That was Amelia in a nutshell—she was the person who would give the shirt off her back if someone needed it.
“Thank you for coming to my rescue. I swear, I must have packed with my eyes closed.”
“Blinded by love, huh?” Amelia grinned. “And who says the holidays aren’t magic?”
“Corny as it sounds, I think love un-blinded me.” She fingered the soft cotton fabric of the dress. “I was about to walk into a work situation because I thought it was what I should do, even though every signal in my gut was telling me I would be unhappy. I almost made the biggest mistake of my life.”
Almost? You don’t know that Sean is going to forgive you for being so stupid.
He’d put himself out there while she held back. He’d voiced his feelings with courage and dignity, while she hid behind her insecurities. He’d grown while she tried to be the same old Lily.
What if he didn’t forgive her?
She would face up to it. Regardless, Patterson’s Bluff was where Lily wanted to be. Working on her novel was what her creative muse desired. Being around her family was what her soul needed.
And while her heart absolutely wanted Sean to be part of that picture, it was in his hands now. All she could do was show him that she was ready to be honest about her desires. The rest… well, that was up to fate.
“You’re here now,” Amelia said, standing up and slinging an arm around her shoulder. “That’s all that matters. I hope it wasn’t because of the comments we made about missing you while we were all planning Evie’s wedding. We didn’t mean to put any pressure on you.”
“It wasn’t pressure. But… if I’m being honest, the whole wedding was a wake-up call. I’ve been working so hard the last five years I don’t think I realised just how homesick I’d gotten. Or how many things I’d missed in my life.”
“Sometimes we need to go away to appreciate why home is so good,” Amelia replied. Then she laughed and shook her head. “Says the girl who’s never lived over ten minutes from her family home. Maybe I’m not the best person to give advice on this topic.”
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it? Nothing wrong with knowing exactly what you want out of life.”
“Don’t act like I’ve got my life all figured out. That is so not the case.” Her cousin shot her a look. “In fact, I feel like I’m the dud of the family sometimes.”
“No way.” Lily blinked. “Why on earth would you think that?”
“Oh, maybe because you’re all off being creative and being your own bosses. Evie has her jewellery design business. Katherine has her successful bakery. You’re a hotshot writer.” Amelia shrugged. “Makes my part-time barista work look a bit lacklustre, doesn’t it?”
“We all know you only work part-time at the cafe so you can devote the rest of your time to the animal shelter. That’s such important work. Not to mention that supplying caffeine ensures people don’t kill one another in the morning.” She reached out and squeezed her younger cousin’s shoulder. Amelia had every right to be proud of herself—she was a giving soul, a friend to all animals, and she really did make amazing coffee. “Never let anyone make you feel like it’s not enough.”
“Thank you. And you’re right, it is important. I know that. Some days it’s such a grind, you know? No pun intended.”
“I do love a good barista joke.”
“As for the shelter, it feels like the animals come in faster than we can home them sometimes…” For a minute there were tears glimmering in her eyes. Lily reached over for a hug. “Anyway, I did not come here to be a Debbie Downer. We’ve got a party to attend!”
“I’m here anytime you need to talk,” she responded. “I’m always happy to lend an ear.”
Amelia nodded. “Thanks. I’m really glad you’re coming home for good.”
“Me too.”
Lily held up the dress in front of her and looked in the mirror. She had dark circles under her eyes from the trip over and she felt a little foggy from poor sleep on the plane. But it felt like she was standing at the edge of a cliff, surveying the beautiful possibilities of what could be.
And for the first time, she was ready to let go of a sure thing in the hopes of something more.
Sean finished his shift at Riptide and headed home to shower before going to the beach. New Year’s Eve was usually a scorcher, which made the beach the perfect place for a party. Although he had to admit, after being so cold while he was in America, the Aussie summer heat had hit him a little harder than usual.
He should have been feeling the effects of his twelve-hour shift, since serving the rowdy customers was usually a draining experience. But he was buoyed by the knowledge that he would finish up at the end of the following week.
A new adventure awaited.
He parked his car along the street, behind a seemingly endless train of other vehicles, and headed toward the beach. His phone vibrated in his pocket and when he pulled it out, he saw a text message flash on the screen.
ZOEY: Where are you? The fireworks will go off soon!
Sean couldn’t help but smile. It was tradition for him, his sister and their friends, to watch the fireworks on the north-facing beach each year. That was his longstanding arrangement with Pat—he’d work any day, any time and come in at the last minute whenever he was needed. But he always wanted the early shift on New Year’s Eve, so he could be out in time for the midnight countdown.
But that would no longer be a concern.
SEAN: T minus two minutes. I won’t miss it.
Zoey texted him the details of where they had set up, and he turned right once his feet hit the sand. The coolest thing about this beach was that you could see all the way across the bay to the big fireworks show in Melbourne, as well as catching the shows further along the coast in Sorrento. There was nothing like New Year’s Eve on the beach, blackened waves lapping the shore and a riot of colour in the sky.
He wished Lily was here to share it with him. Undoubtedly, she was somewhere much fancier, probably rubbing elbows with famous people and sipping champagne. Looking like a vision.
Every day that had passed since the wedding, he thought about her. Dreamed about her. Longed for her.
“You need to get her out of your head,” he grumbled to himself, even though it was pointless. If he hadn’t been able to do that in the last decade or so, why would his brain listen now?
He caught sight of Zoey further up the beach. That was one benefit of her rainbow-coloured hair. She stood out in a crowd. They had a group of about ten people spread out on picnic blankets, with lanterns and food. Music floated through the air from a source unknown, and there were people frolicking in the shallows.
“Hey!” He held up his hand in greeting.
“About bloody time,” Mack said. “We thought you’d bailed.”
“Sorry, it was a mess at work. I think Pat is getting as much out of me as he can before I finish up.” He clapped a hand down on Mack’s shoulder.
His sister jumped up and gave him a hug. “It wouldn’t be the same without you.”
She’d been hanging around him even more these last few days, almost as if she sensed something was up. The woman had a nose for the tiniest little changes, and he couldn’t ever hide a thing from her, no matter how much he denied anything was wrong. But she wasn’t clueless—Sean changing his job on a whim, without ever having mentioned it to her, was very out of character.