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Kelsie widened her stance, narrowing her eyes in concentration, and proceeded to chuck the ring at Leanne with the kind of force one might use to attack someone.

It completely missed the target and landed in the pool. Third time that had happened.

We were the only ones here, in the private indoor pool that the resort rented out for parties. I hadn’t been in the mood to swim, but Angela was there with Ryan’s cousin, Kirsten, playing a game of drunken Marco Polo in the shallow end. They were so plastered that they kept forgetting who was supposed to yell out Marco and they both kept doing it.

“Your turn, Heather,” Leanne called out, tipping back her wine cooler to take a drink and almost falling over.

These women were partying hard. Well, most of them were. Zoey had been here for a while and participated in the game, but she didn’t drink anything and ended up leaving early. I wasn’t sure what that was about.

“Throw the thing,” Kelsie said, “The one to do it is the next one to get married.”

“That’s the bouquet. At the wedding reception,” I said, but I threw the ring anyway. The whole room erupted in cheers as I was able to get the ring onto the dildo, and I did a beauty-queen wave as I accepted their praise.

Even though it was a little less of an ego boost to win against these drunk women while I was only a little buzzed.

I drank, but not a lot. That made me the most sober person in the room, aside from the lifeguard, who was sitting in a tall chair at the deep end of the pool and watching us with amusement.

I didn’t want to get too drunk to remember the party because it was a blast. We’d hung out and played games and gossiped about men, which included some teasing of Leanne about a wild wedding night. It was fun and a little raunchy, especially with the penis-shaped lollipops Jess had shipped here for the party, but it wasn’t out of control.

After the ring toss game, things started to wind down, and I made sure Angela got to her room without incident. Once she was inside, I didn’t even think about going up to my own room. Instead, I headed back downstairs. the party hadn’t gone very late, partially because there was a hike in the rainforest planned for tomorrow morning, so I decided to go see Greyson.

Things got weird between us earlier today, and I didn’t like that. I didn’t know if he was upset at the idea that I might move to Louisville or if he was worried I wouldn’t. Or maybe something else was bothering him.

I didn’t know because I chose to give him space instead of pushing him to talk about it.

But we were running out of time on this island, and if this was the only chance I had to be with him, I didn’t want to waste it.

I stepped out of the resort, enjoying the cool night air on my face. Taking a deep breath, I smiled to myself as I glanced toward the beach, the sand silvery in the moonlight. This place really was beautiful.

I turned in the direction of the bungalows, but I only walked a few feet before I realized that the man standing nearby with his back to me was Greyson. My smile grew wider, and I was about to call out to him when I heard someone else say my name.

It was Christine. She was standing in front of him, and I could barely glimpse her around his broad back. That was probably why she didn’t notice me.

I told myself that I should turn right around and go back inside. Eavesdropping on Greyson’s conversation with his daughter would be wrong.

But they’d just said my name. So, I hesitated, standing there a moment longer. Christine’s voice was soft, and I didn’t catch everything she said, but the end of it reached me.

“…weird. She seems way younger than you. And why didn’t you tell me you were dating? I haven’t seen you with anyone since you and mom split.”

“Heather doesn’t mean anything to me. She’s just some woman I barely know.” Greyson’s words hit like a slap across the face, stealing my breath. I stood there, shocked and rooted in place, as he continued. “She’s not someone worth mentioning because it’s not going anywhere.”

“Really?” Christine’s voice held a hope that made me flinch.

“Yeah. She’s not even my type.”

Wow. That wasn’t what he led me to believe a few hours ago when he ravished me on the couch, his mouth and hands all over me as he called me Starlight like it meant something.

But those words were familiar in a way that burrowed into my heart, poking at an old wound and making tears spring to my eyes as I stayed in place, watching Greyson and Christine walk away without ever noticing I was there.

I wasn’t just myself in this moment. I was also teenage Heather, standing on my front porch after school and listening to Eddie explain that I wasn’t good enough to be his girlfriend. He needed someone he could be proud to strut around school with.

God, that hurt. It made me feel small and foolish and discarded.

This was worse.

I knew I cared about Greyson. I just hadn’t realized how much until those words tore through me. It was too soon to hurt like this. But apparently, my heart didn’t care about that.

I felt something break inside of me. Maybe my hope. Or my confidence. I didn’t know. All I could identify was that it hurt.