“Sure do.”
“All right then, you need to go,” Lydia said, grinning as she gave Autumn’s ass a shove. “I’ll make sure the place is locked up before we head out.”
“Thank you.” Autumn flipped her hair over her shoulders and walked out of the cottage, turning to give them a final wave.
It was time to do some talking.
30
Griff was sitting on the sand when he saw her walking toward him, her hair lifted by the breeze, dancing around her face. He had his phone in his hand, replying to a message from Lucas who was asking if he wanted to talk. He quickly typed out a reply.
Thanks, man. Maybe later. There’s somebody else I need to talk to first.
“Hi.” Autumn sat next to him, her bare legs stretching out on the sand. They were bronzed from her time living in Angel Sands, but he could remember how pale they’d been when she first arrived.
He liked them both ways. The exotic and the familiar. That’s exactly what she was to him.
She leaned her chin on her hand, staring out at the ocean.
“How’re you doing?” he asked her softly.
She slowly brought her gaze to his. “I think I’m okay. The adjuster meeting went better than I expected. Thinks we can get the claim through pretty quick.”
“That’s great news. Will you start repairing the pier right away?”
“That’s the plan.” Her lips were pink, her eyes clear in spite of the past twenty-four hours. God, he wanted to touch her. “Did you think I’d take the money and run instead?”
“Not for a minute.” He shook his head. “I know you too well for that.”
“My dad wanted me to. Until he saw my expression.”
Griff chuckled. “I’d have liked to see that.”
“How about your adjuster? What’s the news on the boat?”
“They want a second opinion on if it’s repairable. There’s some specialist place up the coast that restores old boats – they’re arranging for them to take a look.”
The skin between her brows pinched together. “Won’t repairing it take a long time?” she asked, tracing a circle in the sand with her fingertip.
“It’ll take as long as it takes. There’s no hurry. I can’t exactly use it until the pier is ready.”
Her finger froze, mid-circle. “You can find somewhere else to run your business. There’s a dock at the Silver Sands Resort, they might be able to help. Or you could go to the marina.” The thought of him losing all that money made her want to be sick.
“It’s okay,” he said, his voice soft. He put his hand over hers, his palm warming her. “I figure it’s time to take a really good look at the business while the boat is repaired. Somebody clever told me I should diversify, make more plans. I can do that and crew on some friends’ boats to tide me over until the Explorer is ready.”
“Not on Sam’s boat, though.” Her worried gaze met his.
He laughed. “No. I prefer to stay above the water line when I’m onboard.”
“It could be months until the pier’s ready. Years, even. The season will be ove
r. You’ll have lost at least a year’s income.”
“I’m not worried about that,” he told her, his gaze sure as it connected with hers. “All the best things are worth waiting for. And working for.”
She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. “I should never have lied to you about the pier. And I should have told you about the buyer being interested. And I’m sorry I didn’t.” Sliding her fingers between his, she curled her hand around his. “If you hadn’t guessed, I have a lot of trust issues.”
He gave her a rueful smile. “I didn’t give you a lot of reasons to trust me. I jumped to all the wrong conclusions and treated you like shit. And I’m so desperately sorry for that.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. “The things I said…” His voice trailed off as he tried to find the right words. Maybe there weren’t any. “I was an asshole.” That was the crux of it.