Chapter 26

The chapter flashes back to the previous summer when Lucy’s life unravels: her flower shop is vandalized, Carter breaks up with her for prioritizing the business, and Aunt Stacy is hospitalized with fast-moving cancer. Lucy witnesses a rare moment of reconciliation between Stacy and Lucy’s mother, Cheryl, before Stacy dies, leaving Lucy a note affirming her love.

Bridget, grieving too, coordinates with Felix to host Lucy at Salt Cottages while renovations keep one unit free. Felix and Lucy’s ongoing exchange of seeds and books has continued all year, a private language that blurs old rules. Felix picks her up from the airport, comforts her during car sickness, and settles her into the cottage he helped build, proudly showing his work and plans.

In the days that follow, Felix quietly cares for Lucy—cooking, keeping her company, and letting her sleep—while she begins to heal through solitude, long walks, and arranging wildflowers in memory of Stacy. Their friendship warms with shared routines, oysters at sunset, and talk of his expansion plans. Tension simmers but is unspoken; Felix doesn’t initially mention Chloe.

Felix later returns with the Mustang and teaches Lucy to drive stick, boosting her confidence. On a subsequent beach day at Basin Head, he reveals he and Chloe recently broke up. They picnic, he gifts Lucy a piece of sea glass, and he gently applies sunscreen to her back; the care between them becomes undeniable as they discuss Stacy, Carter’s criticisms, and Lucy’s fear she might be “broken.”

Felix reassures Lucy and, charged by mutual desire and trust, Lucy initiates a kiss. The moment confirms their bond has shifted from a rule-bound fling to something emotionally deeper, setting the stage for complications to come.