"He rented the cabin to bond with his teenage daughter. Apparently, he left the military to have more time with her."
Grandma nodded. "He's a good dad."
"I'm sure he is, but what are we going to do about the cottage being double-booked?"
"If I forgot to tell the management company, then I think there's nothing we can do. If you need a place to stay, you'll have to work something out with him."
This was what I was afraid of. "You want me to talk to him and work out an arrangement so that we can be roommates."
Grandma sipped her tea. "That solves your problem. You both get what you want."
It didn't solve the issue where I was still attracted to Marshall, but Grandma didn't have to know that. "What if he says no? He already said he wanted to be alone with his daughter."
Grandma contemplated that for a few seconds and finally said, "I'll talk to him."
"Please don't. I'll handle this."
Grandma loved to meddle in other people's business, and I didn't trust her not to tell Marshall that I'd been lusting after him all these years, whether she knew it to be true or not.
Grandma continued as if she hadn't heard me. "If he wants to pay lower rent for the summer, then I'll talk to the management company."
I still wasn't positive Marshall wanted me there at all. He seemed irritated by my presence.
We hadn't kept in touch because I always thought we'd run into each other again the next summer. But then I'd gotten a summer internship that was too good to pass up. I hadn't returned to the island until I'd graduated from college, and by then, he'd signed on for the military. He was gone, and I thought I'd lost my chance forever.
I'd always held out hope that we'd see each other again, the same way we'd met. It had been a chance encounter on the beach. I'd been hunting for seashells when he'd jogged by and stopped to talk to me. It had been a short encounter, but I'd continued to see him every morning after that. One day, he'd asked if he could walk with me, and we'd been inseparable the rest of the summer. Any time he wasn't working at his family's construction business he spent with me. At the small island movie theater, on the beach, and stargazing in the back of his truck. It was magical. By the end of that summer I thought I was in love with him. But I'd written it off as a summer fling, a teen love that couldn't possibly last. I was never able to forget about him though.
Grandma leaned over to pat my knee. "I'm confident that this is going to work out."
I blinked at her in disbelief. "What if he doesn't want to share the cottage?"
Grandma waved a hand. "That's phooey. Marshall Kingston is a good man. He won't kick you out."
"He already threatened to," I deadpanned, but Grandma was undeterred. I had a feeling she was cooking up a scheme inside her head, one where she thought if we were in close proximity, we'd fall into each other's arms again.
But I wasn't that naive eighteen-year-old anymore. I knew the risks of getting involved with Marshall, and I wouldn't make that mistake. I never truly got over him, and I knew it would be a mistake to start something again.
"Remember, I'm here to forget about men for the summer. I need a break." I wasn't here to reconnect with an old love.
"The cottage is the perfect summer escape. I'm positive Marshall won't be a problem."
"I'm glad you're so confident." Marshall was a big problem. He'd only filled out over the years, testing the confines of his clothes in a way I couldn't ignore.
"He was always a nice boy. I'm sure he's turned into quite the gentleman."
I flushed because he hadn't been a gentleman at eighteen. We hadn't been able to keep our hands off each other. Young love was all consuming, and I couldn't afford to fall back into something so free and reckless. I had to protect my heart.
"I know your last boyfriend was a jerk. But Marshall is here to take care of his daughter. He won't interfere with your plans for the summer."
All I could think about was that we were sharing the bathroom. How often would I run into him naked? When he touched my bare skin, it had felt like I'd been charged with electricity.
That shook me to my core because I thought after the year I'd had, I wouldn't be able to think about dating anyone for a long time.
Marshall has a daughter now. He didn't have time for a trip down memory lane. He wasn't interested in a summer fling.
Could I keep things platonic? I had to if I wanted a place to stay. Otherwise, I'd have to go home, and I wasn't ready to face everything I'd left behind.
I'd suspected that something had been going on with my boyfriend, Flynn, but every time I confronted him about our relationship or whether he was happy, he acted like he was. When I'd started to see other signs, like texts from an unknown number, him working later and later, and going out of town for conferences, I thought he might be cheating on me. He'd denied it, and I thought I was starting to lose my mind.
