If Only Forever

by Sophie Love

  Emily read the front of the envelope. Instead of her name, it said To be opened once the funeral is over. It had been sealed shut.

  Was this the letter he’d whispered about on his deathbed? Emily wondered whether Trevor had written it in order to add a little mystery to her life, to help chip away at some of her grief by giving her something to focus on. A small smile flickered across her lips as she realized Trevor wasn’t gone quite yet. There was still a little piece of him inside this envelope, some words he’d composed for her, knowing, she presumed, he may not get the chance to say them.

  As she walked out of Trevor’s home, Emily held the letter to her chest like it was a precious gem, a security blanket. Things in Sunset Harbor would never be the same again.

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  The door to the inn stood open. On this day, it would be open for all.

  Chantelle’s handmade signs and balloons informed everyone who ventured near the street that there was a funeral taking place, and thanks to Emily’s appeal to the townsfolk, it was clear that many were coming to pay their respects.

  After Trevor’s passing, Emily had told them all of his illness, and the general attitude toward him had softened.

  Karen was the first to arrive, hugging Emily closely at the door. Karen had always been the closest to Trevor, working on the zoning board with him, and had never let the old man rile her. Mayor Hansen, also, arrived early, his aide Marcella in an outfit identical to the one she always wore save for one small detail—it was black.

  Derek Hansen shook Emily’s hand, which he held tightly in his own in a gentle, paternal kind of way.

  “A damn shame,” he said, patting her hand over and over. “He left us before his time.”

  Emily nodded somberly. She felt comforted in Mayor Hansen presence, with his jolly Santa Claus face. She fought the urge to throw herself into a bear hug.

  “Please, head on through to the ballroom,” she managed, keeping her poise. “Father Duncan is already there.”

  Derek and Marcella headed off down the corridor, and then the Patels arrived. Emily watched Raj’s van creep up the driveway, wondering why they hadn’t come in Sunita’s flashy black car. But when he hopped out and opened up the back doors, Emily instantly understood why. He’d brought several huge bouquets with him.

  Emily hurried down the steps toward the van.

  “Raj, you didn’t have to do this,” Emily began.

  But Raj was shaking his head. “Sunita explained everything to me,” he told her. “Now I understand why you got him such a thoughtful gift with those fruit trees. I can help you plant them on his plot whenever you’re ready.”

  “Thank you,” Emily said softly, though she couldn’t yet envisage a time when she’d feel able to do so.

  She helped Raj unload the van, and then she, Raj, and Sunita returned to the inn, their arms laden with flowers. Parker hurried to help, taking an enormous bunch from Emily.

  “Are these all for the ballroom?” he asked, his face obscured by the incredible arrangement.

  “Yes,” she said. “I’ll follow you in. I need to be with Chantelle.”

  She turned to Lois and the rest of the inn’s staff who had volunteered to be on ushering duty and they nodded in affirmation. Emily was so grateful for them, for everyone in the town. Their support was getting her through a very tough time.

  Inside the ballroom, rows of chairs had been placed facing Trevor’s coffin at the front. Chantelle sat in the front row as though guarding over Trevor. She looked too grown up in her black smock. Emily wished she could have protected her from this pain.

  Daniel sat beside Chantelle, wearing a suit that rarely saw the light of day. Jack Cooper was a few rows behind them, here to support Daniel but also keeping a respectful distance.

  Emily went up to Daniel and sat beside him. “Look what Raj brought,” she said.

  Daniel glanced behind and saw the bouquets that were being positioned around the room. He looked as touched by the gesture as Emily felt, and gave Raj a nod of gratitude.

  “How is she?” Emily added in a whisper, looking at Chantelle, with her serious, drawn expression, chin tipped upward as though saving face.

  “She’s okay,” Daniel replied. “She’s coping.”

  Just from his inflection, Emily could hear the sorrow in his voice, and the same desire to protect Chantelle from any more harm that she shared. Seeing their daughter grieve was a new pain for them both.

  Emily settled into her seat. More and more townsfolk streamed into the ballroom, from Tracey to Jason, Cynthia to Alec; even Richard Goldsmith came along to show his respects. It warmed Emily’s heart to know so many of them would go out of their way for Trevor, even when he had shown them little in the way of friendship during his life.

  Father Duncan’s ceremony was comforting. Emily could sense that Chantelle in particular was soothed by it and hoped it would go at least some way in comforting the child. Then the congregation moved to the dining room for snacks and the sharing of commiserations.

  It was only after the last guest had trickled away that Emily found herself with enough time to open Trevor’s letter. She went up to her father’s study, a place where she always felt supported, and sat down at his desk. Then she opened the envelope, unfolded the letter, and began to read.

  Emily my dear,

  I have had plenty of time to think things through over the last few months. There is nothing quite like the knowledge of one’s own impending demise to motivate a thorough spring cleaning of personal affairs! To cut to the chase, I met with my attorney shortly after my diagnosis, to get things in order with my estate. Emily, I am leaving it all to you. The house. The grounds. Everything. You may do with it what you wish.

  You have been a true friend to me, Emily. I hope my house goes some way in helping you live the life you deserve.

  Trevor

  Emily was stunned. She’d managed to hold it together throughout the entirety of Trevor’s funeral, throughout the small talk and well-wishers, even through the times when she’d had to comfort Chantelle. But now she could hold it together no longer.

  Her tears began to fall, splashing onto the letter, smudging the ink of Trevor’s writing. She folded it away quickly, not wanting to damage the last correspondence with Trevor she would ever have. But even once it was tucked out of sight in her pocket, the words she’d read were still burned onto her retina.

  Trevor had left her the house? She could hardly believe it. The tables had truly turned, the wheel had turned full circle. It made her head spin to think of how much her life had changed, how completely, how a man she had once deemed an enemy had become a friend. Once, he’d tried to ruin her life; now, he had changed it irrevocably.

  She stood and went to find Daniel, her heart hammering as it began to sink in what this truly meant for them. She found him in the living room, the fireplace roaring, a slumbering Chantelle resting against him with the dogs snuggled up to her. It was a snapshot of a perfect family, only it was tinged with sadness.

  Daniel looked up at her as she came in. “Where have you been?”

  “Daniel, I have news,” she said seriously. There was no point beating about the bush. “Trevor left us his house.”

  Daniel’s eyes widened with surprise. “Are you sure?”

  “One hundred percent sure,” Emily said, handing the letter to Daniel. “He says we can do whatever we want with it. Sell it or keep it. There are no conditions.”

  Daniel sat up, straight-backed, scanning the words of the short letter. Then he looked back up at Emily. “How will we decide what to do?”

  Emily felt her whole body begin to tremble. With every passing minute, it became clearer and clearer to her what an incredible gift Trevor had given her, had given them all.

  “I don’t know,” she said.

  She stood, her body agitated, excited, and went over to the window. She looked over, and just through the hole in the hedgerow she could see Trevor’s house, now shrouded in
darkness.

  “We don’t need two houses,” Daniel continued. “And he kept it immaculately clean so it won’t be hard to sell. Although, we could move in there, couldn’t we? Then turn this completely into the inn.” He started talking very quickly. “Or we could make the new house an extension of the inn? Oh my goodness, there are so many options. Should we go and look at it?”

  But Emily remained silent, her gaze fixed on the house that Trevor had given her.

  “Not yet,” she said softly. “It’s too soon. I am not ready yet. One day soon, but not today.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  It was March thirteenth. Spring sunshine warmed Emily’s skin as she sat out on the balcony for the first time this year, her cell phone wedged between shoulder and chin, chatting with Amy. It was a bright, beautiful day, made brighter by the sight of the first crocuses of spring blooming in the lawn below her. Spring was coming to Maine and Emily for one was welcoming it.

  “I can’t believe it’s only one week until your wedding!” Amy said on the other end of the line.

  Emily smiled to herself, recalling the flurry of wedding preparations she’d made over the last few weeks. Everything from the style of tables (two long banquet tables for either side of the ballroom) to the food (local Maine lobster) to the color scheme (white and rose gold). “I can’t believe you and Jayne will be here this evening. And that you’re staying for a whole week!”

  “I can’t wait to see you.”

  “Me neither,” Emily replied. And she really meant it. The last few months had been turbulent. She wanted her friends with her so much.

  After she and Amy ended the call, Emily swiveled on the stool to discover that Chantelle was standing in the doorway. The little girl was grinning widely.

  “One week,” she said in a sing-song voice, coming into the room and hopping onto Emily’s bed.

  Thanks to Chantelle, there was quite a buzz in the air. Although it wasn’t just the little girl’s enthusiasm causing it. All of the staff members seemed light-footed and breezy as they went about their duties. Perhaps it was the feeling that spring was almost coming to Maine that had lightened everyone’s spirits, or perhaps they really were all that excited for the upcoming nuptials.

  “I’ve been practicing,” Chantelle said.

  “Practicing what?” Emily asked.

  “My flower girl duties.” She leapt off the bed and began to walk slowly across the floor, miming tossing petals from one side to the next with a theatrical flourish.

  Emily laughed. “Very good,” she said.

  “And,” Chantelle said, swiveling on the spot to face Emily, “Owen has been practicing too.”

  Emily could hear the sound of piano music in the background, something she’d become quite accustomed to. But something about these particular pieces was somehow even more beautiful, more evocative. Emily couldn’t imagine how Owen’s playing could be even more magical but he had somehow managed it. She wondered if it had something to do with the fact that he and Serena were attending the wedding as each other’s plus one.

  “Emily!” Daniel called up from the hallway. “Liquor delivery! You need to sign!”

  Emily held Chantelle’s hand and they went downstairs together. The liquor delivery was three times the usual size, because this time it had to stock the speakeasy, the inn, and the wedding.

  “Wow,” Emily gasped, looking at the stacks of boxes that awaited her. “If I was worried about us getting a reputation before…”

  She scribbled her signature onto the paper and the deliverers began bringing the boxes inside. As they did, Emily and Daniel saw another van pull up.

  “Banquet tables!” Daniel said. He seemed thrilled about this, more enthusiastic than Emily had ever seen him. “I can’t wait to see these.”

  “Oh, shoot,” Emily said. “There’s a yoga lesson taking place in the ballroom. We’ll have to store these in the outbuilding for now.”

  She went outside and trotted down the porch steps to the deliverers. It was a warm day for this time of year in Maine and she felt the sunshine kiss her skin.

  After signing off on the delivery—her signature little more than an excited scrawl—Emily led them round the side of the house to the outbuilding that was mostly watertight. It would only be for a few hours, she reasoned, then she’d get Daniel and Parker to move them back to the ballroom once Tracey’s “Mature Ladies” class was over.

  Once they were in place, Emily walked back outside into the warm day. The warmth made Emily smile, and gave everything a dreamlike quality. Another winter was over, and though it had been tough—with Trevor’s passing, Chantelle’s meltdown, and her and Daniel’s terrible fight—there had been some wonderful moments also. Chantelle singing at choir. The discovery of the speakeasy. The fabulous parties. There were so many things to be grateful for.

  Emily went to skip up the porch steps and was surprised to see the back of a man standing at the door. She wondered if there was another delivery but the man had nothing with him. Perhaps it was a guest who’d left their key and needed to be let into the inn.

  “Can I help you?” Emily said, as she grasped the banister to the porch steps and swung herself up the first few steps.

  The man turned and Emily stopped in her tracks, stunned. She stepped back once, twice, until her feet found solid ground again and there was nowhere left to go.

  She had felt like she was dreaming but she knew she couldn’t be. Because the face now staring at her was one she’d seen a thousand times in her dreams. Only in her dreams, his face was the same as the last day she had ever seen it. But this face had been aged by time, by the twenty years that had passed since she’d last set eyes on it.

  Emily’s heart raced as she stared at the man. Then a small, single word escaped her lips.

  “Dad?”

  NOW AVAILABLE!

  FOREVER AND A DAY

  (The Inn at Sunset Harbor—Book 5)

  “Sophie Love's ability to impart magic to her readers is exquisitely wrought in powerfully evocative phrases and descriptions….This is the perfect romance or beach read, with a difference: its enthusiasm and beautiful descriptions offer an unexpected attention to the complexity of not just evolving love, but evolving psyches. It's a delightful recommendation for romance readers looking for a touch more complexity from their romance reads.”

  --Midwest Book Review (Diane Donovan re For Now and Forever)

  FOREVER AND A DAY is book #5 in the bestselling romance series The Inn at Sunset Harbor, which begins with book #1, For Now and Forever—a free download!

  35 year old Emily Mitchell has fled her job, apartment and ex-boyfriend in New York City for her father's historic, abandoned home on the coast of Maine, needing a change in her life and determined to make it work as a B&B. She had never expected, though, that her relationship with its caretaker, Daniel, would turn her life on its head.

  In FOREVER AND A DAY, Emily is stunned to finally, after 20 years, meet her missing father—just a week before her wedding. Their reunion changes both of their lives, and unlocks the key to the house’s many secrets, and to Emily’s missing memories.

  Spring has finally arrived at Sunset Harbor, and with just a week to go until the big wedding date, the wedding preparations are busier than ever, including Daniel’s surprise talk of a honeymoon. Will Emily and Daniel have their dream wedding? Or will someone appear to tear it apart?

  Meanwhile, Chantelle’s custody battle comes to a pitch, and as Memorial Day looms, they must figure out what to do with Trevor’s house. Yet amidst all of this, another issue weighs most heavily on Emily’s mind: will she herself ever be pregnant?

  FOREVER AND A DAY is book #5 in a dazzling new romance series that will make you laugh, cry, keep you turning pages late into the night—and make you fall in love with romance all over again.

  Book #6 is also now available!

  “A very well written novel, describing the struggle of a woman (Emily) to find her true identity. The autho
r did an amazing job with the creation of the characters and her description of the environment. The romance is there, but not overdosed. Kudos to the author for this amazing start of a series that promises to be very entertaining.”

  --Books and Movies Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re For Now and Forever)

  FOREVER AND A DAY

  (The Inn at Sunset Harbor—Book 5)

  Sophie Love

  A lifelong fan of the romance genre, Sophie Love is thrilled to release her debut romance series, which begins with FOR NOW AND FOREVER (THE INN AT SUNSET HARBOR—BOOK 1)

  FOR NOW AND FOREVER (THE INN AT SUNSET HARBOR—BOOK 1) is a free download on Kobo!

  Sophie would love to hear from you, so please visit www.sophieloveauthor.com to email her, to join the mailing list, to receive free ebooks, to hear the latest news, and to stay in touch!

  BOOKS BY SOPHIE LOVE

  THE INN AT SUNSET HARBOR

  FOR NOW AND FOREVER (Book #1)

  FOREVER AND FOR ALWAYS (Book #2)

  FOREVER, WITH YOU (Book #3)

  IF ONLY FOREVER (Book #4)

  FOREVER AND A DAY (Book #5)

  FOREVER, PLUS ONE (Book #6)