When Dahlia awoke, the sunlight that had been streaming through the bay window had been replaced by a soft glow from the street light. She turned her head to the side to see the clock on the wall. It showed the time to be after ten o’clock. She’d been out for several hours. She swung her legs off the couch and sat for a moment before she gathered her belongings, exited the building and locked the front door.

On a Sunday night, the town was quiet. Most of the weekend tourists had left and those who remained were safely ensconced in their luxury nightly rentals. Lights shone in a few windows, and from farther down Main Street, music from the bar’s jukebox trickled out the door.

She walked up the hill, relishing the stretch in her hamstrings after her nap on the green sofa. She hadn’t brought a jacket to work because the day had been warm. Now, in the evening chill, she had to wrap her hands around her arms to keep warm. A soft wind blew her hair back and she breathed deeply. The cold braced her, making her feel grateful to be alive and fortunate to call Candle Beach her home.

As she passed Garrett’s house, she glanced at the windows. Most of the lights were off, but a TV flickered in the living room. She hurried past, lest he think she was spying on him.

The built-up heat from the sunny day embraced her as soon as she entered Aunt Ruth’s house. Her stomach grumbled noisily and she headed for the kitchen. She rummaged around in the fridge and found a brick of cheddar cheese, a bunch of grapes and some crackers. Maybe not the healthiest of dinners, but it beat her steady diet of pastries.

After being outside, the kitchen walls seemed to close in on her. A breeze came through the one window she’d left open during the day and the beautiful, crisp summer night beckoned to her. On a whim, she filled a bag with the food and a Diet Coke. She knew exactly where she wanted to go.

The darkness of the sand loomed before her as she picked her way down the moonlit steps of the beach access. As a teenager, she’d often snuck out of Aunt Ruth’s house at night to gaze out at the ocean for hours, enjoying its sanctuary. She felt almost giddy as she sprung off the last step and jogged over to a beach log a few hundred feet from the base of the stairs. Except for a few herons pecking at something in the surf, the beach was deserted.

She climbed on top of an old gnarled log which was stacked on top of other beach logs and worn smooth in places by frequent exposure to the waves. After the excitement of her success at the summer market, and her confusion over Garrett’s behavior, she welcomed the quiet. She enjoyed the stillness for a while, and then pulled out her food. Her mouth salivated as she bit into a red grape. She was hungrier than she’d thought.

“Do you have enough to share?” a man’s voice asked.

She whipped her head around to see who had disturbed her solitude. Being alone at night on the beach had never scared her, but she was still wary of strangers. She squinted through the darkness to see who had spoken.

“Dahlia, it’s me, Garrett,” the man said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He crossed the sand to where she sat and leaned against the log.

“Hi.” Her heart raced and anticipation rose in her chest.

“I saw you from the top of the stairs.”

“What are you doing out here so late?” She moved the food over to make room for him to sit.

“I come down here often at night. There’s something so peaceful about being out here after everyone has left. It allows me time to think,” he said. “I’ve come up with some of my best book ideas while sitting here in the dark.”

She offered him the food and he used the serrated knife to cut a wedge of cheese, which he placed on a wheat cracker. He chewed the food and swallowed. “I’ve been working on a new chapter all day and I forgot to eat.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want you to starve,” she teased. “Who would get the fair maiden out of distress?”

“You, or the main character in my novel?” he quipped.

She punched him gently in the arm. He caught her wrist and took her hand. Her skin tingled below his fingertips and her breath caught at her body’s sudden reaction.

“Dahlia, I’m sorry about how I’ve been acting. I really am glad you decided to stay in town.”

Her eyes met his and her stomach took a freefall from the intensity of his gaze. She put down the piece of cracker she’d been about to eat. Tension crackled between the two of them. “I’m happy I decided to stay too.” She choked a little on a few crumbs, pulled her hand away from his, and took a swig of her Diet Coke.

“I’m sorry about this morning. I had no idea you knew my mother.” He glanced out at the inkiness of the Pacific Ocean, deep in thought.

“We met in Haven Shores last week,” she said. “She seems great.”

“Yeah, well, you just met her,” he said. “Wait until you’ve known her for a few weeks. Although not many people have the opportunity to experience that, as she has a way of flitting off after she grows tired of a place.”

Dahlia shrugged. “She told me she wanted to stay until the end of September. She seems to like Candle Beach.” She looked up at him. “Was that her who called while we were working last week?”

“Huh?” he said.

“While I was at your house,” she said. “You received a phone call and seemed upset afterward.”

“Oh, right,” he said. “That was when she called to let me know she was in town and wanted to have lunch with me. I hadn’t seen the woman in over a year and then she shows up and I’m supposed to jump when she says jump.” He shook his head.

“I don’t think she meant it that way,” Dahlia said. “When I met her, she seemed excited to come to Candle Beach and see you. Well, I didn’t know she meant you in particular, but she talked about having family in Candle Beach.”

“I’m sure she was excited to come here. That doesn’t mean the excitement will last and it won’t be like every other time.”

“You never know.” Dahlia finished her handful of grapes and straightened up the remaining food. Her hand grazed his when she reached for the crackers. A familiar tingle shot through her and her heart raced. Her eyes met his and he smiled seductively.

“Look, I don’t want to talk about my mother. I’d rather talk about you. I came down here because once I saw you in the moonlight, I couldn’t keep away.” He brushed a strand of hair away from her face, his gaze burning into hers. “And now I find myself not wanting to talk about anything at all.”

Her breath caught as he snaked an arm around her and pulled her close, so close that she could feel the heat coming off his chest and smell his tantalizing aftershave. Was this really happening? She closed her eyes. Every second felt like a minute until his lips met hers. The kiss was every bit as magical as their first kiss in the bookstore. She melted into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. His fingers caressed the small of her back, sending shivers up her spine. They stayed that way for a moment and then broke away slightly. She opened her eyes and stared at him. Moonlight illuminated his face as he smiled in wonder.

“Remember when you threw yourself at me in Ruth’s garden on your first day in Candle Beach?” He stroked her face.

“I didn’t throw myself at you,” she said. “I tripped over a garden rake. You just happened to be in my way.”

He grinned at her. “I remember it differently. Anyways, you looked so cute and embarrassed when you gathered your unmentionables off the bush. I wanted to kiss you right then and there, but I had the feeling you would have thought I was crazy. And I wasn’t sure I hadn’t been spending too much time with my novel and somehow romanticized the situation.”

She laughed. “I probably would have thought you were crazy if you’d kissed me then.” She put her hand on his arm. “But I’m glad you did now.” They kissed again and he took her hand in his. For a while, they sat quietly and enjoyed the peace together.

The evening may have been still, but the thoughts racing around in Dahlia’s mind were anything but. If she hadn’t stayed in Candle Beach, she’d never have had the chance to enjoy the success of the store or Garrett’s touch. Her life would have been very different. She snuggled in closer to his embrace.

No matter how hard she tried to calm her thoughts, she couldn’t forget the sadness on Wendy’s face when she spoke about her son. Before she could help herself, she blurted out, “Maybe you could have a real talk with your mother while she’s in Candle Beach and discuss everything in your past.”

He pulled away from her and looked out to sea. She stiffened. What had she done? She hadn’t meant to upset him. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound.

“She wants to make things better between the two of you,” she said, watching him carefully. “Maybe you should give her a second chance…” Her voice trailed off as the expression on his face turned stormy.

In carefully measured tones, he turned to her and said, “My relationship with Wendy is complicated. Too complicated for you to understand.”

“But you could try? People do change, you know.”

“People don’t change.” He slid off the log and planted his feet in the sand.

She looked down to where he stood. “People do.”

“No, they don’t. Thank you for the nice evening, but I think it’s time for me to call it a night.”

She followed him with her eyes as he walked down to the shoreline with his hands in his pockets. He continued on down the beach until he became nothing more than a black streak highlighted against the waves glittering in the moonlight.

Her heart dropped into her stomach. The fullness of success she’d felt earlier had evaporated, leaving only a hollow pit in its absence.

What did he mean by “people don’t change”? If he didn’t believe that, what did he truly think about her? He’d once accused her of being flighty and compared her to a woman she’d later learned was his mother. Now that she’d decided to stay in Candle Beach, had his opinion changed? And if it had changed once, would it change again?

Just when she thought life had started to even out, it had suddenly become more complicated. She packed up the remains of her snack and trudged up the steep flight of stairs. She arrived at her house without even registering the rest of the walk. After stashing the food in the fridge, she flopped down on her bed. Sleep didn’t come easily, and when it did, it was full of nightmares about growing old alone.