O…kay.
I wasn’t lying when I said I’m not sure any of us are going to leave this island the same.
I know one thing, though.
I left Leroy and returned to the island for a reason.
I deserve better than a man who cheats when he gets cold feet, a man who slips a ring on my finger and won’t talk to me when he has second thoughts, a man who will ruin the best thing in his life for a one-nighter with a stripper.
I didn’t expect to fall in love with Brett. Alex was the man who first caught my eye, and I caught his as well. We made love—fuck it, we hadsex—on the beach and our clothing got washed away.
He didn’t give me much of a look after that. His date with Ariel seemed to change his mind about me.
No biggie. I went on an orgasm binge, looking for…
For what, exactly?
Hell if I know.
When I got the call about Lavonne, I knew I had to see her. Then the kiss with Brett…when he told me to go back, to try with Leroy…
But as soon as I saw him, I knew it was over. I could never return to the man who stole my heart only to crack it into pieces.
Damn. Floating in the pool is supposed to be relaxing. Heather looks relaxed, naked, eyes closed, breathing in and out.
I’m the opposite of relaxed.
I leave the water, dry off with a soft towel, and dress.
Heather opens one eye. “Had enough?”
“Understatement of the year,” I mutter. Then I paste on a smile. “Yeah. I’ll see you later, at the bachelorette party, I guess.”
“Absolutely.” She closes her eyes, her bare breasts bobbing on the blue water.
The mansion looms ahead of me like a threat, so I walk the other way. Best to gather my thoughts before I find Brett and confront him. I get that he’s dealing with myriad emotions due to his friend’s reappearance, but hehasto talk to me. I won’t risk another Leroy situation. If Brett is having second thoughts, he needs to tell me to my face.
I amble barefoot across the stone path toward the quiet stretch of beach where Alex and I…
I haven’t been back here since the first night. I keep walking, going back and forth in my head about what I should say to Brett when—if—I find him.
I need answers. And I need them from Brett.
I can handle the truth. I just want to stop spinning, to stop wondering if what he and I have—or possibly had—was real. Or was it simply two lost souls finding comfort in each other?
I shake my head. I thought we’d gotten past the doubt.
The sand is cool beneath my feet. The breeze carries the scent of salt and hibiscus.
I keep walking until two figures emerge in the distance.
At first, I can’t make out who they are. Just the shape of them—shoulders too close, heads angled in a familiar, almost intimate tilt. One of them laughs, soft and low, the sound barely carried on the wind.
My stomach knots.
I slow down. Squint. Try to tell myself it’s nothing.
But then the taller one shifts, and I see him.
