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Have you ever thought of packing up everything you own and moving halfway across the country? I’m talking about leaving your entire life behind—friends, family, school—with no turning back. No? Me either, but that was before a week of spring break changed my life forever. Before I did something I never thought I’d do at twenty-two. Before I fell in love with Grey. Sometimes happily ever after isn’t always what you think it will be.

  GREY Room twenty-four. I looked at it one last time. The day I moved in here wasn’t a happy day. Pops had died, left me the Palm Palace, and I didn’t have anywhere else on the island to stay. Somehow it became home. A small, one room spot by the ocean had become home. There wasn’t much to pack: work clothes, a few tools, my boots. I had already hauled most of it next door, but there were still a few boxes in storage. I would try to get those before Eden arrived. I looked at my phone. She should be here in four or five hours. I shook my head. I hated the idea that she was on the road by herself. She was stubborn. I knew that the first minute I laid eyes on her, but this was crazier than hell. Driving all the way from Chapel Hill to Padre was damn near reckless, but I couldn’t talk her out of it. She said it had something to do with proving that she was moving for the right reasons. If it meant that much to her I knew better than to stand in her way. I pulled the door behind me and turned the heavy brass key in the lock to secure the room. Maybe one day I’d be able to afford those fancy keyless entries, but that was far off. I was lucky the Palm was still open. It had been a rough year trying to keep it afloat, but Eden breezed in here and showed me what was possible. She had all kinds of creative ideas about marketing, advertising, and services we could add. It was one of the things I loved about her—she saw past the peeling paint and the rusty doorknobs. She saw the Palm the same way I did and she loved it. She loved every last pink and blue tile, the way the boardwalk creaked when you walked on it, and how we probably had the only pool on the island without a diving board. That girl was something else. I didn’t take it lightly that we were moving in together. Who could? Last time I tried this Laura and I barely left on speaking terms. But that was different. That was Laura and her obsession with med school. This was Eden and everything about her made me realize it was the right decision. Sure I was nervous, but I’d never tell her that. I didn’t want things with us to end up like they did the last time I gave this a shot. I was going to make sure it wouldn’t. That’s why I had to surprise her with the beach cottage. I couldn’t let her move all the way here and start off in room twenty-four. We’d probably get on each other’s nerves faster than the tide changed on the beach, but besides that I wanted her to know I took this seriously. The blue house next door meant something. It wasn’t a cramped shoebox where we’d have to split a closet and a dresser combo. It was a place that could be ours, a place we could work on together, and a place where we could figure out the future. I shoved the key in my pocket. I had to get it back to the office. My phone rang. “Hey, Marin. What’s up?” “I just talked to Eden. She’s in Louisiana.” “You didn’t ruin the surprise did you?” I had trusted everyone on the island with the beach house secret, but deep down knew someone would let it slip. Things had a way of getting out around here. Marin laughed. “No, she has no idea. She thinks you are bunking up in that cute little room of yours at the Palm.” “Thanks, girl. Did she sound ok? I’m trying not to bug her.” What I really wanted to do was call her every hour and find out where she was, but that would contradict her plan. I managed to respect it since she got on the road. “She sounded like a girl who can’t wait to see you. I’ll let you know when she get’s to the bridge, ok?” “Alright. Thanks. I appreciate you checking up on her for me. I don’t want her to think I don’t think she can handle it.” I opened the door to the stuffy office. “She can handle it. Don’t worry about her, Grey. She’ll be here tonight. Call you later.” “Thanks.” Marin hung up and I tossed my phone on the cart. I had a few rooms to check before I made my way to the cottage to get things set up. Eden would be here tonight. This would be her office. I was handing over the books, the reservations, and all of the marketing to her. It was probably a bigger step than sharing a bathroom, but I knew I didn’t trust anyone else with Pop’s legacy like I trusted Eden. As I shoved the cart out of the back door, I heard the wind kick up on the beach. Eden and I were moving in together. I knew after tonight my life would never be the same, and there was no turning back. Good thing I didn’t want to.  

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T.A. Foster once spent a monthlong spring break on South Padre Island, where she soaked in the Texas sun, beach, and learned what real Texas country music is. Sometimes fiction does spring from reality. She grew up catching rays and chasing waves along the North Carolina Outer Banks and now resides in the state with her adventurous pilot husband, two children, and two canine kiddos. T.A. has an undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a graduate degree in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University. When she’s not chasing her two-legged and four-legged children or trying to escape for date night, you can find her reading, writing, or planning her next beach trip.
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