“Especially you, my strong beautiful wife. You amaze me every day, but the fact that you kept everyone safe during the storm…I mean, God. You even prepared the cottage, saved our home…I really let you down. My cellphone plan was tied into the company and I had no idea none of my texts were going through. I thought you were busy, or mad, or honestly, I just wasn’t thinking. And of course, I didn’t get any of yours. I totally suck, I’m sorry.”

“You do kind of suck,” Sadie agreed, “I was insanely worried.”

He groaned.

“I forgive you just this once but don’t ever do that again,” she said lightly, but meaning it. “But what have you been doing in Boston these past few weeks?” She snuggled closer to his side. “Was it all an elaborate cover-up?”

“No, far from it,” he said. “I’ve actually been laying the groundwork for my own business these past few months. And since I got let go, I’ve been meeting with various business partners in Boston.”

She bolted upright. “Oh. Oh, wow.”

“It’s also why I’m always on my phone when I’m at home,” he said. “And why I’ve been so secretive about it. I was so afraid the investors weren’t going to follow through…that something would get messed up in the process. There were so many moving parts. I didn’t want to get your hopes up in case it didn’t pan out.”

“So tell me about this new business of yours, honey.” She gently squeezed his hands, intertwining their fingers. “No more reporting to that rotten Marlow, huh?”

Ethan told her all about his new software development company, how he’d already secured funding, two employees, and a handful of clients.

“What about an office space? Have you scoped out a good spot in Boston yet? Oh, you should choose someplace right by your old company so Marlow has to witness your tremendous success!”

“That’s the best part of all,” he said, his voice catching in his excitement. “Everyone is set up to work remotely. I’m going to be here in Maine, Sadie. No more trips to Boston.”

She couldn’t help it—she burst into tears of relief. Her husband was safe, their marriage was safe, his career was safe. Even if she was still just a tiny bit mad. She could let it go and move on to better things.

“Sadie?” Ethan rubbed her back as she cried into his shoulder. “I think you should move forward with Hester’s. I want you to. You deserve your own new adventure.”

She stopped crying. “You really think that?”