Chapter 14 - THE SECOND CHANCE I NEVER EXPECTED
Nathan asked me to dinner on a Thursday.
Not at an expensive restaurant.
Not aboard a yacht.
At a little seafood place on the mainland.
I stared at him.
“Are you asking me on a date?”
He looked mildly embarrassed.
“Yes.”
I smiled.
“Good.”
We took things slowly.
Very slowly.
I had spent six years in a marriage where love gradually became obligation.
I wasn't interested in repeating that.
Nathan understood.
He never pushed.
Never demanded.
Never made me feel guilty for needing time.
We talked about work.
Family.
Books.
The ocean.
My father.
His late mother.
And the strange comfort of repairing things that might never look exactly as they had before.
One evening, we walked along the restored eastern beach.
Nathan took my hand.
“Do you ever regret staying on the island?”
I thought about it.
The fear.
The storm.
The betrayal.
The months of legal proceedings.
Then I looked toward the lighthouse.
“No.”
He smiled.
“Not even a little?”
I shook my head.
“I regret trusting Grant with things he hadn't earned.”
I paused.
“But I don't regret staying.”
Nathan squeezed my hand.
“Why?”
I looked at him.
“Because that night showed me who I was when nobody else was coming to save me.”
He smiled.
“And who was that?”
I looked toward the water.
“Someone who could save herself.”
Nathan kissed me beneath the stars.
It was gentle.
Unhurried.
Nothing like the grand romantic gestures Grant used to perform when cameras were nearby.
And it felt real.
Later, as we walked back toward the lighthouse, Nathan stopped.
“Olivia.”
“Yes?”
“I don't need you to be anything other than yourself.”
I looked at him.
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
May you like
Then I smiled.
“That's a very good start.”
