“So…” He paused and looked off. She saw the sharp contours of his cheekbones, then suddenly there was his face again, looking at her while he took a bracing swallow of his drink. “A bit more bad news,” he said, looking down at his drink.

She waited.

He looked up. He had this way of keeping his head down, then raising his eyes that was so disarming. She felt her heart skip. She knew that look so well. Missed it. He often looked at her that way, or tilted his head sleepily, when they were talking after they’d made love.

“What?”

“Now that I have the formal approval to get into the country, I’ve been searching for a place to rent.”

“What about the house you rented last summer? It was perfect.”

“It was. I tried. But it’s already rented. In fact, most places are rented. It’s crazy. I can’t find a decent place on either Isle of Palms or Sullivan’s Island.”

“It’s the pandemic. People are fleeing the cities. Everywhere is rented—for the whole summer. And the real estate market is just as wild. A house doesn’t stay on the market long at all. My friend who’s an agent told me that it used to be someone would fly in and take several days to look at several houses. Now they come in and look at two or three houses and buy one of them immediately. That is, if they don’t buy it online, sight unseen.”

“That explains it.”

“Did you look in Mount Pleasant?”

“Off the island?”

“Yes, but it’s not far. Just over the bridge.”

Gordon looked down at his drink. “Actually, I was wondering… hoping, rather, that there was room in the inn.” His smile was quick, almost shy.

Her mind froze and she didn’t reply.

“We could live together,” he explained.

Linnea sucked in her breath, exhaling slowly while her mind whirred.

The plan had been for him to come to the islands and continue his research project. He’d find a place to live. They’d see each other, some nights she’d sleep over. It would be like the summer before. She was excited to see him again and continue their relationship. She thought she might be in love with him—but she’d never said she was moving in with him. That was a big step in their relationship. And she’d had a bad experience with that. Linnea wasn’t mentally prepared.

“Here?”

He laughed. “Yes. Since there is really no place else.”

“I… oh, gosh, Gordon…” she stammered. “This is sudden. I didn’t plan for this.”

“Neither did I. But here we are.” When she didn’t respond, he said, “We were going to be together anyway. It’s just geography.”

“Oh, Gordon,” she said. “It’s so much more than geography.”

He hesitated, considering. “Is that a no?”

“I can’t,” she blurted. “For a lot of reasons. Things have changed here. I have a roommate.”

“A roommate? Since when?”

“Anna. You remember her.” His face was blank. “Annabelle.”

“Yes, of course,” he replied. “The redhead. Rotten surfer.”