Jack's Surrender (Holiday Cove 5)

He stood, rebuttoned his jacket, and smiled down at me. “I’ll look forward to giving you the grand tour.”

A flurry of emotions flew through my stomach. Noah was easy going but the consummate professional. I had an inkling that he was interested in me, a comment here, lingering glance there, but he’d never acted on any of it. Noah was the kind of guy any woman would be lucky to have. Young, successful, ambitious, rich—but not snobby or overbearingly—and he had this air about him that was contagious. A love of life. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find him interesting and definitely attractive, but something was blocking anything further than that from developing in my mind.

Jack.

The past six months had been a rollercoaster of emotions. One day I would barely be able to force myself out of bed. The next, I woke up, ready to conquer the world one spreadsheet at a time. The only thing that remained constant was Jack’s presence in my mind. He was always there, no matter how hard I tried to bury or drown him out.

Even an overwhelmingly handsome—and single—man like Noah didn’t stand a chance.

“I’ll see you Monday, Holly.” Noah headed for the door. “Do me a favor?”

“Hmm?”

He flashed that smile. “Let your hair down this weekend. Treat yo’ self, as the kids are saying.”

I laughed and nodded my agreement. Satisfied, he waved and walked out of my office.

When he was out of my sight, I turned my attention back to my computer and dove into work. The housing problem might finally be solved. I was relieved to potentially have that off my plate, but at the same time, I couldn’t ignore the pang of sadness.

The hotel felt temporary. At any given day, I could decide to leave, pay for my stay, and go back home. But moving into a completely new house would be another story entirely. Would I go back to the house and pack up my belongings? Would Jack and I have to go room-by-room and divvy everything up? God, it sounded too exhausting.

I never thought I would be back to this place—moving from my home, splitting up the dishes and pots and pans and furniture. And I never thought it’d be Jack standing across the room asking if I wanted to keep the TV or washer and dryer set. Everything in the house was barely a few months old.

How is this happening?

By some miracle, I pushed the thoughts out of my head for a few hours and finished the project I was working on. It was Friday night and when I closed out of my email program, I glanced at the clock and decided that I would take Noah up on his offer. I’d kick off my shoes, slip into my sneakers, and leave early.

Hunter was over the moon to have me back so early. I changed into a pair of yoga pants, a t-shirt, and grabbed his leash. On our way out the door, I paused at the hallway mirror and caught my reflection. With a smile, I tugged the pins out of my hair and watched it tumble to my shoulders. “Cheers to the freakin’ weekend,” I said, smiling to myself. It was my first one solo since the breakup, the others had been spent with Rachel, either in Newport Beach at her apartment or the two she’d come down to Holiday Cove. I’d been dreading spending an entire weekend alone, but walking out of the hotel, with the sand beneath my feet, I decided I was okay with it.

Hunter was finally starting to tire of our game of fetch and when he brought the ball back, I scooped it up and carried it. “Come on, boy. Let’s walk down to Carly’s. She’ll have scones for us.”

The Siren was a mile down the coastline but the distance passed quickly under the late afternoon sun. The sunset was probably an hour away, and I decided there was no better place to spend it than on Carly’s patio, sipping some delicious coffee drink and eating my body weight in pastries.

Carly was at the counter when I stooped over to tie Hunter’s leash to the bike rack outside the doors. I’d learned the hard way that he needed to be tied to something more secure than a bistro table or patio chair. I patted him on the head and promised to bring him a treat if he stayed still and didn’t go digging through the potted plant to the left of the shop’s front door.

“Hey, stranger!” Carly greeted as soon as I entered the quaint shop.

I smiled. “Hey, girl. It’s definitely been a while.” I scanned the dining area as I approached the counter. There were two college-aged girls at a table but they were both engrossed in whatever they were looking at on their phones. “I skipped out early.”