Page 168 of Summer Love

She uncrosses her arms.

“Okay.”

An “okay” that means “Go ahead, but don’t lie to me.”

“Jace and I dated six years ago. We slept together one night, at my grandparents’ house. It was my first time.”

Avery doesn’t say anything.

“The next day, I had to go back to New York earlier than planned. There’d been water damage in the apartment. I wanted to say goodbye to Jace before I left, but I didn’t know where he was. I went to the diner, where Noah worked. I walked in. Luke and Ryan were there too, at the counter. None of them saw me.”

I don’t have to search for the words. They come easily.

“Noah told Luke that Jace had won his bet. A hundred dollars to get me to lose my virginity.”

Avery’s eyes go wide.

“I left right after, with my dad. I blocked Jace’s number. Noah’s too. I didn’t know about the shark until last week.”

Avery opens her mouth, closes it again.

“I came back to Coral Bay this month to deal with the house I inherited. I figured I’d sell and leave. I didn’t think I’d see Jace again. I didn’t think I’d fall back in love with him.”

My voice breaks on the last word. I keep going.

“I’ve tried twice to talk to him about the bet since I came back. The first time, he laughed. ‘It was stupid. We were young, we were idiots. Sorry, okay?’ The second time, he said, ‘Can’t we just move on?’”

Avery stares at the coffee table in silence.

“He never apologized. He didn’t get what he’d done. To him, it’s just some teenage screwup you brush aside. To me, it’s six years of being nothing but a fucking bet.”

I breathe in before I go on.

“I love him, Avery. But I can’t build anything with him if he doesn’t understand what he did. I want to trust him, but I can’t.”

Avery looks up at me and shakes her head.

“He’s told me more than once that if some guy ever hurt me, he’d kick his ass. So what does that make what he did to you?”

I don’t have an answer.

“Shit… Does he know you’re leaving?”

“No.”

“Are you going to tell him?”

“I’ll drop off a letter for him at the lodge’s front desk. I’m leaving tonight.”

She nods and picks up the contract from the coffee table.

“I’ll give it to Mom when she gets home.”

“Thanks.”

“He’s an idiot, Summer.”

I laugh, no humor in it. She doesn’t say “stay” or “give him a chance.”