Chapter Six
227 Words
Marianne Holt arrived in a luxury SUV that looked wildly out of place beside the harbor.
Elena disliked her immediately.
The woman smiled too sharply.
“I’m prepared to make an extremely generous offer for the inn,” Marianne said smoothly.
Elena crossed her arms.
“It’s not for sale.”
“Everything is for sale eventually.”
Rowan appeared beside Elena then.
Quiet.
Solid.
Marianne’s gaze flicked between them.
“Ah,” she said knowingly.
Elena instantly hated that tone.
“This property could become a luxury resort,” Marianne continued. “Grayhaven is growing.”
“It’s already enough,” Rowan said.
Marianne smiled politely.
“Sentiment doesn’t stop progress.”
“No,” Elena replied evenly. “But greed usually ruins it.”
The woman’s smile cooled.
“I’ll leave my card.”
After she drove away, Elena exhaled hard.
“She’s awful.”
“She’s persistent,” Rowan corrected.
Elena looked toward the inn.
Toward the peeling paint and worn windows and generations of memories tucked inside its walls.
“I’m not losing this place,” she said quietly.
Rowan studied her for a long moment.
Then:
“You won’t.”
The certainty in his voice steadied something inside her.
And before she could overthink it, she reached for his hand.
He intertwined their fingers instantly.
Naturally.
Like he’d been waiting for permission.
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