Page 6

We had talked about his love of surfing. About waves. About wind. About my food. About what friendship meant in an environment full of competition. About what made us happy in life. About sunrises. About the consistency of sponge cake.

God, where did my sudden desire for more come from? But I was in no position to demand more from him. I didn’t fit into his circle of fit surfers who always seemed to be glowing. Whether it was their skin illuminated by the sun, their hair glistening with water droplets, or their eyes shining with happiness at their athletic achievements.

I was a pale cook with a strange, pear-shaped body who always smelled of food and spent the best part of the day in the kitchen.

Still, my stomach churned when I thought about leaving Shane behind. But I had a plan. Summer and fall with the truck. Winter at the hotel. Then I would decide what my culinary destiny was. With recommendations in my pocket, all I had to do was find the right destination for me.

Once again, I turned to a young woman placing an order that could feed a football team.

Movement in the direction of Shane’s group of friends made me hesitate. He was running his hand over the bare chest of the guy next to him. The group laughed loudly. A few of them got up dancing.

I quickly lowered my gaze. Damn. I hadn’t seen that scenario in days. Shane was open and flirtatious with others. But since we’d been sleeping together, I hadn’t noticed him getting up close and personal with other guys. Seven days, Ruben! Seven! He had obviously quickly come to terms with the fact that my time here was up.

I hastily put together the order. A few people had approached the woman and were helping her carry the food.

I couldn’t resist and glanced back at Shane.

The guy had put his hand on Shane’s cheek and kissed him as if the two of them were alone.

I was in a free fall. My stomach fluttered through my body as if it were a punctured balloon.

This was what would happen if I weren’t here all the time. That was why Shane had been evasive that afternoon.

And I couldn’t blame him. We weren’t officially together. We weren’t exclusive.

But the fact that it hurt so much was a bitter surprise to me. The pain tugged at my stomach, and my knees went weak.

How was I supposed to deal with us knowing that he was spending our nights apart with someone like this adonis? I stopped abruptly in my thoughts. How did I come up with the idea that we would still be seeing each other?

I kept my gaze fixed on my tools.

“We’re closing!” I shouted over the waiting crowd.

Protest cries echoed back at me. But I was focused on finding mental closure here. I couldn’t care less whether I made sales in the last few hours. It was time for the next step.

And in my state of mind, it would only end with me cutting off a finger.

“Sorry. Family emergency.”

Sway had such an emergency. I decided it applied to me too.

I closed up shop without caring about anyone else or noticing what was going on around me.

With trembling fingers, I locked up behind me and hurried to the back entrance of the bar, which was located at the edge of the sandy area. Shane wouldn’t see me from where he was sitting, and all I wanted was to get away.

“Hey!” Ryan greeted me.

Shit. I had met some great people during these four weeks. I regretted turning my back on them already, but I wasn’t in the mood for small talk. I wanted to get away.

“Can you give me two bottles of your best red wine?”

I held out a few bills to him.

“Uh. I’m pretty sure I don’t have anything that will satisfy your refined palate.”

“Just give them to me,” I replied curtly.

“Are you okay?”