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Kane had not only rescued me from an embarrassing situation—he’d saved me from myself this summer. For the first time in my life, I saw myself for who I really was, and I loved who I saw. I loved him, too, even though I had been too afraid to say it. What if he didn’t feel the same way? He did say he would make time to see me as often as he could while I was at school, and that I was one of the best things that had ever happened to him. And it’s not like Samford was that far away. It was barely over a two-hour drive. We could see each other every weekend. I liked the sound of that. Maybe Kane and I could make a list of everything we wanted to do in the fall. Or maybe we would have to finish off part of our summer list, since Auggie had kind of put a damper on it. We had five more items to go after today: Starlight Drive-In, Sips Under the Sea at the aquarium, Stone Mountain, the outdoor concert series at the Wildflower Meadow at Serenbe, and the botanical garden.
Maybe I should brave telling him how I truly felt. Wasn’t it Kane who always told me not to be afraid of who I was? Well, I was a woman in love.
I squeezed the photo album one more time before jumping off my bed and hustling to get ready for the day. That meant throwing on my red swimsuit and cutoffs before pulling up my load of curls. My skin was so sun kissed from our summer of fun that makeup wasn’t even a thought. Not that Kane cared if I wore makeup or not. He didn’t even care about my freshman fifteen. And by some miracle, I didn’t either. Who knew I could feel so comfortable about my body? It was sad I had never taken the time to appreciate it until this summer. But from here on out, this was a whole new world for me. Scarlett Armstrong was going to live her dreams; you know, as soon as I told my father I didn’t want to take over his company and would be specializing in forensic pathology. I still didn’t know how to broach that conversation, especially after yesterday in his office. If I only felt secure in Auggie’s love, this would be a no-brainer. But I feared what telling him would do to our very delicate and almost nonexistent relationship.
Thankfully, I had something else to look forward to before that dreaded conversation. The doorbell rang, and I raced down the stairs with my bag full of towels, sunscreen, and lip balm. I planned on lots of kissing.
Auggie got to the door before I could. It was odd to have him home on a Saturday morning. He was usually golfing with other executives in the area, or at the office. It shouldn’t have surprised me, though. He’d been acting off all summer. However, I wasn’t used to him doing anything fatherly like meeting a date at the door.
Before Auggie opened the door, he gave me a once-over. His troubled hazel eyes narrowed, and he let out a deep sigh.
“Is something wrong?”
He ran a hand through his thick, yet thinning, dyed-brown hair. “Be careful, Scarlett.” I wished he would stop saying that to me this summer. I didn’t know what Auggie was so worried about. Kane was all for me finishing my education, and it wasn’t like he and I were planning on running off and getting married. Besides, Kane encouraged me to reach my career goals. And, hopefully, my other goals that involved him.
“Auggie, I’m always careful.”
He pressed his lips together, making the lines around his eyes more pronounced. Sometimes, I forgot Auggie was getting older. He chased his youth like he ran away from real connections. How he ran away from me.
“Just remember you’re young.”
I was tired of that catchphrase this summer too.
When I didn’t respond, Auggie opened the door.
There Kane stood, wearing my favorite swim trunks, the Hawaiian ones. The ones he’d worn the first time we’d gone swimming together in our pool. My knees went weak thinking of the heated kisses we’d shared that night. Kane wore something else that caught my attention—a look of contempt for my father. Auggie sighed and hung his head, which wasn’t like him at all. I was confused as I looked between the two men. What was going on?
Auggie let out a meaningful deep breath and walked off, not saying a word to Kane or me. Before I could ask what that all meant, Kane pulled me to him and took my face in his strong hands. His minty breath was intoxicating, as were his beautiful eyes. I loved when he didn’t shave and left a dark layer of stubble on his angular, tanned face.
