4
On the way back to the inn, Ivy decided to take the beach route because she’d missed her morning walk. Poppy was looking after the inn, and Shelly should be there soon, so she wouldn’t be missed. Drinking in the ocean air, she slung the canvas shopper over her shoulder and slipped off her sandals.
With determined steps, she stumbled over the dunes until she reached the damp, sea-smoothed sand near the water’s edge. As she did, Shelly’s words about Bennett rushed through her mind.
Seeking to understand her hesitance with Bennett—though she did not question her love for him—Ivy thought about how she’d come to this point in her life.
Over the last couple of years, she’d traded her life as an anticipatory problem-solver—perfectly laundered shirts for Jeremy, new clothes for Sunny, drama
