomfortable. “Hotels.”

“You’ve done well for yourself, judging by the spiffy suits and the flashy car.”

He offers a grim smile. “I got started as a handyman. Worked my way up, bought my first property, and you can guess the rest.”

“So, you like fixing things. That’s why you’ve kept busy around here—the popcorn machine, the washing machine...anything I’m missing?”

“I have other reasons for that,” he says, offering the first glimpse of a smile. “There’s a beautiful woman that’s hard to impress.”

I bite my lip, refusing to let his charms lull me away from the conversation. “What’s in Harp’s Haven for you?”

“We thought there might be an opportunity to build here.”

“A little healthy competition,” I say, my throat going dry. “A hotel.”

“I didn’t know you worked here, Margaret, and—”

“And it wouldn’t have stopped Tyler Daniels, the business man,” I tell him. “I read a bit about you. I know your reputation; you didn’t get rich on accident.”

He doesn’t look surprised. “It’s just business, Maggie. The plans aren’t final yet.”

“When were you planning to tell me any of this?”

“Once I’d made my business decisions. Why risk upsetting you if we decide not to build here?”

That does the trick and pushes me over the edge. “What the hell do you think I am, Tyler? Some plaything? What...you have until the end of the month to make your business decisions? Buying yourself time to fool around with me?”

“Margaret, it’s not like—”

“Am I supposed to just pretend you’re not prepared to fight tooth and nail to drive the Lilac Inn to the ground?”

“The hell that’s what I’m doing!” Tyler says. “I didn’t come here to ruin you, or to ruin anything. If you’re a businesswoman, as I expected, you’d understand that.”

“I understand perfectly, Tyler. It doesn’t mean I have to sleep with the enemy.”

“I’m not the enemy! We can both have businesses that coexist in the same town. It happens everywhere. If I don’t move in here, someone else will do it, and they won’t give a flying fuck about your inn. At least I care.”

“Oh yeah?” I say, my voice rising. “And what happens if I fall in love with you?”

Tyler blinks, steps back. “What if...”

“What happens,” I say, stepping closer, my voice cutting to a whisper, “if I fall in love with you?”

“I’m begging you to try.” His voice is rough around the edges, raw. “I won’t leave you again. I never promised anything back then. This time, I’m promising.” He closes the distance between us, his large hands taking my face fully between them. “Do you trust me?”

His touch is the gentlest I’ve known, the most tender and sweet. I want him to touch only me, forever. “I don’t know.”

“Give me a chance,” he says, easing forward, circling his hands lower until they’re pressed to my back, and he’s pulling me into him. “Give me time. A month. If you don’t like where things are going, I’ll leave.”

“And if I do?”

“You’ll marry me,” he says, firm. “I know what I want, and I’ve waited long enough to get it.”

“And what happens if you run us out of business?”

“That’s not going to happen, and we both know it,” he says, his eyes darkening. “The Lilac Inn can’t be replicated. I know that now, after seeing it. Even if we build here, it won’t end you.”

“Tyler—”

“It’s just business, Margaret. It has nothing to do with our relationship.”

“My business is my life—the inn is my home, my friends here are family. I can’t separate the two.”

“Do you want me to tell them to stop?” He seems to genuinely be curious.

“I—” On one hand, I want to demand he stop whatever he’s planning, but I don’t. I have too much pride for that. “No. Do whatever you want here...it’s just business.”

“Where does that leave us?”

“I-I’m not sure.”

“Give me the month, Margaret. If you don’t want me around after that, say the word, and we’ll be gone. You have my word.”

I blink back a sting in my eyes. “And what if that’s not what I want?”

He leans in, his lips centimeters from mine. “Then, you’ll marry me.”

“But—”

“Please,” he murmurs, pain flickering through his gaze. “Give me a chance.”

My returning answer is a kiss. A touch of the lips that signs an unspoken treaty between us. After today, the only thing that’s certain is that I need to try.

It might be the stupidest decision I’ll ever make, but I’m powerless to say no. If I say no, I’ll continue wondering what might have been, forever. My desire to play out the what if’s with Tyler Daniels vastly outweighs my concerns about his business. The Lilac Inn can stand competition. My heart? That’s what I’m worried about.

“I’ve missed you,” he murmurs into my mouth. “I don’t think I’ve ever stopped loving you.”

The intensity in which he kisses me next drives us together, pushing away any lingering doubt, any fear that’s been pressing me to stay away.

This is the adventure I’ve been dying to take, regardless of the consequences.

So, I take with an intensity, a selfishness that’s uncommon for me. I take with wild abandon, with such thoroughness that I know if he leaves, I will break so chaotically that recovery will be a near-unattainable glow on the horizon.

But I need to do this one thing...for me.