Harbor Falls

by Fiona Rivers

“Darren, my mom had a heart attack this morning and she’s in the hospital. The next flight out to New York leaves in two hours and I’ll never make it in time.”

  “Don’t say another word. I’m sending the company jet to you as we speak. It’ll be waiting for you in the airport’s private hanger.”

  “Thank you, Darren.”

  “You’re welcome. It’s the least I can do for you.”

  She ended the call, drove home and packed her suitcase. When she arrived at the airport, after hitting some heavy traffic on the way, Darren’s company plane had just arrived.

  “It’s good to see you again, Adalyn,” Charles spoke as he extended his hand out to her.

  “Thank you, Charles. It’s good to see you.”

  He took her bag and helped her on the plane. Once she was seated, she sent a text message to Hannah.

  “I’m on my way now. I should be there within a couple of hours.”

  “Thank God. Mom is being unbearable and trying to leave.”

  Adalyn couldn’t help but smile because that sounded like her mother. The plane had finally landed, and Adalyn took a cab to Mt. Sinai, where Hannah was waiting for her in the lobby.

  “There you are.” Hannah smiled as she hugged her sister.

  “How’s Mom?”

  “Being as stubborn as ever. The doctor said it was only a mild heart attack. Thank God Antonio can keep her calm.”

  “Did you tell her I was coming?”

  “No. And she specifically told me not to call you and that she would once she was released.”

  The moment Adalyn stepped into the room, her mother took one look at her and threw her arms in the air.

  “Adalyn, you didn’t have to come. I’m fine.”

  “Hey, Antonio.” Adalyn smiled as she kissed his cheek.

  “Hello, darling. Welcome back.”

  “Mom.” She leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You had a mild heart attack. Did you really think Hannah wouldn’t call me?”

  “I’m fine, darling. It was no big deal.”

  “Says you.” She took hold of her hand.

  “What about your gallery?”

  “Luis and Olivia are taking good care of it. Stop worrying about me and worry about yourself.”

  After talking for a while, Hannah and Adalyn went down to the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat.

  “How did you get here so fast?” Hannah asked as they took their trays and sat down.

  “Ugh. I had to call Darren.”

  “You what?!” Hannah exclaimed.

  “I know.” She put her hand up. “But I didn’t have a choice. He sent his company plane to get me.”

  “I’m shocked after what you said to him back in Harbor Falls.”

  “He said it was the least he could do for me.”

  Hannah sat across from her and rolled her eyes. “Well, you’re here and that’s all that matters.”

  Adalyn’s mother was released from the hospital a couple days later with a new diet plan in place and some medication. Overall, she was feeling good, but Adalyn wasn’t quite ready to go back to Harbor Falls yet. She’d been in touch with Luis and the gallery was doing well.

  As Hannah and Adalyn were at their mother’s apartment, Adalyn heard her phone ding with a text message. When she grabbed it, her heart started to race when she saw she had a message from Colin.

  “I ran into Luis and he told me about your mom. How is she?”

  “You better answer him,” Hannah said.

  Adalyn rolled her eyes as she typed a reply.

  “She’s home now and doing much better. Thank you for asking.”

  “That’s good to hear. Give her my best, please.”

  “I will.”

  “How long do you think you’ll be staying in New York?”

  “I don’t know yet. Probably another week or so.”

  “We need to talk when you get back.”

  “I don’t think there’s anything left to say. You made your point very clear to me. You needed your space and now I need mine.”

  “He’s extending an olive branch.” Hannah smiled as she stood over Adalyn and read the text messages.”

  “I don’t care. I’m over it.”

  “No you’re not. You love him and you know it.”

  32

  A couple more days had passed, and Adalyn found herself outside the building of Darren’s company. As she stared at the large glass revolving doors, she took in a deep breath as she entered the lobby and took the elevator up to the twelfth floor.

  “Adalyn.” Roberta, Darren’s secretary smiled. “It’s good to see you.”

  She got up from her chair and gave Adalyn a hug.

  “It’s good to see you too, Roberta. Is he in there?” Adalyn pointed to Darren’s office.

  “He is. Just knock on the door.”

  “Thanks.”

  Adalyn lightly tapped on the door and when Darren told her to come in, she opened it and stepped inside.

  “Adalyn?” Darren spoke with a shocked look on his face when he saw her.

  “Hi, Darren. I just wanted to stop by and thank you for sending your company plane to fly me back to New York.”

  “You’re welcome. You look great. Sit down.” He motioned with his hand.

  “I can’t stay. I was just passing by and thought I’d stop in.”

  “How’s your mom doing?”

  “Much better. Thank you.”

  “Since you’re here, I think you should know that I took your advice and I’m in therapy.”

  “Good. Good for you.” A small smile crossed her lips.

  “I never thought I’d do something like that, but I am and it’s going well. I’m learning a lot about myself and the issues I didn’t even realize I had. How’s the gallery doing?”

  “The gallery is doing really well. Better than I ever expected.”

  “I’m happy to hear that. You deserve all the success in the world.”

  “Thanks. I better get going.”

  Adalyn turned and when she placed her hand on the doorknob, Darren called her name.

  “Adalyn?”

  “Yeah.” She turned her head.

  “I wish you nothing but happiness. I’m just sorry I wasn’t the one who could give that to you.”

  “You did for a while, Darren.” She gave him a small smile and walked out of his office.

  Another couple of days had passed. Adalyn was in Hannah’s kitchen making some coffee when Hannah walked through the door holding a white square box.

  “Good, you’re up.” She smiled. “I went and got us our favorite chocolate chip muffins.”

  “Perfect timing. I’m just brewing the coffee.”

  “I talked to Mom already. She and Antonio want to take us out to dinner tonight to Ascent around seven o’clock. I have a meeting downtown with an investor at five, so I told them we’d meet them there.”

  “Why is your meeting so late?” Adalyn asked.

  “He’s flying in and that’s the time he set. So, I figured we’d meet at the corner of 7th and West 59th and we can walk to Ascent together. Sound good?”

  “Sure. What time should I meet you there?”

  “By the time I meet with the investor and get over to 7th and West 59th in all that traffic, I’d say six forty-five. That gives us plenty of time to get to Ascent.”

  “Okay. After I eat this delicious muffin, I’m heading over to Mom’s.”

  “I have a lot of work to do for my new line, so I’ll meet up with you later.”

  At six forty-five, Adalyn approached the corner of 7th and West 59th and looked around for her sister. When she didn’t see her, she pulled out her phone and sent her a text message.

  “I’m here. Are you on your way?”

  “On my way. Just wait for me.”

  She stood there and stared at the horse and carriages that lined the street. With a smile on her face, she walked over and ran her hand down the mane of a dark brown horse that was attached to a white carriage
.

  “She’s a beauty. Isn’t she?” Adalyn heard a familiar voice from behind.

  Turning her head, she saw Colin sitting inside the white carriage with a smile on his face.

  “Colin? Wh—What are you doing here?” she asked in shock.

  “I was hoping you’d join me for a carriage ride.” The grin on his face widened as he extended his hand to her.

  “Are you serious?” The corners of her mouth curved upward.

  “Did you think I’d fly to New York and do this alone?”

  Adalyn placed her hand in his as he helped her into the carriage.

  “Are we all set, Mr. Young?” the coachman asked.

  “We are, Carter.”

  “I don’t know if you know this but I’m meeting my sister on the corner and we’re meeting my mother and Antonio for dinner—” She paused. “There is no dinner, is there?”

  “No, Addy. Your sister and your mom both helped me plan this. I told you before that I would take a carriage ride with you, so here I am.”

  “I can’t believe you came to New York.”

  “I didn’t want to wait until you got back to talk. There’s so much I need to say to you, and I thought a carriage ride would be the perfect way to do it. But first, I want to give you this.”

  Colin reached over, picked up a single red rose and handed it to Adalyn.

  “It’s beautiful. Thank you,” Adalyn said as she brought the rose up to her nose.

  “I was one hundred percent in the wrong and I’m here not only to apologize, but to ask for your forgiveness.”

  “Colin—”

  “Let me finish.” He interrupted her as he placed his finger on her lips. “What you did for Olivia was completely selfless. I honestly don’t know any other woman that would hire the ex-fiancée of the man she was seeing. My first thought was that she was up to something because I still don’t trust her. I was afraid her being around every day, would cause issues between us. And the last thing I want is to lose you. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, Adalyn Richards, and when I look at you, all I see is my future with you in it.”

  “That’s all I see too.” Adalyn smiled as she brought her hand up to Colin’s cheek. Regardless of who she is and what she’s done, she’s still a human being, she’s alone and she’s pregnant. She believes her getting pregnant and Thomas kicking her out, is her karma for what she did to you.”

  “Well, I do believe that,” Colin spoke.

  “Then I think she’s suffered enough. She needed a job and I helped her. Do you think it was easy for her to come into the gallery and ask me for one?”

  “No. I know it wasn’t. We had a long talk after you left Harbor Falls.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah. And we cleared the air about a lot of things. When she first came back here, I saw her as a threat and even more so when I found out you hired her. She told me you told her that her becoming pregnant was probably a sign she wasn’t meant to be with Thomas after all.”

  “I did tell her that. And she met Thomas during your relationship because the two of you weren’t meant to be together either. Just like I wasn’t meant to spend a lifetime with Darren. His actions sent me on a different path that led me to you.” She smiled.

  Colin took hold of Adalyn’s hand. “I love you, Adalyn, and I’m so sorry for the way I behaved. I boast about being raw and honest, and when push came to shove, I shut down. I can promise you that it will never happen again. Will you find it in that amazing and generous heart of yours to forgive me?”

  “I already have.” A smile graced Adalyn’s face. “And by the way, I love you too, Colin Young.”

  “The one thing I couldn’t stop thinking about during our time apart was how life gives us second chances. You are my second chance at love and it’s my obligation to hold onto that.”

  “You’re my second chance at love, Colin. And that’s something I want to hold onto forever. When should we go home?”

  “I was hoping we’d stay here for a few days and you can give me a tour of the city. I want to see all your favorite places, eat at your favorite restaurants, go to your favorite museums and most importantly, I want to have a picnic with you in this beautiful place called Central Park.”

  “I’d love to share New York with you,” Adalyn spoke as she stared into Colin’s happy eyes.

  His hand reached up and stroked her silky long locks before softly tracing the outline of her mouth with his finger. Leaning in, he brushed his lips against hers as the galloping sound of the horse that was pulling them faded in the distance.

  Colin and Adalyn spent the next few days touring the city together. Their romantic picnic in Central Park was a day neither of them would forget. The gourmet food, fine wine, and the light breeze that swept across them on the hot sunny day as they lay on the blanket while the love between them grew stronger.

  It was their last day in New York before flying back to Harbor Falls and as they were walking down Fifth Avenue hand in hand and doing some window shopping, Adalyn heard someone call her name.

  “Adalyn?”

  Turning around, she saw Darren standing there.

  “Darren, hi.”

  He studied Colin for a moment before his eyes diverted to their fingers that were intertwined.

  “I know you.” Darren pointed at Colin.

  “Darren, this is Colin. He owns the Seaside Bar and Grille in Harbor Falls.”

  Colin stood there in shock for he was the one who waited on Darren one night at the bar and grille, but had no clue he was Adalyn’s ex.

  “That’s right. You’re the one who suggested the Lobster Roll. Nice to see you again, Colin.” Darren extended his hand.

  “Good to see you too, man.” Collin placed his hand in Darren’s.

  As awkward as it was seeing Adalyn’s ex-husband and knowing everything he’d done, he felt obligated to show him some respect since he did get Adalyn back to New York quickly after she learned about her mother’s heart attack.

  “I thought you left a few days ago,” Darren said to Adalyn.

  “I was going to but then Colin flew in and surprised me.” A grin crossed her face as she hooked her arm around his.

  “That’s great. You seem very happy, Addy.”

  “I am.” She smiled brightly.

  “Well, I better get going. I have a meeting in fifteen minutes, and I need to get back to the office. It was good to see both of you again.”

  “It was nice to see you too, Darren. Keep up the good work.” Adalyn gave him a wink.

  “I intend to.”

  Colin and Adalyn turned around, and as Darren watched his ex-wife walk away, he called out to Colin.

  “Hey, Colin?”

  “Yeah?” Colin said as he stopped and turned to look at him.

  “Promise me you’ll take good care of her.”

  “I promise.” Colin smiled as he hooked his arm around the love of his life.

  Thank you for reading Harbor Falls!

  Come and celebrate the holidays with the folks of Harbor Falls. Beloved characters return as they prepare to celebrate the holiday season. Lights will be hung, decorations will be displayed, and the residents of Harbor Falls spare no expense turning their town into a magical Christmas Wonderland.

  Christmas In Harbor Falls will release on December 4, 2020!

  Preorder your copy today!

  Amazon WorldWide Link

  About the Author

  Sandi Lynn is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author writing under the pen name Fiona Rivers. Her mission is to provide readers with romance novels that will whisk them away to another world and from the daily grind of life – one book at a time.

  Join the tribe and make sure to sign up for her newsletter to get the latest news on upcoming new releases, sales, cover reveals and more!

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