Dallas’s car pulled up outside, and his headlights hit the bright purple cabin. Davis had planted himself on the porch swing with no intention of going to bed that night. The arrival of his friend, and whatever pestering came along with it, wouldn’t change that. Sleep was for the peaceful. The happy. Sleep was not for tormented men who’d let the best woman they’d ever known slip away.

“Did you find her?” he asked, popping to his feet and flying down the steps of the porch. “Any sign of her?”

“Yep,” Dallas said, pulling off his baseball hat and fidgeting with the brim. “She’s all right. She made it about seven miles down the beach, and I saw her going in the front door of a bed and breakfast. Looks like she’s staying there tonight. I asked about her in the little seafood shack, and a waitress said she was on the phone with someone, asking them to ship her purse and a few of her belongings.”

“Ship them to the bed and breakfast?” Davis asked, his voice loaded with excitement. “That’s good then. She’ll be there at least a few days. Which place is it?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Dallas said firmly. “Let her be for a while. It’s not like she’s really going to just leave her perfectly good car right here. Let her get her stuff and give her some time to cool off.”

“She could come for her car while I’m at work. Then who knows where she would end up? I’d really lose her then.”

“Don’t you think maybe that’s a sign?” Dallas offered. “If she’s ready to leave you in her dust, maybe you should let her.”

“If she doesn’t care about me, I’m fine with that,” he lied. “But what I won’t do is let her run away because she’s worried about what I think. If the only reason she’s not here is because she can’t face me, I want to deal with that head on. I’ll look her in the eye, and if she doesn’t feel the way I do, I’ll let her walk away.”

“Fine,” Dallas said, tossing his hands up in defeat and looking unconvinced. “But not tonight. Not tomorrow either. Give her at least that. I think it’ll be better that way.”

“And I’m supposed to just sit here?” Davis asked, gesturing over to the porch swing. “I’m off work the next two days, so what am I supposed to do?”

“For heaven’s sake, man,” Dallas scolded. “Do something for you. Do something that isn’t work, or sleep, or exercising. Try to remember back when life was easy, and you weren’t trying to fill up every second just so you don’t have to feel anything. Do that for a couple days and maybe you’ll both be in better shape when you talk.”

“When did you get so deep and insightful?” Davis asked, climbing back up the steps and sinking into the cushions of the porch swing. He couldn’t help but cast a sarcastic look at Dallas, whose face was red with frustration. “I feel like you actually have your act together now.”

“Oh yeah.” He laughed and rolled his eyes. “I’m thinking of launching my own talk show any day now. Just tell me you have beer in the fridge and that my mom sent you home with some cookies or something.”

“Yep, help yourself,” Davis said, gesturing into the cabin. “No one knows how to heal a broken heart like your mom and her baked goods. It’s the least I can do for all the sage wisdom you’re offering me.”

“That’s true,” Dallas called from the kitchen. “As a matter of fact I’m taking some of these leftovers, too. I’m on point with this advice, and it makes me hungry. Being brilliant burns calories.”

Davis closed his eyes and listened intently to the crashing waves at the foot of the dunes. He had bought this place from Dallas as a gift for Julie. He’d painted it purple to win her over, to convince her to stay. The guy who had done all that, who had become nearly unrecognizable to himself just to persuade a woman he loved to stay, was gone. Davis wasn’t that kid anymore. He knew love was not a trap you set in hopes of snaring an unsuspecting heart.

He was different. Elaine was not Julie. And this was not a high school love he’d hung on to like favorite shirt long since outgrown. There was a spark between him and Elaine. An abstract connection that couldn’t be summed up easily, which was a scary prospect. But it also couldn’t be quickly swept aside and forgotten. His only hope was that she felt the same way about what they’d shared. If not, he’d let her go.