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But things changed.
Now, Dad had finally found something to feel excited about again. He was in the process of starting up a new business with a brand new partner. But this time, he was being cautious, keeping the man at arm’s length. He definitely wasn’t looking to become close friends with the man like he did with Harold. That lesson had been learned the hard way.
The elevator stopped on the eighth floor, and we all stepped out into the hallway. My parents room was right next to mine, and it turned out that Michael and Faith were on the other side of me. I opened my door and lugged my suitcase inside, hefting it onto the king-sized bed.
It was a typical hotel room with a flat screen TV mounted on the wall above a small dresser and desk in the corner. There was a mini refrigerator under a counter where a small coffee pot was sitting. I was sure that if I looked in the closet I’d find a safe. But I didn’t waste time with that. Instead, I unzipped my suitcase and grabbed the swimsuit sitting right on top.
I’d bought it specifically for this trip, a blue one-piece with the sides cut out and a low neckline. It was revealing, but I liked the way it showed off my curves. Maybe I would get lucky and meet someone interesting on this tropical island. It had been way too long since I was with a man.
I gathered my long, dark hair into a ponytail and slipped on my sunglasses. Finally, I covered my pale skin with sunscreen. As I walked back out into the hallway, Mom did as well.
“I’m meeting Faith downstairs in the banquet hall,” she told me. “That’s where the party will be tonight.”
“Is Dad having his meeting with Zach?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she sighed. “I hope he learns to trust the kid. If he doesn’t, the business will never succeed.”
“Zach isn’t a kid,” I said with a laugh. “He’s in his mid-thirties.”
“Sure,” she waved her hand dismissively. “I suppose that age doesn’t matter much, anyway.Haroldwas certainly old enough to know better than to do what he did.”
She sneered as she said his name, her lips pursing together in displeasure and her eyes narrowing. I wasn’t the only one still carrying around a lot of anger over what happened. My whole family had been affected by the other man’s betrayal.
We parted ways in the lobby, with her heading to the banquet room while I followed the signs to the outdoor pool area behind the hotel. I passed by the hotel’s restaurant along the way, making a mental note to check it out later as the smell of something garlicky and probably delicious reached me.
Once outside, I bypassed the pool area, crossing the dunes until I reached the beach. I kicked off my sandals and carried them, allowing my bare toes to sink into the fine white sand. It was mid-afternoon and there were lots of people around, but I felt like I was in my own little world as I strolled along the shoreline.
It was so peaceful here, with the briny ocean smell and the gentle sound of the waves lapping against the shore. The weather was the definition of perfect, sunny without being too hot, a slight breeze and cloudless blue sky. I walked along without paying attention to time or distance. I didn’t think about anything, and the experience reminded me of meditating, a favorite pastime of mine.
Then, the sound of an all-too familiar husky male laugh reached my ears. I turned my attention away from the continuous movement of the water, sure that I must have been imagining things. I was more than a thousand miles away from home. There was no way that I was about to run into…
Holy crap.I blinked rapidly to clear my vision, but nothing changed.
It was him. Levi Grant was standing just twenty feet away on the beach, talking and laughing with a small group of people. The man that I had once considered to be one of my best friends but was now my enemy.
He was the son of the man that deceived my father.
Levi helped Harold stab my dad in the back, and I hadn’t spoken to him since. He turned out to be just as much of an asshole as his own dad. If anything, I was even angrier at Levi because his betrayal felt more personal to me. We were so close before the incident, and I never would have expected him to play a part in his father’s treachery.
I stood there for a long moment, watching him as I was flooded with negative emotions. Hurt. Rage. Regret. It was all so overwhelming, and I couldn’t believe that he was here of all places.
And damn it, he looked good. His cargo shorts and white T-shirt were modest for beach wear, but I could tell that his body was all lean muscle. His wavy brown hair was brushed back off his forehead, and he had a stubble beard growing along his hard jaw. His smile as he talked lit up his brown eyes, and a dimple appeared in his left cheek.
As I tried to wrap my head around the fact that I was actually seeing the man, I noticed that one of the women in the group with him was giving him an unmistakably heated look. As I watched, the leggy blonde laughed at something he said, her hand landing on his bicep and trailing down to his forearm in a light touch.
She stepped closer to him until she was practically hanging all over him. There was no doubt that there was something between the two of them, and I couldn’t help smiling deviously as I hatched a plan for a little payback.
Calling on acting skills that I hadn’t used since I played one of the leads in my high school’s production of The Miracle Worker eleven years ago, I stumbled toward him, acting drunk. The act was easier in the uneven sand, and I even fell right into Levi as I reached him.
“Woah,” he exclaimed loudly, using quick reflexes to steady me with his hands on my arms.
Our eyes met for a brief moment, and I could see the same shock on his face that I felt when I spotted him, but I quickly looked away. I didn’t want to get caught up in the emotions that came with looking at such a familiar and gorgeous face. I wasn’t here tofeelanything other than the satisfaction of some sweet revenge. My eyes scanned the six people around us, landing on the woman that was hitting on Levi just a moment ago, her gaze narrowed on me.
Perfect.
“Summer?” Levi finally said, sounding perplexed at my presence on the island.
“Oh, so you remember my name?” I slurred, laying on the fake drunkenness a little thick. But I could see from the way the woman’s eyebrows shot up under her fringe of blonde hair that she bought my act. “I wasn’t sure if you would. After all, we didn’t do much talking earlier.”
