he rest of the night is spent thinking up a plan that will save the cafe. I keep asking myself, what would Mom do in this situation? She was always so good at coming up with ideas, at staying positive; I wish I could be the same way.

A fundraiser is the most likely solution, but I can't decide on what. What could possibly raise enough money for Jordan to fix up the cafe and move here? Anything I decide will just be a temporary solution, a bandaid to buy us more time, but at least it's better than nothing.

At breakfast, Lexi's on cloud nine because she's been offered the graduate job. She talks about a new apartment she's got her eye on in the mainland and asks if I want to come and check it out.

"I thought you were going to move in with your friend," I say.

"I was," she says, handing me a plate of eggs and toast, "but now that I've already secured a job, I can just find my own apartment. Oh, it's going to be so amazing, Evvy. Both of us on the mainland, just around the corner from each other. We could stop at the college today, too, and have a look around if you like."

She says it like this is somehow a selling point, and I don't have the heart to tell her no. "Okay, I'll come. I'm really proud of you, Lex."

She hides a smile by turning around, but I know she's proud, too. "Thanks, Evvy."

I spend the drive thinking up fundraising ideas. Lexi sings along to the radio, albeit quieter after what happened last time. I try to ignore the pitchiness of her voice and stare out the window at the palm trees.

It seems like everything is changing so fast that I just can't keep up. I'm going to college soon, and if Jordan sells the cafe and leaves, that will be the end of that. Everything I've worked for this past summer will have been for nothing.

"Lex?"

She glances over. "Mm?"

"Say you wanted to throw a fundraiser or something to raise money. What would you do?"

She thinks for a moment as she makes a left turn. "I've heard treasure hunts and scavenger hunts are fun. I bet a lot of people on the island would buy a ticket to participate. You could throw in a sponsorship element, too, based on how many clues someone might correctly guess. At the end of the hunt, it could lead to a beach party or something for the winners, where you could sell food and stuff to raise a little extra."

"Hey, that's not bad. How do you know people would want to do it, though?"

Lexi shrugs. "People love that kind of stuff. I can help set it up for you if you like. We need an incentive, though. Something big at the end of the hunt to make people want to spend money."

I look at my hands, then close my eyes and say, "The hunt could lead to Mom's secret beach. I bet locals would want to pay to explore a piece of the island they didn't know about."

Lexi looks over, surprised. "Are you sure?"

I nod. "I'm sure."

She makes another turn and says, "Well, if you choose questions to the treasure hunt that only locals would know, tourists could still buy tickets but wouldn't reach the secret beach."

I smile and look at her, suddenly overwhelmed with hope. "What would I do without you, Lex?"

"No idea," Lexi says, pulling into a parking space. "Let's go and do some shopping first."

We spend the rest of the afternoon shopping and ironing out the kinks in our fundraiser. Lexi is going to spread the word on social media and has set up an account for people to purchase tickets to enter. We set the price at fifty dollars, which I thought would be too steep, but Lexi assures me that the idea of a secret location on the island will drum up enough interest to make people want to pay. I just hope that she's right.

After texting Dad, he agrees to cater at the beach party, which means we'll be able to make money that way, too. I don't want to be too hopeful–something could always go wrong–but I can't help it. It feels like I've finally found a way out.

The apartment Lexi's got her eye on is beautiful. It's small but airy, with pale blue walls and white furniture. It's a stone's throw away from the beach on the mainland and just around the corner from my college.

"I'm so excited," Lexi says, opening and closing the cupboards. "We can meet up all the time, and Dad can visit, too."

I nod, but the thought of Dad being back in New Wave while we're over here makes me anxious. It's not as if the drive is far, but he's so busy with his catering company these days, and he finds it difficult to walk long distances, even with his walking stick. It just won't be the same.

"Come on," Lexi says, grabbing my hand. "Let's go and get some milkshakes."

Despite my doubts, we end up having a fun day on the mainland. After milkshakes and muffins, Lexi takes me to all her favorite spots before we head over to the college. It looks the same as any other college in my eyes, except it has a beach as a backdrop. Lexi raves about all of the memories she's made when she went here herself before we take a quick walk down the beach.

By the time we get back to New Wave, it's already late in the evening. The Big Fish Cafe will be closed by now, but I grab my bike and head over there anyway to see if Jordan stayed behind.

The cafe is dark inside, the front door locked, so I start my way back home. I take a different route this time, the one that takes me right past the inn Jordan is staying at, and before I can help myself, I'm parking my bike and knocking on his door.

He answers on the third knock, shirtless and half asleep. I glance at my watch and see it's only seven-thirty. "Hey," I say. "Were you sleeping?"

Instead of responding, he takes me by the hand and pulls me inside, closing the door behind us. It's almost pitch black with the curtains drawn, but I can just about make out his face through the dark.

Both of his hands go up to my face, and he kisses me. I'm surprised by the gesture, but I kiss him back. It's tender and sweet, not the, I need to rip your clothes off right now kiss, but the, I missed you, kiss.

"Where've you been?" he asks.

I pull back to look at him properly. "I went to the mainland with my sister. Why are you sleeping at seven-thirty?"

He smiles a little. "I was up early trying to patch up some of the holes at the cafe. I'm exhausted."

"I didn't mean to wake you," I say. "I just came to tell you about my plan. In hindsight, it probably could have waited until tomorrow." My hand is still wrapped around his waist. His skin feels soft and warm against my palm like he's been buried under his covers all evening.

He grins. "No, I like the idea that you were so desperate to tell me that you just had to rush over here."

I lightly shove his chest and let him lead me over to his bed, where I tell him all about the island treasure hunt Lexi is helping me to plan. He listens intently, but from the look on his face, he doesn't seem convinced.

"It's a nice idea," he says, "but it doesn't sound like the kind of thing that will raise much money. What makes you think people will even want to do it?"

"Because," I say, playing with his fingers, "the people on this island care about the cafe just as much as I do. Maybe if they realize what's happening, they'll want to help."

"You're putting a lot of faith in the people of this island," he says.

My heart sinks a little. "Yeah, well, faith is all I have right now."

He nods and looks at the wall before saying, "You said the treasure hunt leads to a secret location. Where?"

I look at our entwined hands and say, "My Mom's secret beach."

His face falls. "Are you insane? I can't let you do that, Evvy."

"Look," I say, "if I have to sacrifice my part of the beach to save the whole island, then that's what I'll do. Besides, it was never really my beach, Jordan. It's not mine to keep."

He's about to speak but decides on kissing me, instead. "You're too stubborn, you know that?"

I smile against his lips. "It's what makes me so endearing."

The rest of the evening is spent kissing with conversation sprinkled in between. Jordan holds me tightly, nuzzling my neck while I tell him about the time I got stung by a jellyfish. He listens intently, laughing when I tell him Lexi had offered to pee on me, even though I'd told her peeing on a jellyfish sting is just a myth.

He starts to open up a little more, too, telling me about his friends back home and their weekly poker nights. How his cousin told him dogs became werewolves at night, so he was terrified Bear would become one and eat him. How he prefers comedies to horrors or action movies, because he likes the way they lift his mood.

I think I learn more about Jordan in the two hours we're snuggled in bed than I learned about Ryan in all the time we dated. Or maybe I did learn more about Ryan, but somewhere along the way, I stopped paying attention.

Either way, I know if this plan falls through, if Jordan moves back to Chicago and The Big Fish is sold, things will never feel the same again.

❤️