Page 5 of Finding Home at Hearts Hotel
"There are no inspectors coming, Issy," Owen said from across the table, leaning back with his hands laced behind his head, his bright shirt catching the dimming light. "I’ve just learned that the town council is planning an emergency meeting. They are going to unanimously vote to throw out every single one of their filings. The hotel's historical status is locked in for good."
Silence settled over the table. It wasn't the heavy, anxious, brittle they had lived with in recent weeks. It wasn’t the kind filled with whispered worries about lawsuits and hostile takeovers. It was the deep, settled calm of people who had survived a brutal war and were finally breathing clean, unfiltered air.
Naturally, all eyes drifted toward Darius.
He sat beside Linda, his arm stretched out along the back of the wooden bench behind her shoulders, his thumb occasionally brushing the cotton of her shirt. He was swirling the ice in hisglass, his expression calm and unreadable in the fading light. His eyes flicked across the group's faces before settling on Linda, holding her gaze.
"So," Martin broke the quiet, leaning forward with a small, knowing grin as he tossed a balled-up napkin toward his empty plate. "Now that the dust has cleared and the corporate hounds are gone, what are you doing with that big house out on the point, Darius? Are you putting it back on the market and heading back to the high-rises in Miami?"
Darius didn't answer immediately. He took his time, his gaze holding Linda's for a beat longer than necessary before he looked back down the table.
"I'm keeping it," Darius said simply.
Isabel stopped mid-chew, her fork hovering halfway to her plate before she dropped it with a sharp, metallic clank against the wood. "Really?"
"I'm going to live there," Darius replied, a faint, real smile touching the corners of his mouth. He set his glass down on the table with a thud. “With my family if they would come back.”
Linda watched the exchange between brother and sister. “The house is too big and lonely without the three of you there.” He turned to look at Penny, who was sipping her iced tea.
“I think we can manage that,” Penny said and glanced at Isabel. “What do you say, Isabel?”
“Mmm,” Isabel said, playing with the ice in her tea. “Maybe.” She grinned at her brother. “I’ll talk to Emma.”
“Thank you,” Darius said graciously.
“So are you going to live here now?” Michael asked Darius.
“Yes,” Darius said, and his eyes met Linda’s.
Linda’s heart gave a hard, sudden lurch against her ribs. She looked up at him, her breath catching in her throat as the weight of his words settled into the space between them. He wasn't just a summer visitor anymore. He was putting down roots right here in the bay.
“What about the company?” Linda asked.
"Turns out my laptop works just as well overlooking the bay as it does from a glass tower downtown. Miami isn't that far away when I actually need to be there." Darius’s voice dropped as his eyes darkened with emotion. “And Miami is not that far, so I can travel there and back.”
A quiet fell over the table as each person was locked into their own thoughts.
“So it seems that we’re all going to be living in Sweet Blossom Bay now,” Penny said, raising her tea. “Here’s to new beginnings and friendships.”
They all raised their glasses with Penny.
Just then Linda’s phone buzzed. She pulled it out and saw it was a message from Anna and her heart lifted with joy.
“They’re moving Uncle George out of ICU,” Linda told the table, and there were more cheers.
She looked over at her brother. “They will only allow two of us to go see him.”
“I’ll go with you.” Michael had immediately known what she was asking.
“Do you think we can tell him about this new development with Hearts Hotel?” Linda asked no one in particular.
“I’d ask the doctor,” Darius advised. “He’d know best.”
“Darius is right,” Michael agreed. “We’ll talk to the doctor.”
“Maggie, can you take the kids home?” Linda asked her.
“Sure,” Maggie said, leaning over to take the car keys that Linda fished out of her purse.
