Page 28 of Worth the Risk

“Where’s Zoey tonight?” Jess asked, taking a seat beside me.

I was already watching the entrance of the restaurant, waiting for her to appear. I’d texted her when I arrived fifteen minutes ago, but she hadn’t replied. That had become common over the last couple of days.

“Why are you asking me?”

She gave me an amused look. “No reason.”

Jake settled into a seat across from me, looking more tense than usual. “I just talked to Damien. He says that Kelsie’s going to be okay.”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Jake and Kelsie had a collision during our volleyball game,” Gordon said. “She took an elbow to the temple.”

“The game ended after that,” Ryan added. “None of us felt like playing anymore.”

Jake’s jaw was locked tight, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “It was an accident.”

Jess gave him a kind smile. “Everyone knows that. Don’t feel bad. She’ll be fine.”

Jake didn’t say anything, but he signaled to the waitress and ordered a strong drink. I could see that he felt bad about what happened to Kelsie, but all I could think about was that I was glad I stopped Zoey from playing. The idea of her getting hurt made my ribs feel too tight.

I glanced toward the entrance of the restaurant again.

She probably wasn’t coming. I understood her wanting to avoid me after my disaster of a proposal.

I needed to stop reacting to situations with her and start thinking through what was the best course of action. Because that was something I’d failed at from the beginning.

Falling for Zoey was never a part of my plan, so when we started to have feelings for each other, my first terrible decision was asking her to keep it a secret. At the time, I’d just found out about the potential promotion, and I didn’t want to do anything that would hurt my chances. So, I reacted without thinking about the long-term implications for us.

When Dr. Serrano cornered me at the hospital with his suspicions and threats and demands, I reacted to that by deciding to break up with Zoey without considering how miserable it would make both of us. Even worse, I did it without discussing it with her first. This was particularly problematic because she was under the false impression that I did this only to protect my own career.

I needed to give her the full truth about how my conversation with Dr. Serrano went, and I probably already would have if the break-up was the only obstacle in my path.

But it wasn’t. I knew now that the problems between us started at the very beginning. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but my insistence on keeping the relationship a secret made her feel like she wasn’t important to me.

Zoey was right; she deserved better.

And damn it, I was going to give it to her. I was done making stupid decisions that affected Zoey without stopping to think about what she wanted.

I needed to stop worrying about losing her for good and make a plan to prove myself to her.

As dinner went on, I made small talk and was relieved to realize that the drama of Kelsie’s injury made most people forget about my confrontation with Zoey at the volleyball game. Except maybe Jess, who kept shooting me sidelong looks full of suspicion. I ignored them and chatted easily with everyone else. If she suspected something was going on between us, I’d leave it up to Zoey to confirm or deny that. And whatever decision she made was fine with me.

As dinner wrapped up, the waitress came to the table to tell us about a dessert special. Chocolate cheesecake.

Zoey would love that, and I ordered a slice to-go, having already decided to swing by her bungalow before going back to my room. I knew she said she needed space, so I didn’t plan to linger, but I wanted to check on her since she didn’t show up at dinner. I knew she was upset when we parted ways earlier, and that didn’t sit well with me.

My protective side demanded that I check in on her and drop off a sweet treat that I hoped would bring a smile to her face.

It was a nice evening, as they all had been so far, and I headed around to the back of the bungalow to see if Zoey might be sitting on the deck. Now that I knew she loved the beach, I figured that she was probably loving that she got to stay here. I had a great view from my room, but nothing could beat being close enough to hear the water lapping at the shore and inhale the briny air.

The deck was empty, but just as I was about to go to the front to knock, I noticed that the sliding door was ajar. I glanced around the beach, wondering if she might be out there in the dark and not liking it one bit.

The inside of the bungalow was dim, with just the golden glow of the lamp in the living room providing enough illumination to see that she wasn’t sitting on the couch.

So, where was she? In the unsecured bungalow or out on the dark beach?

Neither of those was a good option. Concerned, I went to the door and slid it further open. To-go container in hand, I stuck my head inside and looked around. From here, I could see the kitchen, dark and empty.