“Yes?”
“I’m around if you want to talk tonight. Just call me.”
Call him?Why would she do that? She’d never called him just to talk. But it probably didn’t sound that way to Peter.
She just nodded and stepped to the door Peter held open for her, both of them walking to her SUV in silence. How could she explain that last comment to him—and did she have to?
At the driver’s side, she pulled open the door and glanced over the SUV roof to see his expression, able to read all the emotion in that flash of a second. But by the time they were next to each other and pulling on their seatbelts, his face was stoic.
“So,” she said on an awkward sigh. “I don’t really know why he’d?—”
“Viv, I gotta know.”
She froze in the act of turning on the ignition, her heart kicking into high gear. “I swear, Peter, there’s nothing going on. He flirts and we talk but?—”
“I don’t care about that,” he said gruffly. “He’s rich. Not a gargoyle, either. And you’re a grown and beautiful woman whois smart enough to make her own choice. This is about me, not him.”
She sighed, looking hard at him, silent.
“I need to know where you stand with me,” he said. “I’ve made my feelings clear and I am facing a huge life decision. Stay or go. Work for the Destin PD or return to Pensacola. The case is about to close—ice cold. So I have to tell my boss and the chief here what I want to do.”
“I know,” she whispered, her chest tight.
“I don’t make life decisions lightly,” he said. “If I transfer to Destin, it’s for you. So…”
“So, no pressure,” she said with a mirthless laugh.
“Just honesty,” he replied.
Vivien swallowed hard, uncertainty clawing at her insides. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m confused and scared and hopeful and…I honestly need more time.”
“Okay, okay.” He glanced at the ignition. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Do you want me to drive?”
She shook her head, not trusting her voice as tears stung her lids. “I’m fine to drive.” She turned on the car and backed out slowly, pulling onto the road with one last look at Danny’s house.
Was there something more exciting behind those walls? Or was the right man sitting next to her?
She honestly didn’t know. How was that possible?
“I shouldn’t pressure you,” he said, putting his hand on her leg. “I just need clarity and a sense that if I turn my life upside down, it’s for the right reasons.”
“You deserve that and more.” She blinked against the sting in her eyes, looking out at the road ahead as they drove. How did she end up here? Torn between two incredible men, both offering her different things—and yet, neither felt like therightanswer.
Peter gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, his whole body seeming to relax as the fight left him. Or maybe it was getting some distance from Danny.
“Take your time, Viv. But not too much. The case’ll officially close in a couple of days. Then I’ll have to make a firm decision.”
Vivien nodded, her heart a tangled mess right then. Peter lifted his hand, and the car filled with a quiet that felt heavier than words.
Two men. Two futures. And a choice she wasn’t sure she knew how to make.
After Vivien dropped Peter off,she drove to the Summer House in a haze.
I need to know where you stand with me.
His words echoed in her head, making her whole body mix with a cocktail of anxiety and uncertainty.
How was she supposed to choose when nothing felt clear? Peter was offering stability, commitment—love, even. But every time she thought about settling into that safe harbor, her mind drifted to a pair of mischievous silver-blue eyes, a crooked grin, and the way Danny Sullivan made her feel like a teenager again.
