I Left Him at the Altar to Hide Our Daughter, and Now He Owns the Inn Where I Cook novel · Chapter 15 of 24

Chapter 15: Everything

He was already there when I came down the dock.

The harbor was black and still, and the inn behind me was dark except for one window on the third floor.

The Captain's Suite.

Sea Smoke sat low at the end of the dock with a lantern on her deck.

Lawrence was sitting in the cockpit with his elbows on his knees.

He stood when he saw me.

He held out his hand to help me step down.

The boat moved under my feet and he steadied me, and then let go.

I sat on the bench across from him.

I had the recipe tin in my lap, wrapped in its dish towel.

"You came," he said.

"I said I would."

"You said that once before."

I deserved that.

Water slapped softly against the hull.

Somewhere out past the breakwater, the bell buoy rang.

"Three days before the wedding," I said, "I bought a test at the pharmacy in Rockland."

He didn't move.

"I took it in Hattie's bathroom. Two lines."

"I was going to tell you on the honeymoon. On the beach. I'd planned what I was going to say."

His hands had locked together between his knees.

"Your mother saw the box in my bag at the rehearsal dinner. When I went to get my lipstick."

"I didn't know she'd seen it until the next morning."

I told him the rest of it, start to finish, and watched each piece land on his face.

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